The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => General Chat - Non Pinball/coin-opp Discussion => Topic started by: Caveoftreasures on July 01, 2012, 07:27:27 PM
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(video added 3/7/2012)
I went and had a good look last week, and again today at the new 2012 range of brand new TOYOTA passenger vehicles.
WOW, what a nice batch of well presented and thought out cars. What I was most looking at was the brand new June released 2012 Hybrid cars. The Camry and Aurion Hybrid vehicles, as well as the latest Prius V -7 seater sports wagons. WOW.
The petrol figures for all of these cars was absolutely AMAZING to say the least. With the carbon tax and petrol set to rise etc, it really pays to fully investigate these new technologys, and it doesnt pay to own a standard petrol car anymore at all.
With the Camry Hybrid sitting on around 6 litres per 100 kilometres, and the Prius V seven seater sitting on only 4.4 litres per 100 klms, they are winners for sure. And around town driving is all battery. It recharges as it drives when the petrol motor kicks in. Ever driven a car at 80 kilometres per hour which is grunty and there is no motor noise at all, amazing. And acceleration on battery is as fast if not faster than on petrol. This technology for 2012 is space age 4 sure. Very very impressed and I am a huge car guy.
My wife drives a Camry, which is the previous shape/model and it has been absolutely bullet proof since day 1. It is great on fuel relatively speaking being a large car, but we have worked out we would EASILY save around $60 a week if we changed to the Hybrid models. The new Camry Atara is a beautiful car, and they are doing great deals. BUT its the Prius V seven seater Sports Wagon which I am looking closely at.
It is nothing like the older Prius models with all new technology accross the board. It has a 8 year warranty on the new huge Lithium Batery etc, and my dealer offers a extended 220,000 kilometre warranty with everything but the battery getting 5 years, and battery 8 years.
To show how good these cars are, the Gold Coasts largest Taxi company is changing over around 3,000 vehicles to the new Hybrid Toyota technology. Talk about grunty and dead quiet, no noise at all in the battery mode. The range the car has on battery ios much larger, everything is just amazing, and u have to drive the 2 x models to fully appreciate what the latest and greatest in car technology offers.
Pricing for the Hybrid version is only apx $4,000 more than a normal car, which means it takes only apx 1 x year to re-coup your additional costs then it is half price running costs for petrol for ever after.
Beautiful to sit in and beautiful to drive. Anyway, i just thought i would share my experiences with you, and the finance rates are like 3percent which is insanely cheap. For business ofcourse, a 4 year lease with a 50 percent balloon means a very low payment, and the payment is only apx 30 percent more than what you would save in normal fuel running costs, which means, the additional cost to switch over to this new 2012 technology is relatively inexpensive.
As they say, there is nothing like the smell of a brand new car, except maybe, the smell of a brand new woman.lol
Thanks for reading guys. ! ^^^
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I have a close affilliation with Cairns Taxis and they have been the test fleet for Toyota for Prius for a few years now.
The Taxi owners report fantastic economy BUT only if you ditch the car when it gets to 150K as the repair bills skyrocket after that milage - batteries, gearboxes, control units all costing THOUSANDS to repair.
Also EVERY driver I have spoken to says they are cramped and CRAP to drive.
Have a prang and you are off the road for about 4 times that of a 'normal' car mainly because nobody knows how to piece humpty together again.
These cars are far from being 'green' or planet friendly - the batteries and other issues make them far worse than a Falcon at the end of the day.
If you buy one get rid of it at 100K or less.
I agree 100% with Jeremy - Prius are SHIT cars! They LOOK shit, drive shit and cost MORE to run (at the end of the day) than an 'ordinary' car and they certainly ARE NOT green (what a great con job by Toyota though).
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I think after the investigating I have done, alot of those things mentioned may have been for the previous models and technology etc.
Unless someone has closely looked at the big changes for the latest models which have only been out for a few weeks, I find alot of that criticism hard to accept.
4.4 litres per 100 klms is far greener than everything else on the road, and a Falcon runs at a 10 or 12 litre cycle, which is 3 times the fuel burn.
I found the 2012 model wagon and the hybrid camry a beautiful drive, and I have driven the latest falcons, commodores, hondas etc etc etc. The figures after close examination definately stack up, and the fixed servicing costs from Toyota, up to 220,000 lkms are mostly $165 each, with only the minority at around $320.
I think the 2012 June release cars are alot different to the previous models from my investigating. Also, the 7 seater Prius V runs the new Lithium battery which has the 8 yr warranty, so it will never cost me a cent, and Io would be replacing the car before 220,000 klms anyway. It wont cost me a cent for 5 yrs, 220,000 or a battery ever.
Dont forget taxis dont have the same warranty for a family car.
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Just because it uses less fuel doen't make it green. It is the overall cost of making it etc etc etc.
At the end of the day the costs are much higher than you might imagine.
Like I said, I am involved with Taxis and they have the advantage of acelerated testing as they will do in a year what a family car does in five.
I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole knowing what I know.
About 10% of the Cairns fleet are Prius and Camrys less than six months old and are no better and no different to the others.
Don't be conned by sharp talking salesmen would be my advice.
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I had the pleasure of driving the latest Honda Insight for a week. I was very impressed with the ride and more importantly, the HUGE clearance space from entering the front doors. Sussed out the battery pack in the boot - not that big. If Honda made these cars with ALL aluminium body & frame and retailed for $30k, then perhaps the wife's CRV would go.
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When its running on battery alone... what is it that has charged the battery? Is it charged when driving on fuel or by another means?
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I have actually been talking at length with a friend who is a Engineer at head office Toyota. I have known him for years and he put me onto Toyotas 6 or 7 years ago. I dont deal with salesmen when I buy new cars, i only ever deal with the Dealership Principal if possible, or dealership Salesmanager at best if I feel comfortable enough. Most people at toyota dealerships are extremely professional. If you have walked into one recently, i am sure most people would feel that way.
My Engineer mate was the one who explained all the differences to me about the new 2012 model compared to the previous models. The newer technology just released is the best in the world and Toyota leads that technology with Honda in 2nd place.
The last Prius models have well n truly been superceeded. I have actually driven the old model, and compared it to the latest model, massive difference in feel n performance/build etc. I think if anyone was to drive the latest offerings from Toyota they would be very impressed. Saving a good 4 grand a year over a 5 year period adds up to a 20 grand saving. Fixed servicing costs take care of the rest.
After doing my homework, I feel Toyota has some very attractive propositions. Paying $1.50 a litre will soon go to $1.70 plus, and it is believed will rise to around $2.00 a litre within the next 5 years at the latest. Pray Labor Govt doesnt get in again or it will be fuel cost doomsday.lol So a car that ticks all the boxes and is a seven seater that does 4.4 litres per 100 is a excellent choice for my family I believe.
Anyway, everyone will have a different opinion, but wasting money on fuel is something I am well n truly past.
I think most people would be impressed with the 2012 range if you are a Toyota fan. Anyone who has a spare 30 mins, my advice is to Pop in and check out whats just been released. Some very nice vehicles for reasonable pricing. Doesnt hurt to take a peak anyway.
Gav,
the motor charges battery when petrol motor is running, and it also charges some other way when moving but its a bit technical. I didnt quite understand all of my friends Toyota speak, but his high reccommendation which he doesnt give lightly was good enough to get me to a dealership. The car can run on std 91 ethanol, or 95 RON or 98 Premium etc.
If u are chock o block with 7 people and luggage, they reccommend premium, but you dont have to, and the car can tow a decent weight as well. Check out Toyota website, worth a quick peak. Just note internet pricing is apx 20percent over the std dealer realistic pricing.
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i have four falcons, none are green lol and all modified, if it aint chewing juice im not interested in it. there is a point where you have to draw the line between sensibility and living life. worrying about how much petrol my car chews isnt one of those things that will make me loose sleep. ()
cavy when you sell a few pins mate, go out and buy that v8 you always wanted. and drive the shit out of it man and enjoy it. lol
you know you want too and you probably deserve too. lol !*!. a Prius will never give you the satisfaction of a v8. forget what hybrid is best Cavey instead What fuel guzzling v8 do you want??? ^^^
wack a solar panel or two on your roof if you worry about al lthis sort of thing, and
Ill plant a tree in my backyard so you dont feel so bad about the environment when driving your new v8 mate lol
DO IT you only live once man :D
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One other point about these pieces of rubbish - if you run out of petrol the car stops!
Never mind that the batteries might be fully charged and could take you possibly 30~40km - this idiotic design says "no petrol = STOP"
What is that all abut?
Sorry Cavey but they have a LONG way to go before they are practical or green.
Currently they are still a big experiment.
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I recently purchased a new light car to replace a Toyota Yaris that suffered uneconomical to repair hail damage on Christmas day.
The new Prius C caught my eye, but I couldn't comfortably slide in behind the wheel. For some reason there was not enough adjustment on the steering wheel to allow this.
Ended up tossing up between the Toyota Yaris sedan and the Hyundai Accent sedan and went with the Accent for better features on the standard model.
Yesterday it carried 5 people around 500km on less than a tank of petrol ($45).
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The exercise was to try n find a 7 seater vehicle which didnt chew the gas. The current Toyota stuff is the only stuff on the market that can achieve this. Toyota has been developing Prius technology for apx 8 yrs now so they have got the latest generation right for sure and are world leaders/developers in this field.
I used to have a brand new WRX STi and at the same time a Ford 5.4 litre GT and have had 351 1978 Ford Cobras (with blue stripes) and the cars were very fun, with the motto of "theres nothing like a V8" in my head every second I drove them.
BUT the issue is nowdays, u speed, you pay bigtime in tickets $$, u speed too much, u lose ya licence, you speed a bit too much with a HSV or something else next to you, having a little bit of a drag on the beautifully large QLD tollways, and u get your car taken off you and it gets sold at the police/govt auctions, plus loss of licence for 2 years etc. Thats why I gave up the V8's. Its impossible not to thrash them cause you just want to hear that motor sing perfection.lol
I didnt think I would ever buy a hybrid car, but times are changing.lol
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Im yet to be convinced on them.
reason they have not been popular so far is that energy in didnt equate to energy out and so it cost more to charge than it did to drive.
A 7 seater that runs on a battery?? Thats some friggin battery!
I cant see how its done without some hidden energy input from somewhere...
Even the solar panels on the house roof... ad says HUUUGE 3KW solar system for only $1995.00 BEFORE July 1 as then Gov Tarriffs apply... my wife saw this and sxaid WOW!! 3KW! lets get it... i then point out that the electric fry pan pulls 2.4KW... the Induction one we want pulls 3KW!!...So thats the fry pan sorted... what about the rest of the house?
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just modern technology Gav. some clever engineers at toyota inventing all this stuff. it was great to drive.
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just modern technology Gav. some clever engineers at toyota inventing all this stuff. it was great to drive.
Sorry - it isn't, it's just marketing 'spin'.
Like I said, I am involved with these things on the 'coal face' and it ain't pretty I can assure you.
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just modern technology Gav. some clever engineers at toyota inventing all this stuff. it was great to drive.
Yeh... im always skeptical and i know for a fact that there is no such thing as a free lunch....... Combustion engine works because the energy in happened thousands of years ago when forests decayed etc and it all turned to oil and so it gives the illusion of great power out for not much put in.
Id like to know more about the battery as some of the energy in is from running the car, same as a basic lead/acid system we have.. but it only stores enough power to turn the engine over to get it started.
Theres another energy input from somewhere... and its this somewhere that needs to be verified before we can applaud a green car.
So far Green = Money. I cant see that equation changing
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Ok...looked it up,
Car runs on a dual motor system, both electric and petrol... seems the car can cruise for short distances on electric alone and at slow speeds. When acceleration is required.. petrol kicks in and at speed. The innovation in the charging of the battery is that it is still being charged when braking.
So both engines run concurrently and although there are no real figures of speeds achieved, its pretty safe to assume that the first say 20kmph would be electric and thereafter is petrol driven. Battery can only charge when its being petrol driven, so the movement of the car alone is not enough to sustain battery power..... battery requires more energy in than it can output
But an obvious saving on fuel here.
Battery is warranted for 160,000klm or 8 years.
Not the sort of car id want to have to take to the mechanics at my own cost though... bet that friggin hurts!
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Guys, I hear what you are saying but I have to completely and respectfully disagree with you on most points. The Toyota statistics dont lie, and I have driven the car. Toyota has sold millions of these vehicles, and now all of the camry range are hybrid equipped as well for those who want to order that way.
Also, with a 8 yr battery warranty, a extended 220,000 klm or 5 yr warranty, it would never cost me a cent except fixed price servicing.
Some people just dont like accepting new technology and that is Ok, but I have accepted it based on the facts alone and on driving the vehicle as well as reading various independant wite ups on the new Toyota Hybrid technology, and all the ones I have read say completely the opposite and this technology is both proven and acknowledged by the car industry. I have to go with that and my own research.
The Atkins cycle motor is something very different to a normal motor and the car doesnt even have a normal gearbox like any std car. Realistically, it is a gearless gearbox without the std 1st to 4th gears with overdrive. It is something completely different, being a one gear variable drive box, very intelligent and ultra modern. I also note, Toyota hasnt released a bad car for 20 yrs and are known for bulletproof cars and are probably the worlds most reliable manufacturer.
I also note, that Taxi companies dont change over 3,000 cars to this Toyota Hybrid technology unless they are certain it is a financial winner, and thats what they are doing in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. When i flew to Sydney recently, I caught a brand new Toyota Camry Hybrid vehicle from the airport, and the driver/owner loved it and said all the taxis in sydney were also going that way. The driver/owner fellow said even LPG vehicles were now dinosaurs etc and the hybrid camry's were cheaper to run and even more reliable.
Anyway, this isnt a thread to bag the hell out of Toyota or Hybrid vehicles, It was supposed to be a positive one to share something that more and more people are moving into. I am sure when the first I.Pad was released alot of people bagged it etc, but it now has become the norm. These hybrid cars are now becoming the norm with all manufacturers moving into that technology. The USA is the same.
Also, you can drive alot faster than 20 miles per hour on the battery motor alone. I was doing apx 60 klms and the petrol motor hadnt kicked in at all.
A personal drive of the new 2012 vehicles are the way to go, otherwise it is all guessing. Anyway, I think these cars are excellent and I totally love this new technology. Each to their own. Its all good.
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"Toyota hasnt released a bad car for 20 yrs and are known for bulletproof cars and are probably the worlds most reliable manufacturer"
Cavey please WAKE UP!
Toyota KILLED dozens of their customers as recently as last year....yes, KILLED them with a fault in their cars that they have NEVER disclosed......
Toyota is a shonky company that make shonky cars that are bland and UNSAFE! How they have hoodwinked people like you makes me totally amazed.
Don't believe me - do your own Googling - you might just change your mind about Toyota 'ethics'….
QUOTE:
"Toyota withheld a key document from federal investigators probing electronic causes of unintended acceleration in the automaker's vehicles, reported CNN on Thursday."
According to internal documents obtained by the network's "Anderson Cooper 360," Toyota was aware of a cruise control issue on a pre-production car internally called the 250L which caused the vehicle to start moving forward on its own. "The cruise control activates by itself at full throttle when the accelerator pedal position sensor is abnormal,"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/02/toyota-sudden-acceleration_n_1316597.html
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/how-to-deal-with-unintended-acceleration
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/189181/1/Toyota-accelerator-goes-wild-kills-4-JWs-in-field-service
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yes i did hear of a stuff up which i thought was isolated to the usa and that vehicle build only.
the fact is that no one is perfect. personally, i reckon toyota australia would be run better because our cars seem to have far less recalls.
i cant knock toyota australia because they have been world leader in number 1 position for many years and top seller in australia also for many many years.
i didnt think i could do better than that history etc.
anyway, i will take ya for a beer oneday mike and we will go in the hybrid.lol I might change ya mind after ten beers mate.lol
its all good.
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I have reservations about Toyota's hybrid product for reasons mentioned here, the energy used to make these things, particularly the battery packs, seems to outweigh the good.
Now we have the Holden Volt - charge up overnight on 240 AC and drive to work and back on pure electricity - so in other words, lets burn more coal (that fires the turbines that generates our 240 AC) - so, to work and back on coal power - that's got to be good for the environment!
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Guys, have u seen how big the battery pack is in the Prius V Station wagon is ? I actually looked at one and Its smaller than a carton of beer and requires bugger all to make.
In actual fact it is now the lithium type. A hybrid car uses less than half of the petrol a normal car does, every day, every drive. I am not sure it could be argued the energy required to make one battery could possibly outweigh saving thousands of litres of petrol per year and the energy/polloution to make that fossill fuel. One battery versus thousands of litres of less used petrol/juice !
I have really investigated this new technology and spent 20 or 30 hours on it and think it would be premature for anyone to so easily write it off without that investigation time n energy like the time I have put into it. I just say keep an open mind cause it really is smart/latest technology that works. I will make a video after I get one,lol and maybe convince u guys later. Remember the saved 4 to 5 grand a year on petrol means 2 x new pinnys. Does that help.lol
I know what u mean about the Chevvy Volt battery only car in the USA. I have watched a documentary about it. The battery only car only works well/becomes green etc if it is recharged on electricity from wind turbine/dam/solar power generated electricity. I am guessing one day that we all might plug our cars ionto our residentialroof solar panels, but thats probably 6 to 10 years away.
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Mate, im not writing it off, id just like to see some specs before declaring it the answer to road travel.
I looked it up on the official Toyota website..... there are no real figures there.... all it says is battery is used for " slow" speeds... you tell me 60Klm+... i hardly call that slow, so why so vague on the website?
IF it allows you to use 50% LESS fuel then id say that figure is something to shout about... problem is that they are NOT shouting about it and my instincts start to kick and and tell me there is a vital piece of information missing.
So we have cutting edge technology and piss poor marketing... or.... they are witholding figures to suit an agenda.
Sorry mate.. i hear you OK, but you are shouting louder than Toyota themselves and given your enthusiasm for Stern ACDC which you now want to sell, we can be forgiven for taking it all with a pinch of salt
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I just think it (their website marketing) is designed to get you into their dealerships. They hand out the 4.4 litres per 100 klms etc on the brochures i got when i went to the dealership etc, plus lots more handouts etc.
Dont worry about the Stern pinballs etc, I think the AC/DC machine is excellent. After i sell every other machine (apx 69 of them) the AC/DC will be the last machine sitting here and i will probably keep that one with my star trek voyager machine.
I dont mind anyone disagree-ing with me about the car (or anything for that matter) but sometimes its dis-heartening when people dont say much of anything positive at all and shoot down new ideas so easily without much investigating. Anyway, it doesnt matter, its only a idea i felt/feel positive about. Each to their own.
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question
when buying/ recharging a hybrid product is it Carbon tax free?...... and are you better off buying a stand alone /portable solar panel recharge station to take with you?
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Brett, if you like it buy it, we all have opinions based on knowledge/experience and/or ignorance.
I must say I am not a fan of "Hybrid" technology but some friends have them and most like them but they take some getting used to. My family is all BMW so I don't have a dog in this fight but time will tell if this technology is anything great.
Good luck with your search and decision.
^^^
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question
when buying/ recharging a hybrid product is it Carbon tax free?...... and are you better off buying a stand alone /portable solar panel recharge station to take with you?
Always wondered why, if they are genuinely trying to be emission friendly, the roofs of these vehicles aren't solar panels so that they charge whenever they are out (and there's sun), or parked in the sun all day etc? Must be a reason? !@#
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probably so they can keep driving if it rains for 4 or 5 days, but you do raise a excellent point.
When u think about it, all cars could take alot of energy in from solar like u have said.
we all know just how hot it gets inside a car after leaving it in the carpark for an hour.
sometimes i think the oil companies own half of the car companies ?
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question
when buying/ recharging a hybrid product is it Carbon tax free?...... and are you better off buying a stand alone /portable solar panel recharge station to take with you?
Always wondered why, if they are genuinely trying to be emission friendly, the roofs of these vehicles aren't solar panels so that they charge whenever they are out (and there's sun), or parked in the sun all day etc? Must be a reason? !@#
cost maybe? but i do know there are even decals style solar systems, where it is like putting a decal down that is essentially a solar panel, i saw it once on a solar car where the entire car was just covered in solar panel instead of paint. crazy shit but you would think it would have some sort of solar charing station. imagine the electricity bill from the Holden volt charging that thing up every day. it would be a nightmare getting your fuel bill in 1/4 which it would be essentially like when you get your electricity bill in 1/4s. all these cars are fundamentally flawed imo
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Brett, if you like it buy it, we all have opinions based on knowledge/experience and/or ignorance.
I must say I am not a fan of "Hybrid" technology but some friends have them and most like them but they take some getting used to. My family is all BMW so I don't have a dog in this fight but time will tell if this technology is anything great.
Good luck with your search and decision.
^^^
thanks Jeff.
I must say, I am a huge fan of german cars. the germans make cars for their autobahns and u can sit on 180 or 200 all day, so its no surprise they build excellent motors, gearboxes n drive-lines. I am a sucker for mercedes benz cause its a little more conservative, but BMW definately make the best euro sports cars for sure. driven a few, and they are real drivers cars. thats when u dont care about petrol at all, but having said that, the euro cars are very efficient already. beautiful cars.
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question
when buying/ recharging a hybrid product is it Carbon tax free?...... and are you better off buying a stand alone /portable solar panel recharge station to take with you?
Always wondered why, if they are genuinely trying to be emission friendly, the roofs of these vehicles aren't solar panels so that they charge whenever they are out (and there's sun), or parked in the sun all day etc? Must be a reason? !@#
Yep.... not much making sense anywhere anymore... solar panels on a car would be ideal... car is a DC circuit, solar provides DC power. Instead they push solar for households which is AC power.
A car charges up pretty well when running and it only needs to retain enough power to turn the engine over at start, once thats achieved, the battery is pretty redundant.
The whole world is arse over tit.. ive got pictures from 1910 that show solar hot water systems on roofs... then it became cheap to burn fossil fuel so the solar technology was thrown out. Now its back and its research obtains very little Gov funding to increase the efficiency of the cells.. couple that with Gov incentives ending for installation of such items and you are left scratching your head to find the logical path.
I cant see how any of it makes sense.. we p;ay more for electricity so the CO2 emitters can buy permits to produce CO2... only a politician would see the sense in this and its mainly cos someone somewhere is making a good buck out of it. The turbines dont shut down when we have green hour... they keep running... the HAVE to keep running, so we are comitted to producing more power than is necessary, wether we use it or not is neither here nor there.
I did a project at TAFE some 10 years ago studying salt nitrate towers in USA... they have a solar farm that produces more than the community can consume... excess is stored in large nitrate towers that act like huge capacitors... its a great system!
Does Australia embrace any of these ideas? No.. its easier to continue digging coal and then punish the consumer for the power it produces.
Call me naiive, but i can only summise that mans contribution to climate change is negligable ( the world evolves naturally.. always has done and even Australia was once under a great ocean)... save the planet.. go green is a rue to extract more $$ from the people through fear and someone somewhere is making big dollars from it all.
Sometimes i think im going mad cos years ago im bloody sure we were heading for another ice age... McDonalds stopped using the plastic cartons etc and the world was healed... now we are heating up. Stop expecting me to keep extracting money from my arse... bring back the plastic carton and lets all get on with life again...LOL
Rant...Rant.... ^.^ ^.^
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Anyone interested in Big Business Corporate Control and the idea of electric cars should have a watch of a great doco called "Who Killed the Electric Car?" about the GM car that it also killed off - you can watch it on line here http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6437080948273722203 pretty interesting viewing. Having said that, the issue I mentioned above (how the electricity is made, which is for a large part burning coal anyway) has to be considered.
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I watched that doco a few years ago and it is very interesting. it is blatant that the big oil companies and the govt stepped in and screwed the developement of the true electric car. Its a shame for the USA with its bad smog/polloution problem. Their big gas gussling cars use alot more fuel per 100klms than any other country in the world. I think Australia is mentioned in that doco several times as being one of the, if not the, best fuel per mile car makers on the planet.
Thats another reason why the new Toyota cars are so good, they never need electricity to run the battery they have on board because the car charges itself, which is why the 2012 vehicles are so smart and use so much less petrol than any other same sized car on the planet, very impressive.
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You guys still going at it.....Anyway, here's a few pics.
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Where's Honda at with Fuel Cell technology? that would seem to be the real answer - running on hydrogen and making water as a by-product.
Toyota have come up with one really good car lately - the 86. Pity it's made (badges and all) by Subaru. I have BRZ No. 11 being delivered next week - sadly, I will continue to burn fossil fuel for the foreseeable future.
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I have BRZ No. 11 being delivered next week - sadly, I will continue to burn fossil fuel for the foreseeable future.
Awesome Nick.
Saw the Toyota tv commercial the other night - not a bad looking car.
The principle of Hybrids remind me of how our forefathers use to drive the family car back in the days - stop at the lights, put gear in N, then change back into gear LOL.
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Take the bus.
<.>
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what happens when you are involved in a crash?? is there a chance in these electric cars you are just strapped to a giant electric chair?? how much power do these batteries pump out in a hybrid?
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what happens when you are involved in a crash?? is there a chance in these electric cars you are just strapped to a giant electric chair?? how much power do these batteries pump out in a hybrid?
Got to be better than sitting on a tank of combustable fuel?
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The Sanyo batteries will go pop!
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I have BRZ No. 11 being delivered next week - sadly, I will continue to burn fossil fuel for the foreseeable future.
Awesome Nick.
Saw the Toyota tv commercial the other night - not a bad looking car.
Toyota got them first, so have started deliveries, and Subaru who made them had to wait a month - go figure? !@#
I sat in the Toyota badged version on Saturday, was a bit worried my big feet would not fit the footwell, but plenty of room.
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I do like the Toyota Hilux commercial.
I can see Brett having withdrawal symptons, once his pinnies are gone.
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what happens when you are involved in a crash?? is there a chance in these electric cars you are just strapped to a giant electric chair?? how much power do these batteries pump out in a hybrid?
Got to be better than sitting on a tank of combustable fuel?
dont hybrids have fuel also??
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What about the cost to the envoironment with regard to mining the 'heavy metals' used in the battery technology.?
Any 'feel good' offset that you have by owning a green car is in total contradiction to the cost of resources used the make the damn thing. And then when they fail..? Can all this shit be recycled..? probably not. Its a double edged sword and only serves to make to make the armchair greenies feel better about themselves.
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go back a few posts where i mention making 1 x small battery doesnt outweigh saving/burning thousands of litres of fuel per annum.
i would have thought more people would have approached this new technology with more openess. its amazing at how many people come up with percieved negatives rather than just accepting/welcoming/investigating new and solid technology. i wonder if the i.pad trials had so much resistence. ? its probably just human nature. some of us look for reasons for things to succeed and others look for reasons to fail. thank god for engineers who never give up.lol
heres a review site, i havent read it all yet, but its something new
http://www.motoring.com.au/news-reviews-advice/results.aspx?N=2981+4294961108
type in toyota prius V in the search box, or any other car u might want to look for
I also searched 2012 toyota camry hybrid as well. all good reading.
Prince, yes matey, that is a excellent advert for toyota hilux.. really cool add for sure. thanks for listing it. i love it everytime i see it. its a man thing cause we all really do love our cars. they ara a great model as well. pretty bulletproof and a huge seller all round australia. oneday i will do a round australia trip and that vehicle - hilux would be perfect for every condition.
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video link answers the question about car doing 50 klms per hour on battery only etc.
http://www.motoring.com.au/videos/2012/mpv-and-campervan/hybrid-family-grows-with-prius-v-30731
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Actually... it doesnt. Battery only to just over 21Klm ph.. then engine and battery.
It certainly saves fuel on drive off point and stop start driving is very inefficient for a petrol driven car.
Engine still runs during deceleration and EXCESS energy is put back into the battery ( to a certain point.. battery can only hold so much charge)... you are still burning fuel at this point.
Yes.. it will save on fuel costs.. no doubt about that, but video clearly shows battery only to pull away with.
Dont get me wrong Cavey... this is an interesting car and im not slamming it here, what im trying to do is ascertain just HOW efficient it is without any Toyota salesman bullshit... no point in asking a car salesman if you want the truth.
Just how long the battery lasts is a very important point... i can clearly see the benefits of pulling away and achieving fuel efficiency here so long as speed reaches over 21klm. Battery life is crucial here because if driving in heavy traffic, speeds of over 21klm's are not always reached for quite some time... so the question of how long the battery lasts is absolutely crucial. If it runs dead, does it damage it? If it runs dead, im assumng normal fuel driving takes over.. im assuming this cos it is not explained.
And this is my point all along...... there are lots of unanswered questions and as a consumer we need to ensure that the benefits exceed the pitfalls... there are always pitfalls and its OK for Toyota to only want to demonstrate the positives as a selling point. But if its THAT good... then please explain the flipside of the coin... then and only then will i believe all i hear
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and one point I mentioned is that if you run out of petrol the car STOPS - regardless of the battery charge and the fact that it could easily power you to the nearest garage....WHY?
Isn't this one of the supposed advantages to having a partially battery powered car?
I can again reinforce that as I am VERY close to these pieces of shit being used as taxis (I am involved in the installation of the radio gear and other operational systems) I can assure the viewers that they are a very bad pile of crap!
The DRIVERS hate them...
The CUSTOMERS hate them.....
The owners LOVE them because their petrol bill is reduced (very short sighted view)....
They are FAR from green - they are CRAP!
Buy one and find out for yourself......
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it might be the reason for it stopping when running out fuel is to not let the batteries run flat??? which might damage them, thats my only conclusion as to why they would do that.
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Took my wife's CRV for servicing this morning, hence the pics of the courtesy hybrid car.
My understanding with all this is that the engine shuts off, once you're at complete standstill.
When the brake pedal is released, battery starts up the engine again.
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after test driving the 2012 prius v wagon, theres a few things of interets to understand. you have to drive the car to fully understand it.
when u are in the drivers seat, before u set off, you can chose to -
1. drive off from standing position in either battery only, or chose petrol only, or chose auto mode and the computer does it all.
2. when the car runs out of fuel, the battery still operates in the new toyota model i am told because the new one has the lithium battery, when it gets to a certain level it wont let u drive over a certain speed until it will ofcourse chose to slow til a safety stop, but given any car stops when out of petrol, the prius has the extra help with the battery. thats a bonus
3. I asked toyota australia today about who has these new V models and they have only been rolled out in the last 4 weeks. the cars u are talking about mike are not the same cars or models. toyota aust confirmed that about who has them and who doesnt. the old model is not the lithium battery, and the old model is, the older model. alot changes when a new model comes out.
the way to look at this new technology is to look at what it adds to a car. it simply gives u extra kilometres for free, thats right, free, cause travel on battery is free. and as we all know, strting off, and getting up to speed in a petrol car is where all the fuel is burned. de-accelerating is also free, cause its on battery. driving in traffic is free etc etc etc. so imagine if i added those features to your existing car, it means free driving without petrol for a certain time. then imagine if i made your current car use only 4.4 litres per kilometre instead of 8, or 10 or 12 litres per kilometre etc. you cant lose with this techology.
the videos show wwhere over 30 different car manufacturers are now using this technology, why, it works.
by the way, every taxi driver i have spoken to about hybrid loves them, so that stuff u said mike i find very hard to fathom. the cars are quiet, the cars are cheaper to run, much cheaper, the warranyty on the new model is 8 yrs for the battery, and the extended 220,000 klms or 5 years. its a winner. nothing can be said to knock those figures, nothing.
the cars are beautiful to drive n quiet, they are the latest 2012 builds with the latest stuff. if u look at the build quality of the latest stuff, whether it be prius V seven seater, or the entire camry range, just beautiful cars. ya cant knock progress unless u want to live in the past.
it wont be long before holden and ford etc follow suit. they are already working on the next ford falcon and commodore with the same technology.
why, because this technology saves money and is the latest. it will be mainstream sooner or later, and if you speak to ford, holden etc, their media dept say they are working on the next generation of hybrid vehicles. they all want a slice of the pie.
the prius 7 seater is perfect for my wife n the kids for her family car. its cheap to run. cheap to own with fixed price servicing. its cheap to lease at 3 percent, it wioll save me a good 60 a week in fuel costs, how can that be a bad thing, and because its toyota its safe n reliable.
driving one and listening to my mate, the toyota engineer, not a salesperson has convinced me its the latest n greatest technology. i cant argue with the facts. they are great vehicles. thats my opinion, and i reckon i am spot on. who wants to drive a gas gussler when you dont have to.
what other car has a speedo with heads up display built into the windscreen.its ultra modern. i think its a terrific batch of vehicles, prius or camry etc.
anyway, i like it, and that belief doesnt harm anyone else. etc.
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"extra kilometres for free, thats right, free, cause travel on battery is free. and as we all know, strting off, and getting up to speed in a petrol car is where all the fuel is burned. de-accelerating is also free, cause its on battery. driving in traffic is free etc etc etc. so imagine if i added those features to your existing car, it means free driving without petrol"
Sorry - nothing is free - you need energy to make the power, that comes from petrol in the case of this car.
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"extra kilometres for free, thats right, free, cause travel on battery is free. and as we all know, strting off, and getting up to speed in a petrol car is where all the fuel is burned. de-accelerating is also free, cause its on battery. driving in traffic is free etc etc etc. so imagine if i added those features to your existing car, it means free driving without petrol"
Sorry - nothing is free - you need energy to make the power, that comes from petrol in the case of this car.
+1 . Sorry Brett but you can't cheat the laws of Physics.
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The only point in the scenario where the car " recycles" energy is during the deceleration... fuel is still being spent at this point and because it is largely unnecessary and only happening to prevent the engine stalling.... the energy from this is used as a short charge to the battery, which is then spent moving the car forwards again up to 20klm ph... thats if you come to a dead stop, otherwise its fuel that drives you.
Figures of 4.4 ltrs fuel to 100klm is such a variable due to driving conditions. It would be better to quote its worst performance and its best ( 4.4) and then an average would be pretty much what you would experience.
In my ute, if i do 100klm at 100klm ph without speeding up or down, but a straight cruise my fuel efficiency leaps upwards... its the speed up from speed down that kills any figures.
I agree Brett.. it will save you $$ on fuel... how much it saves you over time against increased cost only time can tell
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when the car is running on battery only, its not using petrol. thats free.
and since most petrol is used in any car getting up to speed, this is the magic of this car, it gets up to 50 kilometres per hour on battery all the time from the start. therefore no fuel is used getting up to speed. no fuel use to 50 klms per hour is free. you cant argue against that. its a fact.
c'mon guys. stop splitting hairs, its the most modern fuel efficient car on the planet. THATS A FACT ! why would any one not think this is agood idea.
4.4 litres per 100 is combined driving using the legal australian ADR rules. 4.4 litres per 100 for a seven seater family wagon. its not impressive, its world class leading.
u can bring up this or bring up that, but it doesnt change the facts. and its petrol saving we are talking about. I have to believe toyota. those japs are just too smart.lol
anyway, stop busting my balls and go out and buy one u green tree hugging pinball players.lol
ITS FOR THE WIFE for farks sake, i gotta get her off my back n shut her up with a new car.lol u think i wanna buy her has gas gussling 4 wheel drive or some friggin people mover, it will cost me 3 times the petrol and alot more running costs. I need a efficient 7 seater. it has to be a toyota. nothing else is a petrol saver in 7 seater configuration. its the only one that doesnt suk juice like a hooker on a friday night.lol
remember, every cent saved from anyones wife is A VERY GOOD THING ! LOL
see u in a few weeks. i am otta here for a while. u guys can bag the shit out of it whilst i am away and i will come back and teach you old blokes some new tricks when i get back.lol
stay safe guys. have fun. i have enjoyed the debate, there not enough good debates on here unless all us nutcases give it a go.
see ya guys. bye for now. (I am off in my petrol gussling 6 cylinder BA ford wagon which goes like a rocket with a big wik up its arse.lol) ^^^ ^^^
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this reminds me of the south park episode on hybrid cars releasing "smug" not smog. its by far the funniest lol
heres a link of the makers talking about why they made it lol
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Mate... you need to watch your video again... the orange/ red circuit is the FUEL... green is battery.
Its battery only to just over 20klmph.. at which point the video stalls and then starts again.
Im not bagging it.. but i wont have it beefed up falsely either.
You sound like John Laws.... " with my good friends at Toyota"
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If they make a car that runs on beer I'm in.....oh hang on, I will end up drinking all the fuel and the car will never get started.
:D
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The Prius is just a modern day Horvarth - who here remembers this con....
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/features/horvaths-hydrogen-fairlane/story-e6freoro-1111119160884
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Mate... you need to watch your video again... the orange/ red circuit is the FUEL... green is battery.
Its battery only to just over 20klmph.. at which point the video stalls and then starts again.
Im not bagging it.. but i wont have it beefed up falsely either.
You sound like John Laws.... " with my good friends at Toyota"
see the additional post below gav for the electric motor differences.
yes for the john laws bit. i am a huge fan of toyota or mercedes benz.
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just spoke to toyota australia. the american version in the video is different to the australian model. the usa model has decided to use the older style nickle metal hydride batteries and they left the battery in the boot in the usa version, thus the electric motor performance is different.
the japaneese and australian release is the only cars to have the new lithium console mounted area battery and thus the speed whilst in electric is different and provides faster speeds. thats where the 20 klms per hour versus the aussie 50 klms per hour comes in.
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just spoke to toyota australia. the american version in the video is different to the australian model. the usa model has decided to use the older style nickle metal hydride batteries and they left the battery in the boot in the usa version, thus the electric motor performance is different.
the japaneese and australian release is the only cars to have the new lithium console mounted area battery and thus the speed whilst in electric is different and provides faster speeds. thats where the 20 klms per hour versus the aussie 50 klms per hour comes in.
It's still a shitbox! You know what they say - "you can't make cream out of cow shit"…......
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I will do ya a deal , when u can show me conclusive scientic data to prove its a shitbox i will believe ya. lol
I am still siding with the toyota engineering dept. some very talented people there. Oh what a feeling Toyota ! lol
and by the way, they can also turn cowshit and pigshit into methane which also runs engines etc worldwide and gets good $$.
SO it does look like u can turn cowshit into usable cream after all, and get paid for it ! lol
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I was looking into this when I was about to purchase a new vehicle and there are diesels that are more fuel efficient than the hybrids. I imagine in its class (7 seater suitable for younger kids) the Prius V would most fuel-efficient.