Featured Threads Archive
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Electric Car Myth Buster
I was hesitant to post this because it come close to advocacy yet I found it via Google News. I'm hoping @john1701a adds his insights as he has history dealing with Prius-skeptics. There is little distance between Prius and plugin skeptics: Electric Car Myth Buster — Efficiency | CleanTechnica
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We recently heard from CleanTechnica reader Martin Hemdricks, who told us about a scurrilous indictment of electric cars that recently showed up in his email inbox. It charged that electric cars put all their carbon emissions into the atmosphere before they drive a single mile. It went on to say an electric car needs to drive 15 miles or more 365 days a year for 10 yearsbefore making any positive contribution to the environment. Not true.
These sorts of bizarre statements are routine. One way you can tell they are all coming from the same source is they all make the same... -
Consumer Reports Reformed
I picked up the Consumer Reports New Cars issue, April 2018, from the magazine rack yet held off reading it for a couple of weeks. When I finally read it, Huh? The cars I'm familiar with Prius Prime and BMW i3-REx were factual. Even their notoriously poor MPG numbers were close enough to the EPA and my metrics to be usable:
- Toyota Prius Prime - 74 Road Test Score
- 69 MPG overall
- 56 City
- 81 Highway (only with EV)
- 69 MPG overall
- BMW i3-REx - 79 Road Test Score
- 139 MPGe
- 135 City
- 141 Highway (only EV tested)
- 139 MPGe
The Prime is a plug-in Prius that can usually drive about 23 miles on electricity only. But the gas engine... - Toyota Prius Prime - 74 Road Test Score
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Driving Aids in the news
Not specific to Prius, Hybrid, or EV specifically, but related to radar cruise, lane departure, blind spot monitoring systems, and some possible negative impacts:
How new safety technology might actually be making our driving worse | CTV News -
electric car window stickers
Source: Making sense of electric car window stickers: What it all means | Autoweek
Making sense of electric car window stickers: What it all means
Trying to compare EVs with gasoline or diesel vehicles isn't easy, and the current window sticker doesn't help
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While in principle MPGe is a good way of conveying relative efficiency, I'm not sure that it's actually meaningful to consumers, nor is energy efficiency in general for plug-in vehicles," said Sam Abuelsamid, senior analyst at Navigant Research. "Much as most consumers focus on what their monthly payment is going to be, for EVs, I think they are mostly just interested in the electric range and, in the case of PHEVs, the gas/diesel efficiency."
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MPGe stands for "miles per gallon equivalent." A slew of alternatives were debated before this metric was applied for... -
World Debut of the Lexus UX, a New Genre of Crossover
World Debut of the Lexus UX, a New Genre of Crossover | LEXUS | TOYOTA Global Newsroom
Hat tip to @GasperG who posted this in the TNGA powertrains thread.
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Rotary returns as range extender
Source: Mazda's Rotary is Making an Unexciting Return in 2019 » AutoGuide.com News
. . . In an interview with Dutch group AutoRAI, Mazda’s European sales chief, Martijn ten Brink, said the rotary range extender will appear on a new electric car that shares its platform with the next-generation Mazda3. Although he didn’t say it conclusively, he suggested a crossover body style would make sense.
As for the rotary engine itself, it will be a single-rotor unit without a turbocharger, and its compact design takes up no more space than two shoe boxes. It’s been developed to operate so smoothly that drivers will not even notice when the rotary engine is operating.
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I hope it competes well with the BMW i3-REx.
Bob Wilson -
The Race to Improve Fuel Economy
I'm slowly changing my opinion about Consumer Reports:
The Race to Improve Fuel Economy - Consumer Reports
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As CEO of Diverse Construction, one of the state’s few female-owned communications contractors, Mulkey sweats the fuel expense for her 15 work trucks. They’re mostly big, brawny Chevrolet pickups of various sizes, some strong enough to haul 18-foot trailers fully loaded with tools and materials for building and maintaining cell towers.
Mulkey has noticed fuel efficiency notching up in recent years as she rotates in new trucks. The improved efficiency saves Diverse, based in Lewisville, about 20 percent on its fuel bill. Last year, it was about $135,000, Mulkey says. A few years ago, the fleet was averaging 6 to 8 mpg; now it’s more like 9 to 10. “We can tell it’s improving,” she says. “Every little bit helps.”
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Bob Wilson -
For 6 months, 1 in 5 Prius sales have been a plug-in hybrid
I think this means that despite Toyota insisting people don't want plug-in electric cars, it turns out we do. Especially if you can get it cheaper than a regular Prius when you factor in the tax credit.
I hope this helps to convince them to release more plug-in vehicles, even if they have to do it kicking and screaming something about hydrogen fuel cell cars.
For six months, one in five Prius sales has been a plug-in hybrid -
Interesting article on jalopnik
Not always a fan of this site but I thought this was interesting. Predictable conversation comments happened as well.For some reason can't post the link here. -
Lexus UX crossover photo and video released ahead of Geneva
A Hybrid more compact than a Prius with eAWD? It could be really tempting.
That's if they bring all of these features to the U.S. The full reveal will be March 6.
Lexus UX crossover will debut at Geneva, but here's a photo and video - Autoblog -
Lexus lowers hybrid prices to reduce premium over gasoline substantially
Lexus lowers hybrid prices to reduce premium over gasoline substantially
This is just for the US. In Canada, the price has increased (probably paritally due to the exchange rate. It's about... -
Cali DMV Gives Driverless car goahead
Lots of loby efforts going on to bring this about;
Self-driving cars with remote drivers could test on Calif roads in April: DMV | Reuters
Google is going the NEV route - while Tesla looking to go standard speeds.
Self-driving cars with remote drivers could test on Calif roads in April: DMV | Reuters
Quick prediction -... -
Geneva Auto Show and the Tesla Fighters
Source: http://www.autonews.com/article/20180226/OEM03/180229887/geneva-auto-show-preview
BMW, Toyota could steal the Geneva show
Jaguar, Audi, VW, M-B come armed with Tesla fighters
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After years of dismissing talk of a Tesla threat, alarm bells went off when the Model S outsold the Mercedes-Benz S class and BMW 7 series in Europe for the first time last year.
If Tesla overcomes its Model 3 production glitches, traditional automakers will have a bigger cause for concern, Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said in an investor note last week.
Jaguar's I-Pace electric crossover is seen by industry watchers as the first credible all-electric Tesla rival. Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz also will showcase electric vehicles aimed at Tesla.
Geneva also highlights the industry's shift toward electrification in the top-end and lower price... -
EV News Roundup
Every week, we're sharing a roundup of EV news, on our blog. Whether it’s new models or new places to charge, we want to keep you current with what’s going on in the world of EVs, at ChargePoint and beyond.
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.chargepoint.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fblog-photos%2F2018-02%2FCP_Blog_news_1.jpg&hash=266c97745bab485d65f68f3a4120dd07)
Here's a quick summary for those here in the community, and you'll find the full roundup at the links below.
First up, ChargePoint Highlights...
- ChargePoint saw 1 million charging sessions a month in 2017, as covered in Green Car Reports. We also took the new Nissan LEAF for a quick test drive. [more]
- ChargePoint joins the National Resources Defense Council and 40 other organizations in petitioning New York State to accelerate EV promotion. [more]
In Industry News summary...
- A new motor design from Toyota...
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