Featured Toyota Considering Phasing Out Diesels

As the infrastructure to support charging expands, batteries become a reasonable solution. Cars are idle so much during the day, it is just a question of bringing the socket to the parking lot.

Bob Wilson

 

With toyota's market share in europe less than 5% and unlikely to grow significantly, and toyota not selling diesels in their most profitable markets, I don't see why they would invest a lot in euro 6 diesel emissions.

I thought they were just going to buy bmw engines for the diesels that they make. That doesn't really take much R&D. Linked article maybe is saying the bmw relationship is not going well. BMW has not embraced toyota fuel cell tech and is pushing plug-ins and diesels. Maybe the begining of the break up is here.
Autocar confidential: Ferrari, Nissan, Hyundai, Toyota | Autocar

 

Putting batteries in cars doesn't depend on charging infrastructure, e.g., hybrids never need to plug in, but their smallish batteries keep the car "running" at stop lights, etc., with the engine shut down, eliminating all that idling time.

Interpreting your comment differently, if we're talking about BEVs being able to get a charge wherever they're stopped and thus being more broadly useful, that's a fair point, but I'm always concerned that pushing hard for charging infrastructure overstates its importance in a way that inadvertently elevates range anxiety issues in the public discussion, obscuring some dead-obvious truths. While it's true that today's sub-100-mi. BEVs are not a "100% solution" for many households, the truth is that even without public charging infrastructure they are already an excellent option for the majority of multi-car households in single-family dwellings (the key requirement being a garage or other owner-controlled area where a charger can be installed), especially in areas with mild winters (and everywhere once BEVs are offered with diesel/kerosene heaters in northern climes). This is because, unlike gasoline, the electricity needed to charge BEVs is already delivered to every home, so in a very real sense the infrastructure is already in place.

I absolutely support and encourage the continued build-out of L2 and DCQC networks for public charging, but I am uncomfortable with the implication that "batteries become a reasonable solution" only as "the infrastructure to support charging expands". Charging infrastructure is in fact already ubiquitous and cheap, quite literally in every home, making BEVs a viable option for many buyers right now. It's this reality that makes me so impatient with Toyota's determined nitwittery on plug-ins, coupled with their disingenuous embrace of H2FC vehicles that can quite literally be refueled almost nowhere, because H2 fueling infrastructure is almost everywhere completely non-existent.

 

Actually I'm pretty happy with our BMW i3-REx that has a small engine+generator that can sustain 70 mph on flat and fully supports 65 mph. The highway 40 MPG is nothing to shout about but I am perfectly happy with it when needed:

• 40 MPG @65 mph
• 2 gal tank -> ~65 mile range, 1 hour duration (just right for my wife's bladder or night driving and coffee)
• 50 mph effective block-to-block speed (15 minute refuel and potty breaks)

Now I know our BMW i3-REx, 40 MPG is due to the draggy body. That can be 'fixed' but I'm not doing a lot of cross-country driving since my wife is mostly home bound.

What I'm finding is the 70-80 mile EV range is about 3 round-trip commutes and I've mapped out 2 strong, Level-2 chargers (+6 kWh.) So I've adapted to parking at a charger and then walking anywhere within 1/4 mile radius for errands like this morning. I parked at Whole Foods and put it on the charger. Then I walked to the next block to do some DMV business and back to Whole Foods. I got one of their excellent double-espressos, $1.65, and a case of club soda in 12 oz cans. Back to the car and off to work.

I'm actually getting more walking time with the EV because the chargers 'freeze' the machine instead of driving to each stop. Of course I'm doing business with the charger owners but man does not live by espresso alone. Sometimes you need a whisky neat!

Bob Wilson

 

Forgive this non-diesel digression, but this is interesting.

I'm glad public charging's working out to your advantage, but to make sure I understand - you don't actually need to charge on the go, because the EV range is good for 3 round-trip commutes, so you really could do all your charging at home (as I do) - is that right? Or do some of your regular "errand" itineraries exceed the i3's range, making public charging a necessity if you want to avoid spinning up the REx?

BTW, I'm also glad to hear you're satisfied with the REx and respect its constraints, unlike members of that class action lawsuit. While I do blame BMW for failing to make clear that the REx is a supplemental power source that cannot by itself provide full performance, as well as CARB for forcing BMW to disable "preserve" mode and limit fuel capacity for the U.S. market, I think buyers who bought the i3 REx without educating themselves (and understanding that it's not a Volt) do have to take some responsibility for their own choices.

 

Bob, and others, have had the European preserve mode unlocked for their rides.

 

For me:

• $0.05/mi - 52 MPG Prius @$2.50/gal
• $0.02/mi - BMW i3-REx
• $0.01/mi - using "free" chargers

I'm just cheap.

Bob Wilson

 

you're not cheap bob, cheap would have kept the 2003.

 

And not driven it ... but 'selling' it to our house keeper has worked best. What she has done for my wife's recovery is beyond counting.

Bob Wilson