Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
From Jed: Toyota announced a plug-in previous hybrid car will be available nationwide starting January 1, 2012. The base price is around $32,000. Battery range is greater than 20 km. I assume you meant to say Prius whereas Dragon interpreted your dictation as previous. Somehow a $32k price tag along with a whopping 20 km max range does not strike me as terribly impressive. Am I missing something vital here? In other news from Japan, the Fukushima reactors are now all cooled below 100°C. In English: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110929006221.htm I would imagine getting the temperature of contaminated water below the boiling point is indeed a good step towards recovery. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 10:39 AM, OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson svj.orionwo...@gmail.com wrote: Am I missing something vital here? Lithium batteries are 'spensive? T
Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
On 11-09-30 10:39 AM, OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson wrote: From Jed: Toyota announced a plug-in previous hybrid car will be available nationwide starting January 1, 2012. The base price is around $32,000. Battery range is greater than 20 km. I assume you meant to say Prius whereas Dragon interpreted your dictation as previous. Somehow a $32k price tag along with a whopping 20 km max range does not strike me as terribly impressive. Am I missing something vital here? Yes. It's a hybrid, which means its max range is actually more like 400 or 500 miles. If you want to bop over to the next city on the weekend, you can use the car for that, no prob, and it'll get typical Prius gas mileage on the trip. Its max range on *batteries* *only* is 20 km, which is enough for most commuters to get to work, where they can plug in again, and then get home on the charge they got during the day, without using a drop of gas. So you would only need to buy gas for those weekend excursions. If you don't do a lot of short-hop driving, you probably won't be interested in that car. But if you do, it could be a win. I think there are enough people who commute less than 20 km round trip (or less than 40 km round trip to a company with outdoor outlets) that Toyota'll find a healthy market for it. I agree, though, a longer batteries-only range would make it interesting to a lot more people.
Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 1:25 PM, Stephen A. Lawrence sa...@pobox.com wrote: Its max range on *batteries* *only* is 20 km, which is enough for most commuters to get to work, where they can plug in again, and then get home on the charge they got during the day, without using a drop of gas. So you would only need to buy gas for those weekend excursions. That might be true where you live; however, here in Atlanta, the average commute is 33 miles one-way. ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89231809 ) My commute is 25 miles. My parking lot would require a 200 ft extension cord on average to find a 120 V outlet. I am looking to trade my Scion xB for the new iQ which will increase my mileage by about 30%. T
Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson svj.orionwo...@gmail.com wrote: I assume you meant to say Prius whereas Dragon interpreted your dictation as previous. Yup. You gotta watch it. Somehow a $32k price tag along with a whopping 20 km max range does not strike me as terribly impressive. Am I missing something vital here? That's $32,000 in Japan. I do not know why but cars cost more there. It might be cheaper elsewhere. I expect a 20 km range is enough for most people's commuting range in Japan. It might not be enough in the US. The GM volt range is nominally 40 miles (64 mi). Even 10 km would save a lot of gasoline with some niche applications, and for some customers. There are conversion kits for regular Priuses with that range. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
Hi, On 30-9-2011 19:47, Jed Rothwell wrote: That's $32,000 in Japan. I do not know why but cars cost more there. It might be cheaper elsewhere. I expect a 20 km range is enough for most people's commuting range in Japan. It might not be enough in the US. The GM volt range is nominally 40 miles (64 mi). Even 10 km would save a lot of gasoline with some niche applications, and for some customers. There are conversion kits for regular Priuses with that range. - Jed Well, recently I had an offer for the 100% electric Peugeot iOn for approx. 34,000.00 euro but that is without approx. 4,000.00 euro tax reduction because it is considered an environmental friendly car. According the manufacturer specs. it has lithium-ion batteries with an actieradius of 150 km and top speed of 130 km/h. and can be charged with 220V AC in 6 hours or 380 DC in 30 minutes. Kind regards, MoB
Re: [Vo]:Plug-in hybrid Prius announced
Man on Bridges manonbrid...@aim.com wrote: Well, recently I had an offer for the 100% electric Peugeot iOn for approx. 34,000.00 euro but that is without approx. 4,000.00 euro tax reduction because it is considered an environmental friendly car. At this stage in the development of the technology, plug in hybrids are a lot more practical than pure electric cars. They have a ~500 mile range after the battery runs out. They also work much better than a first-generation Prius because the battery acts as a much larger buffer. the ones that have been converted with an add-on kit get over 100 mpg, compared to 50 or 60 mpg for an off-the-shelf model. I read that the engineers at GM determined that a plug-in hybrid with a 40 mile battery range is the most efficient design with today's technology. It is better than a pure electric car when you take into account the weight of the batteries needed for a longer range. That is for typical U.S. use. The most efficient design for driving conditions in Europe or Japan may be different. - Jed
