Featured Threads Archive

With the Grand Highlander running around with ICE and Hybrid variants, one must wonder what is Toyota going to do with the Highlander? Well according to CarBuzz they talked to the general manager, David Crist, of the Toyota division in the US and found out the Highlander will go BEV only and will continue to be built in Kentucky. If you read the article carefully, the BEV Highlander won't be built for a couple more years.

Exclusive: Toyota Highlander Going Electric As Part Of Toyota's Massive EV Ramp-Up

"So strong is Toyota's commitment to hybridizing its lineup that, for the 2025 model year, the Toyota GR86 and Supra are the only products that don’t offer a hybrid option. Christ declined to say whether those models will be electrified in the future.

He did confirm, “We’re going to expand plug-in availability throughout the line-up fairly quickly.” And while he didn’t name names, Toyota sources...

https://insideevs.com/news/715937/europe-may-ditch-wltp/

European commission has found that WLTP figures fall short by about 20% and much worse for PHEVs. Gasoline models were 23.7% less efficient and diesel models were slightly better at only 18.1% less efficient. For PHEVs the difference was not a percentage but about 3.5 times less efficient.

Table Average Real World and WLTP fuel consumption (some values were converted to mpg for audience understanding).

	Powertrain/fuel type	Average Fuel Consumption (l/100km:MPG) Real World	Average Fuel Consumption (L/100km:MPG) WLTP	Gap (%)
1	Petrol	7.89L/100km:29.8 mpg	6.38L/100km:36.9 mpg	23.7
2	Diesel	6.88L/100km:34.2mpg	5.82L/100km:40.4 mpg	18.1
3	Petrol + Diesel	7.44L/100km:31.6 mpg	6.13L/100km:38.4 mpg	21.2
4	Plug-in hybrid (petrol)	5.97L/100km:39.4 mpg	1.76L/100km:133.6 mpg	238
5	Plug-in hybrid (diesel)	5.83L/100km:40.3 mpg	1.41L/100km:166.8 mpg	312
6	Plug-in...

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a60412826/toyota-crown-landscape-off-road-japan/

This morning I read about a caravan with it's own driving motor and own driving battery. This new type of caravan is being developed in Germany:
Presumably, this would completely change the rating for the car since the towing vehicle is subjected to much reduced loads. I imagine that the load on the towbar/hitch would still be an issue due to:

• control at higher speeds (sway, etc)
• increased load on towbar/hitch since the caravan also has brakes, also
• decreased (slightly?) load on towbar/hitch when the caravan is accelerating under its own power

Seems like a really great development when it finally hits the mass market.

The Toyota USA Museum is crushing a classic Cressida and record-setting Prius | Japanese Nostalgic Car

Autoline news:

It is 25 minutes at normal speed and easily understandable at 1.25x.

Bob Wilson

Interesting vid by CNBC about how hybrids may be a longer term solution than some people thought.

Right now, even in China, which is the largest adopter of EV among big countries, BEV sales have slumped while PHEV sales have increased significantly, so it seems there is some resistance to full EV from the masses of people (as opposed to early adopters).

ps. LOTSA pics of Prius gen 5 in this vid

Kia EV9 wins 2024 World Car of the Year and World Electric Car at New York Auto Show - Autoblog

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2024/03/26/New-All-Electric-Ford-Explorer-Completes-a-Record-Setting-30000-km-Drive-Around-the-World0.html

Ford Explorer EV launches with more range and refinement

Ford’s Europe-only Explorer EV gets an estimated 375 miles of range - The Verge

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/ford-explorer-does-lap-planet-celebrates-going-sale





TL;DR

• Up to 602km (374 miles) WLTP range
• 185kW DC (AWD) or 135kW DC...

Bangkok Post - Toyota to mass-produce Hilux EV by 2025

Toyota to launch all-electric Hilux pickup by 2025 to fend off rivals


Test driving the concept version in 2023:

I have a new 2024 Prius Prime. My weekly commute is only about 50 miles, and i have access to chargers on my College campus, so i don't expect to use gasoline very much at all. My question is should i be concerned that I will use very little gas, and can that be a problem for the car? Relatedly, does it matter if i just continue to use regular gas versus hi test?
Thanks

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2024-toyota-prius-prime-xse-yearlong-review-update-1-vs-2001-prius/

Source:


I have not gotten notification from Tesla that this program exists. But if it does, WOW!

Bob Wilson

I agree with their facts and data based report:


Guess I'll have to drive my 2019 Tesla Model 3 Std Rng Plus until the wheels fall off. My second EV sold originally for ~$50,000 and I bought a used 2017 BMW i3-REx for $15,000 last August (and rapidly drove it out of State purchased in.)

Bob Wilson

This is exactly why I have been driving a Toyota. They are the only company who can make a halfway-decent driving-automation system with necessary safeguards at the moment.

TSS 3.0 (tested as Lexus teammate with advanced drive) got an acceptable rating.

GM and Nissan got a marginal rating.

All others, including Tesla's autopilot and full self-driving, failed with a poor rating.

Partial automation safeguard ratings—Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

So, Consumer Reports was right on this one—Tesla's driving automation lacks safeguards. In fact, IIHS rated it far worse.

Rivian Introduces R2, R3, and R3X Built on New Midsize Platform (rivian.com)

...

The 2024 Toyota Crown May Just Be the World's Greatest Luxury Car

FYI there are swear words in there if you're sensitive to them.

Detroit News article about the all-electric Charger

I like renting the gas Chargers. They're a great size and shape, very easy to drive. Lots of interior space and a roomy trunk too. I'd love one as a family car except....

They drink fuel.

Even the "rental stripper" slow cheap V6 powered model barely gets 22mpg. To be fair, I don't think they have ever attempted to package an economy edition of that car- the Charger has been aimed at performance & luxury since 1966.

Now there's an EV version of the car being introduced. Of note, it will eventually be made with American-made batteries.

Congrats, I wish them luck!