Toyota Reveals All-New Prius

You've not been around a student driver for the past 5 years have you?

Driver's are no longer taught to grip the wheel at 2 and 10 and or use a crossover technique as these are now considered to be dangerous due to the airbag.

Instead, new drivers are taught to place their hands at 4 and 8 with their palms up. Instead of the crossover technique they are taught the "Push Pull" technique that keeps your hands from crossing.

Steering wheels have slowly been adapting to these new methods. It is not by accident that all of the wheel buttons are on the bottom half of the wheel and more companies are switching to a 4 spoke wheels. The new Prius wheel as about perfect for the 4 and 8 position.

 

I can vouch for this explanation. It is correct.

Tom

 

WOW!! I learned a new phrase today: steric hindrance.

 

well, i can say i read it, so.... what does it mean?

 

It's a chemistry term. The analogy to a steering wheel is hard to grasp (pun intended).

Steric effects - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Maybe if you have *very* tiny fingers...

Tom

 

Just when I thought their couldn't possibly be any more topics...dang. : )

 

Your hands go just below 9-3, exactly where the cross bars are.

Tom

 

I always grip my steering wheel 9-3 - my hands go between the 9-3 spokes and the 10-2 protuberances - when I'm going straight. But as soon as I enter a turn, I move my hands to maintain the 9-3 and that's where those knobs come in to play even more so.
Yes, you can use the 9-3 position when going straight (make a shape of a gun in your hand with two fingers sticking out, then wrap the bottom two under the 9-3 spokes on the wheel, and your thumbs over the spokes. Your two remaining fingers can either go on the wheel or operate a paddle shift. Congratulations, you're now a Formula One driver) BUT there's a problem that all of you are missing!!! Unlike a Formula One car, where the entire steering radius is covered by tilting the steering wheel from 90degrees to the left to 90 degrees to the right, a street car steering wheel requires you to move your hands and turn the wheel well beyond 90 degrees. As a result, you find many situations where the wheel is turned and you still need to be able to SAFELY grip the wheel ! Do you want a full 180 degrees with no spokes or protuberances? DANGEROUS! (FYI: note that in the third steering wheel photo above, when you grip at 9-3, your hands rest BETWEEN the spokes and the protuberances (in this case, you would not be using the F1 grip). Same with the Toyota steering wheel, pictured above it (2:30-9:30). How do I know the F1 grip? I watch F1 on television all the time; I know how they hold the wheel.

As a chemist, myself, I can inform you that the Wikipedia definition is correct for the use of steric hindrance in chemistry, BUT the term steric hindrance has a much more general meaning; to block something by spacially being between the object and where it is trying to go. You can clamp down on a steering wheel and hope that you have enough friction, or you can add a bunch of spokes that physically block your hands from moving on the wheel. That is steric hindrance. If a bouncer at a night club grabs your arm and relies on friction, that's not steric hindrance. If he stands between you and the stage and you push into him and he doesn't move, that is steric hindrance. I use the term at work and with engineers and physicists and everyone knows what I'm talking about.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/steric%20hindrance - in this sense, one functional group is at one end of the molecule and an apposing functional group is at the other end of the molecule. The atoms between the two functional groups prevent them from being spacially close enough to interact. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/steric
Gosh darnit! I know I've heard the word used outside of chemistry. I know it! I know it! I know it!

 

Look, I'm in love with my current Prius and the new one too, I might sell my bike, trade the RAV4 and buy a new 2010 Prius them my wife can have my 2004. I can have my cake and eat it!

 

Yep - I've heard it used outside of chemistry too ... here at PriusChat.

 

Ack, mountain out of a molehill. My coworker's $50k+ Porsche Cayman's leather wrapped steering wheel doesn't even have those 10-2 protuberances you like.

I doubt any Prius driver is going to miss them, either.

 

Maybe he can add a speed-knob.

Tom

 

HUH ?????? A coworker of mine has a Cayman (hardtop boxster), and they sure do! Heck, even the Cayenne SUV has them! Are you sure? I don't know how to explain how your experience varies with mine. Maybe he has some special trim package or something that modifies the interior and steering wheel. hmmmm. not sure.

 

Solar panel roof ! WOW. Now, has anyone thought of channeling all that solar power toward the HSD rather than to the AC system. It would have been nice to have the solar panels extend from the edge of the roof line to the front of the hood to double the sq inches of solar power. Hoping Toyota engineers keep up their good work.

 

The solar power isn't even directed to the AC system... it drives a few fans, not the ac compressor.

 

I feel very confident that the Solar Ultraviolet Cabin Circulation System is an evolutionary dead end. I predict you won't see any other companies doing similar sillyness.

And yes, that spells SUCCS.

 

The solar panel and moon roof is the most popular choice among those that are pre-ordering.

It may be offered as an option now probably due to the cost but imagine when the price falls and panel efficiency increases in the future? It could potentially power other accessories and recharge the HV battery at a lower price. What if the solar panel powers the automatic window blind? ahem... I got carried away.