hybrids

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DETROIT -- Toyota will import 100,000 Prius hybrid cars to the United States in 2005, the automaker said last Thursday.

Through the end of August of this year, Prius sales totaled 31,406 units, a Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. spokesman said. But those sales do not come close to meeting demand, with buyers in some parts of the United States waiting up to six months for their cars to arrive.

The 2005 importation numbers are equal to the total number of Prius cars sold in the United States since it was introduced to the market in June 2000.

Toyota, which became the world's first automaker to develop a hybrid car for mass production in 1997, has targeted annual global sales of 300,000 hybrid vehicles by 2005.

The automaker also plans to introduce hybrid versions of its Lexus RX 300 and Highlander sport utility vehicles early next year.

Last month California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Fresno Mayor Alan Autry met with Toyota representatives about building a Prius plant in Fresno, California.
Business Fleet Magazine Oct. 6, 2004
 
We've got a prius at work, and although I like the idea of hybrids, it really depends on the application as to whether it's worhtwile.

The Prius get 20km/l, or 56MPG (Imp), or about 47MPG(US)

A colleague with a Peugeot turbodiesel gets the same mileage.

However.......this is a rural area, so most of the mies are highway/country roads. The hybrid part of the hybrid is offering nothing.

Around town, and in the suburbs, then I'd say the hybrids will shine.
 
It's good to see that they're starting to make normal cars into hybrids...instead of ugly, small, $25,000 economy cars. Now they need to start making them diesel...100mpg shouldn't be out of the question. Just think if you could get 100 miles out of a gallon of used veggie oil!
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I own a 2004 Prius and have logged 20k miles on it since last Nov. So far, I'm very pleased with it. My mileage has ranged from 42 to 54 mpg, with the low numbers coming last winter and the highest just last month. My driving is about 75% highway and 25% city. I'm using Mobil 1 5W-30 and Toyota filter on the recomended 5k OCI.
I disagree with the statement that the hybrid (electric) part is wasted in highway driving. There are many times in hilly areas here that the ICE will shut down going down a hill, which has to save something. The Toyota system of being able to use any or all parts of the system depending on the need for power is great. The acceleration from a stop is very good when both gas and electric power combine.
I agree with ZmOz that we need to take this on to diesel/electric to get the best economy and I hear Toyota is working on it. Too bad no US car maker (except maybe Ford) is really working on this.
 
quote:

Originally posted by pa04prius:
Too bad no US car maker (except maybe Ford) is really working on this.

Actually, I think most of them are working on it. I heard something about a Chrysler hybrid...don't know if/when it will come out. Chevy is coming out with a hybrid full size pickup in the next couple of years. It doesn't work quite the same as the current hybrids, no electric motor ever drives the wheels. All the accessories are electric and it uses regenerative breaking to power them. I think it also shuts down the engine whenever you stop.
 
It seems to me the last time there was gas rationing someone in FLA built a full sized car with a DIESEL engine that got 77 mpg. Even the so called HYBRID doesn't do that. Of course the car companys and or oil companys bought it up.Someone must remember that it was all over the news at the time.
 
I own a 2005 Prius, I will modify it to use as little carbon based fuel as possible... I salute toyota for each little step forward! They are making the other guys drool! Locals are just noticing that they are now paying more monthly in gasoline over the past few years than there monthly car paymnet. Older folks are now paying more monthly for fuel oil than they do on there 30 year home mortages! This is not good...
 
Doesn't Europe have a VW diesel that gets 90mpg? They can't import it over here because of "emission regulations?" I thought that was pretty funny. I think the gas companies are REALLY scared.

Small 4cyl gas cars are getting very efficient too. My 2004 Pontiac Sunfire 2.2L Ecotec 140hp (bought used for under $10k w/ 6,000 miles) got 47+mpg on Iowa blacktops going 55mph. Out here in California going 70mph I get 35-37mpg on a daily 220 mile work trip.

My friend's 6.0L 400hp Escalade gets 13mpg. Sure is a nice car to drive though
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Can these 4cyl cars get more efficient? If so, I think tha'd be the way to go... Diesel is very promising too.
 
My father's 6.0L Suburban 2500 gets between 18 and 24 mpg.

Honda's Diesel (Europe-only for now) is rumored to get really fantastic mileage while making 180HP and 300ft-lbs on a 2.2L.

I'd think a 3-cyl. gas or diesel turbo'd to the gills would get the best mileage and still be alright for a "small" car (ie, Civic-sized).
 
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It seems to me the last time there was gas rationing someone in FLA built a full sized car with a DIESEL engine that got 77 mpg. Even the so called HYBRID doesn't do that. Of course the car companys and or oil companys bought it up.Someone must remember that it was all over the news at the time.


Frankly, I think this is an urban myth... just like the 200 mpg carburator. I remember those days. There were all kinds of wild rumors back then. None of them could be substantiated. People believe these stories because they want to believe them.

The dinky diesels on the road already can't get past 50 mpg. If a regular-sized car got 77 mpg on diesel, it would already be in production. Or the back-yard mechanics would already have been churning them out after Katrina from plans placed on the internet.

Show me the patent that is supposedly bought up by the evil oil companies. Patents are searchable.
 
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Doesn't Europe have a VW diesel that gets 90mpg? They can't import it over here because of "emission regulations?" I thought that was pretty funny.



VW's "Polo" has a 1.4L TDI that puts out about 80 hp @ 4000 rpm and 144 lb-ft of torque @ 2200 rpm. Combined fuel economy is 4.6 L/100km (51.13 mpg US). Go to their website and select the engine you want for more details. VW has a 1.9L TDI available with this car too.
 
Jerry, the link simply announces that they were able to acheive 92 mpg... it doesn't say HOW they accomplished it.
 
The way you acheive 92 mpg is by setting a world record. Didn't you read the article? What's so hard to understand?
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And a real world consumer who wants a 92 mpg car can buy one where???

From earlier in the thread:
Quote:


However.......this is a rural area, so most of the mies are highway/country roads. The hybrid part of the hybrid is offering nothing.




I also have an 04 Prius, bone stock, and I still manage to get 46-47 mpg typically on the highway. And that's cruising at just below 80 mph. If I decide to slow it down, I end up hitting very near the EPA 50 mpg.

One feature that is very consistently overlooked in today's hybrids, esp HSD cars like the Prius, is how they "bundle" other technologies that enhance fuel economy, apart from the "hybrid" nature of the system. For example, the 1NZ gas engine in the Prius uses it's VVT system to achieve Atkinson cycle operation through much of its envelope. This sacrifices some power and tq, but hugely boost the mileage. The gas engine also shuts off any time it can, and almost always at redlights and when stopped in traffic. Such features aren't really "inherent" to the hybrid nature of the car, but they further boost fuel economy, and the Atkinson cycle feature explains why the car does better in highway cruising than some would expect when theorizing only from the hybrid nature of the design.
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Originally Posted By: outdoorsman310
priuses have low tailpipe emissions but the entire manufacturing process releases a lot of pollutants.


You dug up a 40 year old thread to post this drivel? Sure, all cars consume resources in production. No car is made of pixie dust. The overwhelming environmental impact from a vehicle, any vehicle, over its life-span is fueling it.
 
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