Featured As gas prices have dropped, so have owner's EV/hybrid loyalty

whole foods has 186 KW on its north austin store (lots more space than its downtown headquarters which runs on 100% wind) Its impressive looking but only partially powers the grocery store.

Freedom Solar Power: Whole Foods Market, the Domain | SolarPro Magazine

 

All that - plus the Duffy Boat - rooftop PV recharged of course


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You've got to love the simplicity of the Synergy drivetrain for TCO. No starter motor. No clutch(es). No gears (as in shifting gears). No timing belt (I have always loathed that maintenance "item"). Low-rev Atkinson cycle ICE (no redlining). Brakes augmented by the motor generator (less wear). TCO! TCO!

 

no serpentine belt. no brakes.

 

I'm pretty sure you meant "no serpentine belt and parasitic loads like water pump, AC compressor, hydraulic power pump, and alternator."

Bob Wilson

 

Those old Honda CRX and Geo Metro's that get 50MPGs are death-traps in an accident, especially with today's heavier Cars, SUV's, and Trucks on the road, and they would get nowhere near that much with today's safety standards...

 

Amen! I used to think hybrids were complex, but compare a Prius to the next F-150 with twin-turbo V6, direct and port fuel injection, and 10-speed automatic transmission. It makes the Prius look simple mechanically, electronically, and softwarily. (had to make that last word up)

 

Surely you didn't mean that.

 

only that there's no brake repair.

 

don't think it is actually this way. Starter motor is mg1, its much bigger and more expensive, but should also last longer. Gears, yep plenty of those too. Clutches are pretty low in maintenance often lasting hundreds of thousands of miles, you know probably as long as the hsd battery pack.

chain instead of belt ups upfront cost but should last longer like mg1 versus standard alternator. I haven't heard of problems with any engine in an automatic transmissions (yes cvts and the hsd icvt is a form of automatic) hitting red line, software keeps it cool, but you can do that yourself in any automatic.

So we have more upfront cost with less maintenance, that doesn't lower tco really. Think the simple less expensive cvt in a honda fit or corolla will really have lower tco here.

Less fuel is where lower tco comes into play. it all depends on your cost of capital ;-) If your cost of capital is high and gas cheap then something like a corolla or fit will be lower tco, if your cost of capital is low (and it is for older demographics that the prius sells in) then the prius c is likely the lowest.

 

Cannot subscribe. Clutches working with manual transmission don't last that long. Inside urban and depending on slopes, traffic and modus operandi it may last less than 50k miles. Sure they can be cheap to replace, but recent DMF clutches are not.

 

But the Prius is counted as having an automatic transmission, and the traditional automatic doesn't use the type of clutches that a manual does. Being people controlled is part of the reason manual clutches don't last as long. The clutches in the automatic aren't people controlled, even in the ones in which the driver can select specific gears.

 

DCT is a type of transmission that contain clutches and even if they don't wear out easily, particles contaminate the oil, leading to filter clogging and regular maintenance. Ask VW owners worldwide...

 

...and we can ask Toyota owners of the early 2000's 2.5L about sludge, or Tacoma ones from a couple of eras about body and frame rust, or the early 2000's V6 Accords and Odysseys with early dying transmissions.

Volkswagon isn't the only car company that uses DCTs, and a DCT clutch should still last longer than a manual one, because the rev matching is computer controlled.

The other automatics now have service intervals of 50k miles, 100k miles, or lifetime. I don't buy the lifetime interval, and would recommend changing the fluid and filter at some point, but reports from Prius owners same the same thing that car's fluid. The eCVT should be cheaper in materials, but it might a difference of $50 over those 50 to 100 thousand miles.

A clutch replacement on an automatic is not regular maintenance.

 

Although, a DCT driven by someone used to the behaviors of torque converter automatics may have far more rapid clutch wear than a manual driven by someone familiar with how a manual drives - creeping can cause a lot of clutch slip for a DCT, that would be avoided by a manual driver.

 

it's this clutch talk that's keeping people from buying hybrids, not gas prices.

 

Not to mention the fuel efficiency GAINS when you get caught in a nice, steady, congested traffic jam going 10-15 mph on the interstate---helped me make a 700-mile tank today , so I was overjoyed to encounter backups!

 

The Prius does not have an "automatic transmission." It has a single speed transaxle without any clutch. The whole Synergy Drive and its adaptation to the ICE and the motors is so simple and ingenious that it is amazing.

 

Best of both.

 

There are many reports of Prii over 200k on the original fluid. Can't imagine how much damage that mileage will do in a DCT.