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Comments
http://www.gizmag.com/compressed-air-car-set-for-us-launch-in-2010/8896/
My sister-in-law had a Xsara Picasso. You've never seen a stranger car.
The RAV has go to be even smaller.
The number of people who have actually sat back there might edge out the number of crosstour owners, but it's going to be close.
A *lot* of 3rd rows are there mostly for bragging rights. Very few are actually comfortable for adults - besides minivans, the Expedition and a few other large SUVs.
Even the Tahoe positions your knees in your chest. There's no well for you to put your feet, due to the live axle.
Even seemingly large vehicles like the Q7, MDX, etc.
Sounds like they focused in on a good amount of the criticism with the outgoing model, mainly the interior cabin quality. And kudos for getting the weight down.
Still amazing off the line, under 6 seconds to 60 is just plain nuts in this class...
I'm glad to see Toyota didn't fumble like Honda did. The new Civic is a huge miss.
Toyota Production Rises For First Time In A Year (AutoObserver)
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/28/2012-toyota-prius-plug-in-first-drive-review/-
Soon to be clogging HOV lanes in Cali.
Green Clean Air Vehicle Stickers pending federal approval will be available as of January 1, 2012 and will be valid through January 1, 2015 to the first 40,000 applicants that purchase or lease cars meeting California's enhanced advanced technology partial zero emission vehicle (AT PZEV) requirements. Vehicles qualifying for this new sticker will be added to this website, however applications for the new sticker will only be accepted once the program begins on January 1, 2012. Qualifying vehicles purchased before the program begins WILL be eligible to receive the green decals.
So far the Volt is the only Plug-in hybrid with a tax credit. Will Toyota even have theirs on the road before the HOV stickers are gone? That sold many Prius early on.
IF
• Meets California’s most stringent tailpipe emission standard
• Has zero evaporative emissions
• Has a 15 yr/150K mile warranty on the emissions system and;
• Has a 10 yr/150K warranty on the zero emission energy storage system.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/factsheets/clean_vehicle_incentives.pdf
Is that tougher than on the original Prius. I remember complaints about Prius catalytic convertors going bad after the normal warranty and Toyota refusing to replace. And they were over $1000.
Lots of people claimed the hybrid batteries died early and cost $8,000 to replace. That wasn't true either.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef28f96/90#MSG90
PS
I believe CA law was 100k miles on AT-PZEV
Good question. They're saying "Spring" for the release.
40,000 is a lot of cars, though. How many Teslas and Volts and Leafs are on the roads? Just in Cali, too. Probably not nearly that many.
This does give the Volt and Leaf a nice push, though.
I doubt they'll run out of the 40k until the Prius is released. In fact I bet it will last a year or so before they run out.
Just a SWAG.
In Brazil the taxi fleet has gone to CNG. It has a really low cost per mile to operate there. They convert cars cheap, stuff a cylinder in the trunk, voila.
Guy next door just installed a whole-house generator that runs on CNG - it's piped to his house so he never even needs to go get gas! Pretty trick system.
He could, in theory, go off the electical grid, but he'd still be relying on the CNG supply.
Top it off, the US has enough CNG that we could tell OPEC to go shove it.
Suprisingly, there are three CNG refueling locations within 10 miles of my house. Price per gallon is about $2.40 and with the 8 gallon tank in the Civic GX, you get a range of about 250 miles. For me, that would require refueling about every 5 days.
Not a rendering from Toyota but they really should really take notice of this because it's a natrual successor IMO. :shades:
The next WRX should spin off the Impreza platform, so it will be a unique model, probably more swoopy than the practical Impreza hatch.
I really think they will exploit the Subaru partnership this way, and use that platform for their own model as well.
Toyota Adds 4-Cylinder Engine Production In Alabama (AutoObserver)
Swee-eet Home A-la-bama!
No only that the only two commercial stations within 15 miles of me closed. I think there is two open to the public stations in all San Diego county. In my case I don't have NG, so it would not be viable. If I needed a commuter right today it would probably be the Leaf with Solar panels to charge it. Thankfully I don't need a commuter car as I would probably slit my wrist if I had to fight that traffic everyday.
Yes, San Diego traffic sucks, but when I think of L.A., I know we have it good in San Diego. It's all relative and comparative.
What was that about?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What is interesting is the Toyota plug-in hybrid from 2010 is the only car listed for the new HOV green tag. The Chevy Volt is not on the list. And neither is the new Toyota Plug-in due out in 2012. The Leaf and Tesla qualify for the unlimited number of white tags. There are a lot of vehicles allowed with those tags. Take a look at he list. Anything on CNG is allowed.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm
I think right now it makes a lot more sense then electric, even without many stations, at least if you have CNG at home.
Think about it - you fill up right at home for your commute. The only time you would even need a station is for long trips, and most families have a 2nd car. A small city car would probably always fill up at home, and has MUCH more range than EVs do.
In the short-term, at least, it's much more viable, IMHO.
That's a drawback. I can be lazy when I get home from work. I don't want to have to remember to connect something so I can drive the next day.
We are spending $millions of tax dollars subsidizing these new charging stations. I wonder who will pay to maintain them?
Here in Boston, 150 stations are being installed and will charge for the power hookup. I would presume that over time they would cover the cost of maintenance - just like a gas station.
Ah caint make no sense of them there picty-grams!
I guess I was thinking they can fill up a propane tank in 30 seconds, so I thought it would be similar for a car at home (<5 minutes at least).
Wonder how the taxis do it in Brazil. I guess they tend to stay within city limits, and can fill up at commercial stations.
Also I guess it would depend on the city. They may not ever get outside the city in Sao Paulo or Rio.
They lose trunk space, though, because they add a long propane tank in the trunk. Longer and higher capacity than the kind used for BBQ grilles.
You mention propane which is another alternative fuel.
And yes, the Brazilian cabs run on CNG or any combination of gas/ethanol. Technically it's tri-fuel.
Pretty nifty!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas_vehicle
An excerpt:
Popular among taxi drivers, the Brazilian Fiat Siena Tetrafuel 1.4, is a multifuel car that runs as a flexible-fuel on pure gasoline, or E20-E25 blend, or pure ethanol (E100); or runs as a bi-fuel with natural gas (CNG). Below: the CNG storage tanks in the trunk.
Calling it Tetra is cheating a bit, because they refer to a mix as a 4th and 5th fuel, really it uses 3 - ethanol, gasoline, and CNG.
Lemme see if I can hotlink the photo:
Looks like he's got 2 scuba tanks in the trunk!