The Prius - What's Next

I was just reading about the 2010 Prius. They've added quite a few neat, gadgety things to the design. Their attempt to recapture the sizzle and downplay the practicality. Because really, what sells best in the US? Practicality or sweet, sexy sizzle? With a starting price tag of $22k, it makes a nice, mid-level statement. But when you top it out with all features at $32k, it better have it all! A mpg rating of 51 hwy/48 city ain't bad either.

Hard to believe the Prius is already 13 years old. It was launched to the Japanese market in 1997, and to the US in 2000 as a 2001 model. But after more than a decade, does anyone care who started it?

The new features of the Prius are definitely geared towards the early adopters and the green segment. Toyota knows these are already their primary market, and is working to maintain a strong relationship with that core. Some of the cool new features they've given the Prius can already be found on more upscale cars (think BMW, Mercedes). For instance, gotta get that car into a tight space on the street? No worries, the Prius will parallel park itself, using the Intelligent Parking Assist feature. It can even steer itself at highway speed, using the Lane Keeping Assist system. I wouldn't get overly excited about the LKA, the driver still has to steer, the car applies only slight corrections. So you might have enough time to take your hands off the wheel and strangle your GPS system for taking you down the wrong road before the Prius will need you to drive again. One article I read said that, given enough time, the Prius will begin to bounce from one side of the lane to the other at an angle that can't be corrected, leading it to go into the oncoming lane. But again, don't worry! That's when the Lane Departure Warning system will let you know, YOU NEED TO DRIVE THE CAR.

Safety first could be a motto for the Prius. The 2010 model will include automatic braking. If the car's radar sees something in the path of the car that could potentially be dangerous, it will do two things: 1 - first it tightens your seatbelt (that's nice, like having mom next to you.) then 2 - if you brake, the computer on board will INSTANTLY apply maximum braking force, trying to shorten the stopping distance and prevent a crash. If you don't brake, it brakes for you.

Also new in 2010 will be the optional solar panel. I think this falls into the "that's kinda cool" category, because it only generates enough power to run the cabin vent fans. If it's a really hot day and you're not looking forward to that burning sensation you get on the back of your thighs when you first get in - don't worry! The Prius will have a REMOTE CONTROL air conditioner. Now you can cool your car before you get in, because the a/c will run off the electrical system rather than the fan belt.

Another way they're reducing the power consumption is through LED lights. LED taillights have been around a while, but the Prius will have LED head lights, saving 17% of the power used by high-intensity discharge low beam lights.

Current Prius drivers like driving on electric power alone, so Toyota has given this model an EV-mode button. You can buzz aroud for about a 1/2 mile on battery-only (as long as you don't exceed 25 mph). (To me, this is another one of those - hmm, that's kinda cool...but no giant benefit to the driver).

The 2010 model has a 20% smaller electric motor, power inverter and transaxle than the previous models. But it operates at 650 volts, versus the previous 500 v. There is also a 20% reduction in torque losses.

The 2010 Prius still has an energy monitor feature. Most drivers enjoy seeing where they're "saving". But to get it this year, y0u have to buy the GPS system.

Of course, the Prius also has all the really cool telematics - connections for Bluetooth phone and iPod, an ability to wirelessly stream audio from your mobile device tot he 8-speaker JBL audio system. And the optional navigation system includes real-time traffic information.

Seems like Toyota has once again done a good job incorporating some cool bells and whistles into a modest car, while keeping the price tag relatively in-line for middle America. What will be interesting, is how manufacturers will develop the tools to work on this next generation of hybrids. For instance, did you wake up this morning thinking - I should probably develop a tool to work on the solar panels of the new Toyota? Not only will we need tools for independent components of the vehicles, did you notice the number of "systems" that I mentioned? As these hybrids continue to develop and evolve, I see the need for new tools and equipment to work on them, and new technicians with new skills will be required as well. So, I think the future of the automotive aftermarket continues to hold promise.

On a side note, to Berge and Mr. McClane, apparently others in Akron have found the beauty of the scooter. These were my first attempts at photos while on the move. Now, Akronites can worry about two things - idiot drivers who try to drive while talking on the phone, and me trying to take pictures with a camera while driving. I don't know how I'd react if I saw someone driving their car and taking photos at the same time. It's not like I represent Google Earth or anything...

2 shops, 2 comebacks, 2 weeks: My Life

In the past month, I've had more than $5,000 worth of repair work done to my vehicle. About $4,600 of it was due to a collision with an uninsured motorist. Fortunately my insurance company picked up the entire bill, less the deductible. I had the work done at a shop that was associated with a local dealership, because they have some sort of deal with my insurance company, AND they were conveniently located 50 feet away from the appraiser. When I picked up my car (earlier than they predicted - YAY!), I looked at it in dismay. What had been a 6-year-old Toyota front-end, had become a new-looking front-end, but something was not right. The missing license plate? The color? No, they did a great job matching the color. The headlights? Yes. They looked funny, and once I drove around in the dark, I found out they lit funny too! We looked under the hood - Mr. Polite Service Writer speaking slowly and evenly as he described how they replaced this, recreated that, and re-arranged the other, using some new, some re-furbed, and some parts from the local salvage yard (I am opposed to none of these - they all have their place in repair work). I asked about the cut-outs in the felt under my hood, "why are these spaces cut out?" "Oh, there should be information stickers there, I'll check on that for you." Hmmmmm. I was surprised they were able to make that hood look as beautiful as they did. Besides having left it looking like a wrecking ball had been dropped on it, late last year I blew a psiton through my engine, which shot like a bullet into the hood. The hole in the felt was still there, but the hood was as beautiful as the day it was born. Yet, even though I did a cursory walk-around with the service writer, and nodded as he told me the work that had been done, I was not happy and felt a slight sour feeling deep in my gut. My 6-year-old baby was no longer mine - it had become this re-habbed, re-furbed something other. The lines betwen the pieces and parts of the front end of my car were no longer parallel. One side had a slightly bigger gap than the other side. At another point, the lines widened - the fit and finish that Toyota is known for, was no more.
And yet I drove it home.

As I pulled in to my driveway, headlights askew, I bravely honked my horn to announce my arrival to the family and dog. Instead of that Asian two-tone horn I've grown accustomed to, I heard a weak single-tone bleat - as tho someone had stepped on a cheap red bicycle horn. That was truly the last straw.

The second bit of work (in my $5,000+ 2-week span)was to repair my front brakes, for a mere $500 or so. I had them repaired because after the accident, even tho the insurance company approved a "visual" of the brakes and the collision center reported them "ok", I didn't feel they had the same stopping power as they did the minute before the accident.

Short Story, Part One: Took the car back for additional bodywork. They fixed the horn, showed me where to find the stickers on the inside of my hood if I ever needed to read them, and re-pointed the headlights. Nonetheless, I can still put all the fingers from one hand through the gap between one of my headlights and the body of my car - NOT a Toyota finish, but because my insurance company and the shop guarantee the work for the time I own the car, I'm not going back a third time to complain. I am left wondering about the effect of additional exposure on my engine and all things under the hood that those extra spaces will make possible. But that's not all, the more I look at the way the hood and the front-end lies in relationship to the body of the car - it's just a case of hurry up and get it out the door. I am disappointed in the quality of their work, to say the very least. Very nice people, but.

On to the brake job.

Toyota Backs Off Lithium Ion

via The Truth About Cars by Frank Williams on Aug 09, 2007Toyota is delaying introducing lithium-ion battery-powered hybrids because of safety concerns. Forbes reports that the Japanese automaker is hanging fire (so to speak) due to worries that the cells might overheat or explode. Toyota doesn't expect to have hybrids with Li-Ion batteries until 2011. They've also delayed plans for Tundra and Sequoia hybrids. Whether or not this will affect GM's hopes of lithium-ion powered Volt is yet to be seen. Meanwhile, commenting on an earlier TTAC post, Tesla spinmeister Darryl Siry claims their Roadster's Li-ion battery pack passed UN and DOT protocols for safety "when shipping" which "can actually be harsher than safety when in a car."

I can't believe someone would actually be quoted as saying "shipping" is "harsher than safety when in a car". What exactly does that mean? I would bet that every li-ion battery pack shipped is safely bubble-wrapped to prevent that famous "damage during shipment", yet you don't see too many bubble-wrapped vehicles driving the roads these days. Li-ion batteries have to withstand the harsh abuse of American drivers, accidents on the road, and under-trained technicians. Hope Toyota has taken that all into account.

Also - wonder if a similar effect would occur with the new li-ion tools coming to market recently? From the December, 2006 issue of TechShop, our editors wrote, "Lithium ion is not as durable as NiCd, and can be dangerous if damaged". However, according to the tool manufacturers, most have taken this into consideration when they were developing the components of the tools and have protected the batteries accordingly.

What has been your experience? Let us know!

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