My dad has been a member of the Automobile Association here in SA for over 50 years now. That'll give you an idea of how long he's been driving. He's had Morris, Chevrolet, Toyota Pickups, lots of Fords. I showed him my Prius on Sunday for the first time. He was very intrigued by all the technology and loved watching the MFD screen as I drove. I explained about the battery and the engine and he understood, but trying to explain the PSD ellicited a blank stare. "Yes, dad. It has an automatic gearbox." I just smile and let it go. In the end of the day it doesn't matter how it works, just that it works. The Prius does all it's magic quietly, effortlessly and without any special input from the driver. We've heard of French "flair". What do the Japanese have? Is there a japanese word one can use?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Albertus @ May 7 2007, 11:46 AM) [snapback]436984[/snapback]</div> Quality and Style in one package. Something American car companies haven't figured out yet. As far as I'm concerned, Honda hasn't either. Toyotas are typically nicer and have nicer interiors than Hondas.
It's 375 miles from my house to my parents'. What impressed my dad the most was that I drove the whole way without stopping. I mentioned that I'll probably stop about halfway back to get gas. He could not care less about all the whiz-bang battery wizardry. He's a practical man and if I can drive more than 500 miles on less than ten gallons as gasoline that's good enough for him.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Albertus @ May 8 2007, 03:46 AM) [snapback]436984[/snapback]</div> Is that something like "sense of smell" or "sensibility" in English? If it is, the similar Japanese word is KANSEI or 感性 in Kanji. Ken@Japan
For 'mature' automotive enthusiasts, an analogy can be drawn with the function of the differential of rear wheel drive cars. There, the power arrives from the driveshaft and is split (often unequally) between the two driven wheels. In the Prius, the power split device works in the opposite sense. Power from two sources (engine and MG1) is combined via the planetary gearset and sent along to the wheels. This allows us to understand how the output shaft speed is controlled both by the engine and MG1, but it is not the entire Prius story. MG2 is coaxial with that output shaft, and it can either add power or remove it (as a generator), depending on electronic control. Then one confronts the complexity of the electronics, which finely control the torque and rpm of the two MGs. Even the gasoline engine is entirely under computer control, and our 'suggestions' to the accelerator pedal are interpreted by Prius' computers into unified instructions to all 3 prime movers. In this way, the gasoline engine may be operated quite efficiently, and in a way that its pollutant emissions can be held to relatively low levels. A 'straight series hybrid' where the gas engine is connected only to an electrical generator, with the rest of the drive done by electric motor(s) could be somewhat more efficient I suppose. But with today's motor and battery technology, such a system would probably cost and weigh more than the Prius drivetrain. The first million (or so) built seem to be doing quite well in service. Toyota's engineers have much to be proud of.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ken1784 @ May 8 2007, 03:53 AM) [snapback]437240[/snapback]</div> Japanese sensibility. Yea. Perfect.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ken1784 @ May 7 2007, 09:53 PM) [snapback]437240[/snapback]</div> Sensibility is fairly close, although you should factor in "style" too. It's a balance of aesthetics and engineering, art and function. Tom
Wouldn't flair be a bunch of cheezy bumper stickers? I guess you'd have to see the movie Office Space to know what I'm talking about.
