Are these things really worth it? - What if you made a regular car with all the tricks of a Prius? Hybrids definitely do work -- we're not refuting that -- how well they work is open to debate, however, especially in light of the revisions to EPA mileage numbers. So, let's examine the Prius. Amazingly engineered vehicle, that's for sure. The way they got all those different systems to work as a team and perform smooth handoffs between functions is pretty incredible. We're not going to bother with the electric powertrain portion of it for now. Have you ever poked around the gasoline engine in the Prius? Interesting stuff, lots of little tweaks to boost efficiency. We're wondering, having looked over the Prius, whether you could realize most of the gains without the batteries and motor. Read more.
Well, the number one thing that would improve any car's mpg is the display screen. Let the average driver see how they're wasting gas with a current mpg and an overall mpg and see if their driving style changes for the better. Number two would be tire pressure. But you can't make people check their tire pressure frequently. And with the virtual extinction of full service gas stations......
The article was provocative but not totally unreasonable (I've seen worse articles). What really turned me off is the comments that followed it. I quickly identified two groups of folks that simply annoyed me. The first group is out to simply dismiss and bash hybrids in general. It just so happens that this was an article on the Prius. We're kind of used to these folks anyway. <_< The second group appeared to be made up of Prius fanboys (or girls) who dismiss anything else hybrid that is not a Prius. Talk about being overly elitistic and completely missing the point. :blink: Cheers; MSantos
OK, so we don't want to build a hybrid because that costs more, but we can make a regular car more like a hybrid so it'll get better mileage so we won't have to buy a hybrid, but then that regular car will cost more, so shoot we can't do that ... no, wait, here's what we'll do ...
I have a friend who traded in his large vehicle for a Cobalt. The first thing that got his attention was the real-time MPG display. He was always proud to IM me with the latest numbers. Over the summer he got better and better. So I truly do believe that there is some truth in the belief that if that driver knew what their real-time and real-world mileage was, they would get better mileage.
Ditto... show them the numbers then they'll realise. If not, they'll simply quote the brochure numbers. Seriously though, I would've taken everything he's mentioned, add them and keep the battery lol. I've always wondered what happens if Toyota drops their dual VVT-i 1.8 litre engine from the new Corolla (2ZR-FE) and add direct injection. Power would go up significantly, but consumption won't. Heck, if the new batteries are better, Toyota can detune the engine even further, eeking out more mpg.
