Hello to All, Roger Stockton wrote:
> Sheer Pullen wrote: > > > > I've been reading the posts on the IN-1 electric insight > > > concept. It sound way cool but I gotta have 4 seats (well > > > actually 3 would do). Would there be any advantage to > > > starting with a Prius? Probably the advantages wouldn't be > > > worth the price of starting with a newer car. > > > > Well, unlike the Insight, the Prius isn't a phenomenal car - > > it's just another toyota 4-seater that happens to be a > > hybrid. I mean, the drivetrain is way cool, but the frame > > isn't anything special. > > However, there may be some very real drawbacks to the Insight's > widespread use of aluminum in its construction... like wait till you > need body work done, or get in just enough of a fender-bender that the > frame needs straightening. How many shops are equipped to handle repairs > to aluminum frames & body panels competently, and how costly is it? Have to disagree with you, Roger. As many know, back in April, I had something 'more' than a fender-bender with my car! It was very easy finding a high quality shop right here in my hometown that were experts on the Insight, and who had already worked on three of them. The type of impact my car sustained, would have totaled a normal type of car, in fact, the standard steel-bodied car that hit me at 45 mph (I was parked) was nearly 1000 lbs. heavier than my Insight, and it literally fell apart in the street and was a complete total (and yes, it was an almost new car, so it wasn't totaled because it was old and not worth much). My Insight's aluminum body structure held up in a surreal way, and after getting slammed from behind at a good rate of speed, it looked as if it had been hit at maybe 10 mph in a parking lot type of thing (I only wish I had faired as well as my car did...for reasons I don't want to get into right now, my seatbelt was off, so I flew around the inside of the car at 45 mph)....incredible! My car was in neutral with the Auto Stop mode engaged and with the emergency brake fully on when it was hit so hard, that it was rammed approximately 7 car lengths ahead and sent nearly into a ditch. While the other car's parts were scraped up from the pavement and hulk was hauled off to a wrecking yard (thankfully, the airbags all deployed and though the three occupants went to the hospital, they're all OK), my wife later went to the accident scene, got in the Insight, and drove it home. She commented on how it drove as if nothing had happened to it. Though I didn't actually see my car for nearly a week, when I did, I was shocked to see that the only visible damage to my Insight was a caved-in rear bumper...the glass hatch was unscathed and still fit perfectly with the body seams lining up just as factory, the taillights didn't even break and were without a single scratch! Once at the body shop, it was determined that the rear bulkhead piece, hidden behind the bumper cap and covered with interior pieces, was damaged and needed to be removed and replaced, but the new one fit so perfectly, that the shop merely welded it back in place, sealed it with factory Honda sealant, and painted it before reassembling everything. The beefy boxed aluminum rear bumper reinforcement beam was bent pretty good, and so were the bumper supports. There was some damage to the spare tire well, but it simply pulled back into shape, and a collapsible beam section worked perfectly (just like the factory Honda Insight video shows) and it was replaced. Other than what I've listed, no part of the car's beautiful exterior paint and body were touched...not even a ripple anywhere! If the cost of repairing an aluminum Insight were as Roger suggests, the insurance company would have surely totalled my car, but instead, it was expertly repaired at a cost of around $5000...I'm sure a Prius, hit in the same way, would have been easily that much, maybe even more, as the Prius NiMH batteries are in the trunk. I was able to watch the rebuild process each day, and took full digital pictures of the whole thing. After the accident, the exterior of my car is still all original, still all factory paint, with the exception of the rear bumper cap (which was replaced and repainted), The car has no body putty or bondo anywhere, and all body panels, trim pieces, doors, hood, etc. still fit as perfectly as the day I drove the car home new. Of interest, after such an incredibly hard impact, the car's alignment was still perfect, and all of the midship-located IMA electronics, batteries, etc. are still in perfect shape, and yes, the Wayland-built twin 12 subwoofer mounted at the rear lived through it with only minor damage that I repaired myself! I like to joke about it now, proudly saying that after two and a half years of ownership, my Insight still doesn't have a single door ding....oh yeah, it was slammed at 45 mph, though :-) Insights are becoming known for their crashworthiness. Many have reported similar, almost unbelievable accounts of how well their little spaceship cars have held up in impacts with even large American land yatchs. Though it's very sad to hear of these limited production gems getting wrecked, it is good to hear that they are very heavy duty in regards to how well they can sustain impacts while protecting the ocupants. > > Anyway, there is a very real advantage to starting with a Prius in the > sense that unlike the Insight, it comes stock from the factory with an > 'electric-only' mode. Just increase the size of the battery pack and > you suddenly have a 'unlimited-range' vehicle with very usable around > town pure-electric mode. And it seats 5 instead of 2. The subject, was discussing a 100% electric Prius (read the post title)...you're describing a hybrid. And yes, if this were the desired goal, I'd agree that the Prius is a much better choice, for the reasons you've stated. Back to the subject at hand though, the Prius doesn't have any real plusses that would make it a better candidate as a glider for a pure EV conversion. In fact, with its stubby nose and limited amount of room in the engine bay, it may in fact pose more of a challenge than other four passenger cars who's larger engine bays can take batteries to help balance the battery pack weight. Finding a single, balanced spot for all the batteries (as is easily accomplished with the Insight), is all but impossible. >I believe UC Davis has already done this, including adding plug-in recharge >capability to the Prius. Again, this is a hybrid, not a 100% electric Prius. See Ya.....John Wayland
