All Electric Toyota RAV 4

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sparkyAZ @ Oct 24 2007, 09:41 PM) [snapback]530081[/snapback]</div>

Thanks, Sparky

Yeah, that's a great sticker. One of our group had them made. Had that the car before the Rav became "solar powered." Now I have those stickers on the chargers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kablooie @ Oct 20 2007, 12:20 AM) [snapback]528110[/snapback]</div>

Oh, and by the way - YES. Yes I do know the story behind this. In fact I'll bet I know the owner.

 

Wow what a great vehicle! My wife would like a Rav4 with the Prius package. Hope Toyota decides to offer the Hybrid package in all of its vehicles as I would love to get rid of the Rendevous and replace it with a Rav4 hybrid. From what I read I doubt the EV Rav4 will ever be offered again.

 

Why did Toyota discontinue it? One word: Cobasys.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BuddyL @ Oct 27 2007, 05:04 PM) [snapback]531349[/snapback]</div>

I'd like to see just the opposite happen. I want a Prius with the Rav4 package. The Rav4EV has the proper drivetrain. The Prius is the proper configuration. NOT the other way around! The only thing I don't like about the Prius is that it requires gasoline.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Oct 27 2007, 07:09 PM) [snapback]531394[/snapback]</div>

I'd call that more of a stumbling block, not the reason for termination. The reason Toyota discontinuned the EV is the same that ALL companies discontinued thier EVs: Because they could. The ZEV mandate was radically changed to not need EVs. In 2002, it was decided that a few "demonstration" fuel cell vehicles will be plenty enough effort to clean our air.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Oct 23 2007, 08:39 AM) [snapback]529316[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, Southern California Edison has oodles of them, and they used to park all of them either at Longo Toyota in El Monte, or the El Monte Metrolink Station.

One of the building inspectors who is checking permits for my dad's new house drives a city-owned Rav4 EV - talk about super quiet. Makes me envious (and the city is small - San Dimas only has about 34K people).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 5 2007, 10:34 PM) [snapback]535318[/snapback]</div>

We're a pretty tight little group of owners. There are only about 300 of these privately owned today. IN THE WORLD. We mostly all know each other - and my name tends to get out there a lot.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 5 2007, 10:47 PM) [snapback]535332[/snapback]</div>

Ha! You can always tell the out-of-towners.

A. You were in NORTHERN CA at that Fry's.
B. I live in NORTHERN CA.
C. Nate lives in some foreign state where it gets cold.

SoCal is like another country.

 

..

..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 6 2007, 10:32 AM) [snapback]535566[/snapback]</div>

PA as in Palo Alto, definitely yes. By hundreds of miles. Anything even remotely near the San Francisco Bay Area is NorCal.

If you mean PA as in Pennsyvania, then no.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 6 2007, 09:32 AM) [snapback]535566[/snapback]</div>

The dividing line is generally considered to pass near San Simeon (Hearst Castle).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Nov 6 2007, 12:46 AM) [snapback]535330[/snapback]</div>

As someone who has seen "Who Killed The Electric Car", I didn't realize there were any of the EV's built in the late 90's to early 2000's left on the road. Although the movie seemed to follow mainly the GM EV1, it left me with the impression that all manufacturers leased them, and either took them away or crushed them following California changing its stance on requiring EV's. It's good to see there are a few left.

 

Who Killed the Electric Car did mention the RAV 4 EV's used by a ultility company. there was an effort to get them back as well, but Toyota simply gave that idea up (Thank You Toyota for your sanity!!) relatively quickly.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Burner @ Nov 6 2007, 02:53 PM) [snapback]535736[/snapback]</div>

Except for a very few fleet *sales* all EVs to private customers were lease-only. UNTIL 2001 when Toyota was embarrassed to realize that none of the Rav4EVs were selling... becasue they had never been for SALE! IN 2002, the retail program started, and the cars were SOLD. These, along with a handful of the sold fleet vehicles not in private hands, are the only production EVs on the road today.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA @ Nov 6 2007, 03:05 PM) [snapback]535748[/snapback]</div>

Until there were vocal demonstrations held, Toyota was collecting every off-lease Rav4EV and crushing them. Even ones with under 10k miles on them, and worth $60k+! They desperately wanted them gone - like every other makers. But also didn't want the black eye of looking like they're not green. The Rav4EV was the first production EV that we "saved" after losing the EV1. The EV1 fiasco is what galvanized the "movement" to save the few cars we had left.