Featured Threads Archive

This week it’s all about the fourth generation Prius and it call comes from Danny Cooper. Paul Guzyk, Tony Schaefer, Patrick Conor and Russell Frost break down the new Prius, a car which Danny just drove. See Prius Chat for the video reviews (link below) http://priuschat.com/threads/priuschats-2016-toyota-prius-first-drive-video-review.159651/

Read more about this episode on WhatDrives.Us

A plan to "bottle" sunlight via hydrogen in Western Australia's Pilbara and export it to Japan is edging closer to reality, according to a Sydney-based company.

Renewable Hydrogen is planning to establish a small 10-megawatt-hour PV solar farm near Karratha.

As part of the pilot program, the company is proposing to purify seawater before separating hydrogen from oxygen via electrolysis, a process powered by solar energy.

The hydrogen becomes a vehicle for storing renewable energy and is converted into transportable forms for export.

Renewable Hydrogen's initial plan is to export the hydrogen to Japan as ammonia, but executive director Andrew Want said the hydrogen could also be converted into other forms such as synthetic methane or LNG.

"We will effectively bottle it and ship it to Japan on a true industrial scale," Mr Want said.

The company, along with the Pilbara Development Commission and a confidential Japanese partner, is finalising a feasibility study into the pilot...

The pipeline, with a diameter of 508mm and a distance of 25km, starts at the hydrogen generation station at the Jiyuan Industrial Park and ends at Luoyang Petrochem complex in the Jili district.

The working pressure of the pipeline is 4 MPa, and it is capable of delivering more than 10,000 tonens of hydrogen every year.

The company also noted that due to the mountainous and steep geography along the route of the pipeline, many obstacles have to be overcome, including the need for tunnelling and crossing railway lines and highways.

25km of hydrogen pipeline constructed in China | News | gasworld

The article did not say how they got around the problem of hydrogen embrittlement. Perhaps, they just painted to separate hydrogen frim the metal pipe.

Meet First Toyota's First Mirai Owner - And His Half-Filled Fuel Cell Vehicle

Police pulled over the Google driverless car for going 24 in a 35 mph zone, but couldn't give it a ticket because there was no driver! The computer probably explained that some stupid human had capped its speed at 25 mph, but questions remain:
If the programming includes an incorrectly high speed limit, would the Google car get off with speeding?
Did the Google car correctly recognize a cop pulling it over, and was it cooperative when questioned?
How would the.car take a breathalyzer test if required by the police?

We need an "auto-drive" option on the Gen 4 Prius!

Even on coal based electricity it would seem;
Electric vehicles beat gasoline cars in cradle-to-grave emissions study - LA Times

Although the study is not posted in the article (but linked to a summary here; Cleaner Cars from Cradle to Grave (2015) | Union of Concerned Scientists full copy is downloadable), it seems to be based on everything from manufacturing to recycling -
The summary has a short youtube video;

But it isn't mentioned whether there's accounting for the substantial ratio of home charged ev's - which would even further make the environmental point. But the article does go so far as to sum up in this fashion;

The latest paper from UCS on EVs and greenhouse gases is out!
http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2015/11/Cleaner-Cars-from-Cradle-to-Grave-full-report.pdf

From the summary:
As a side note, the EPA thankfully changed their "egrid" naming conventions. So now, the year in the name is the year the data is from, rather than the year of release.

The report above is using the latest, 2012, electric...

Today is @Danny 's birthday.
Just wanted to put that out there.

This week we tackle the really big themes… VW offer owners a band-aid for arterial bleeding http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100852_vw-gives-owners-of-2009-2015-2-0-liter-diesel-cars-debit-cards-roadside-assistance Audi says yes to H2 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/audi/a7/93409/audi-on-the-brink-of-showing-a-fuel-cell-vehicle Chasing the will o’wisp that is Faraday Future http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100860_more-faraday-info-chinese-billionaire-backer-ex-tesla-staff-for-electric-car-startup Luxury Toyotas recalled for “auto braking” http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1100862_2013-2015-toyota-avalon-avalon-hybrid-lexus-es300h-es350-recalled-to-fix-auto-braking-problem

Read more about this episode on WhatDrives.Us

All Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars Are Compliance Cars, For Now

Toyota Sees Even Split Between Prius Batteries | Asia Pacific content from WardsAuto

Thoughts?

Source: Which Vehicles, Owners in It for Long Haul | Sales & Marketing content from WardsAuto


Time to salute Consumer Reports and a few other automotive press sources for all the wonderful things they've written over the years about the Prius . . . as I raise my 'social' finger.

Bob Wilson

Canada:
RAV4 Hybrid XLE AWD-i: $34,465 ($2,815 more than the XLE AWD)
RAV4 Hybrid Limited AWD-i: $38,265

Good news! The RAV4 Hybrid is rated to tow! In Canada, it's 794kg (1,750 lbs).

Fuel economy: (city/hwy/combined)
6.9 / 7.6 / 7.2 (34 / 31 / 33) L/100km (US mpg)


As far as I can tell, the hybrid gains SKS (regular XLE loses SKS) and rain-sensing wipers. It's a technology-laden, towing capable (lite), AWD hybrid SUV with Corolla fuel economy. I don't know why the Limited w/ Tech Package has a greater price difference compared to the XLE. You'd think both trim levels will have the same price increase considering they're practically identical to...

Once again, excellent work by Jeff Cobb's team:

	model	Oct_15	Sep_15	Aug_15	Jul_15
1	Prius Liftback	9611	9952	10450	11203
2	Ram Pickup Diesel	4283	3836	4093	4775
3	Prius c	3373	3367	3844	3517
4	Camry Hybrid	2545	2629	3314	2756
5	Prius v (lowercase v)	2128	2575	3119	2620
6	Model S	2100	2400	1600	1800
7	Fusion Hybrid	2050	2002	2441	2157
8	Volt	2035	949	1380	1313
9	Sonata	1342	1185	1647	1837
10	Optima Hybrid	1262	1136	1167	873
11	Leaf	1238	1247	1393	1174
12	CT200h	1077	1131	1504	1374
13	Avalon Hybrid	993	1064	1322	1175
14	i3*	986	1710	792	935
15	C-Max Hybrid	912	1247	1501	1225
16	ES Hybrid	895	907	1281	891
17	Fusion Energi	849	808	949	852
18	C-Max Energi	695	719	723	693
19	MKZ	646	596	713	725
20	e-Golf	596	343	381	313
21	RX 400 / 450 h	514	443	599	530
22	Q7 Diesel	497	326	412	506
23	Civic Hybrid	455	613	590	463
24	Q5 Diesel	455	406	421	567
25	Accord Hybrid	442	854	1369	1481
26	Touareg Diesel	418	373	411	374
27	Q50 Hybrid	381	356	384	381
28	Highlander Hybrid	375	367	377	304
29	Cayenne Diesel	356	276	288	254
30	Grand Cherokee Diesel	321	315	343	317...

Georgia Electric-Car Sales Plummet After Incentive Replaced By Tax

So, what are your thoughts on this?

This week, Tony, Mark and Russell take on: Ain’t no such thing as clean diesel http://europe.autonews.com/article/20151102/COPY/311029902/vw-porsche-audi-3-0-liter-diesels-have-defeat-devices-epa-says?cciid=email-autonews-blast VW fixes diesel…prices…sort of http://www.hybridcars.com/volkswagen-offers-price-guaranty-on-used-diesel-vehicles-to-dealers/ Honda’s dream or merely an illusion? http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100699_hondas-electric-four-motor-cr-z-prototype-we-drive-it Nissan to deploy FCvs around 2020 http://www.autonews.com/article/20151102/OEM05/151039976/ev-advocate-ghosn-eyes-fuel-cell-entry-around-2020 Global plug-in sales hit an all time high http://www.hybridcars.com/plug-in-sales-crest-to-all-time-record-in-september/ Tony’s 2M topic: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100750_most-of-fiat-chryslers-u-s-vehicles-will-be-hybrid-by-2025-ceo-says Mark’s 2M topic: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/11/01/chevy-volt-nissan-leaf-all-electric-miles/#slide-3647072...

OK, most of this story would be best discussed in FHOP but I found one part interesting for another reason. Could it be foreshadowing issues the US will have to address in its transportation future?

The problem was, according to SIGAR, is that there was "no indication" the Task Force studied the viability of the project — or considered the significant obstacles it faced — before construction began.

A feasibility study "might have noted" that Afghanistan lacks the distribution infrastructure to make such a market viable — and that converting cars from gasoline to CNG would be cost-prohibitive for most Afghans, SIGAR said.

U.S. Spent $43 Million on Afghanistan Gas Station: Watchdog Report - NBC News

Well now I've got to do more research. Do any of our UK members have any direct observations?

Bob Wilson

EU Regulators Dilute New Emission Rules To Allow 2.1 Times The Legal Limits Until 2020

Only the Netherlands voted against, all other 27 countries aligned with this "gift" to the automakers that made their cars emit above limits, and are allowed to persist.
Triumph of economics over health. Unfair.

Malaysian review of the 2015 Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Mondeo 2.0L EcoBoost and the Peugeot 508 GT Diesel. There's a bonus vehicle if you watch the whole thing.




Conversion:

L/100km = 100/(km/L)
US mpg = 235.21/(L/100km)