Petrol price to jump in the weeks ahead

The Prius is a brilliant combination of old systems tied together with
new technology. The hybrid drive for example is nothing more than a
braked planetary system only instead of a brake band it uses a
motor-generator controlled by a powerful microprocessor. This is
basically mature technology used in a smart way. It is a good start,
and there is no reason to think it cannot continue and get better.

Like you, my experience with a Prius was quite positive. Perhaps those
who criticise ought to try one out.

 

A direct result of it

 

The prius' propulsion might be ideal for taxis, but the traditional
holdens and fords still have just enough justification - size, cheap
purchase and parts, economy not bad compared with last year's model.

Prius' are a great idea, but taxi operators know what they are doing.
When fuel finally costs enough to be their major consideration I guess
they will change. It may be their biggest expense now, but that's not
the end of the calculation.

 

You can do better than that with a small Hyundai, and save yourself heaps in
capital costs at the same time.

So why buy a Prius?

 

And there we have it

"THE GOSPEL"
....according to Nev

geezus fucking christ Nev, you are getting more and more like knobless Clem
every day

 

Kevin Gleeson wrote:

IMO its a good thing that car companies are trying to make more fuel
efficient vehicles but Ford with its new Fiesta Econetic have shown that
hybrid isn't the only way to go.
The Econetic is considerably more fuel efficient than a Prius and it
costs about $15,000.00 less to buy so overall cost of ownership is very
significantly less than the hybrid.


Daryl

 

Mother in law's. Get it right...

JL

 

Mother in laws. Get a life.

 

Fine, but Toyota looked at doing it years ago and actually did it.
We've got to go somewhere. Toyota were one of the first to get it out
there and the price probably is to do with their development costs. As
I said before, the more we put the alternatives on the road the
cheaper they will become. Whatever technology it is.

 

Are you saying they depreciate really fast in the first 2-3 years?
Bummer.

Of course they do. Fuel consumption in l/100km means the amount of
fuel used to go that far, including idling at traffic lights. Are you
suggesting your Prius is using no energy at standstill? No brake-
lights? Aircon turns off? Just because the engine is not running
doesn't mean it is not using any fuel. All the energy used by the
vehicle comes from the fuel.

5.8 is not that good compared with a diesel car of similar size. My
Jeep gets 9.4 average but has been down to 8.8. I would expect a
Corolla sized Prius to do much better than my Jeep.

Theo

 

They most certainly are when economy and low emissions are marketed as
their main feature, in that contest the Fiesta is a clear winner and its
overall cost advantage is huge.
The Prius's bigger interior could be a plus for some but the weight is
always a disadvantage.


Daryl

 

How can you, with them around?

 

Kevin Gleeson wrote:

As you say, Kevin, cars are getting safer and more efficient.

Now, I can understand that in a world faced with declining oil
resources, making cars more efficient makes sense.

But in a world with fast expanding population, I have to ask why we
bother to make the cars "safer"?

If car production stepped back from trying to protect folk, cars could
be made much more efficient, by being much lighter for a given size.

regards,
CrazyCam

 

Heavy doesn't mean protection. Designers realised that decades ago,
the general populace doesn't seem to have realised that yet, hence the
number of Toorak Tractors going around.

Cars can be made safe without adding weight, so I don't quite follow
your argument there.

 

I agree with the manufacturing part. If we want to green up, we have
to stop replacing cars every 2 years. Look at the insane registration
laws in Japan. The flipside is the load of dangerous old bombs on the
road in Tasmania. But in Tas you don't have to get the car put over
the pits every year. That needs changing.

This throwaway society is the bit that needs changing.

 

we could start by throwing away a few of the idiots in here

 

I've wondered how a car with two engines can be environmentally sound.

 

No, they're the equivalent of leaving the lights on in the house. Alas,
aus.moto is already on a bypass off the information highway, at least
with idiots in residence, passers-by know there's someone home...

 

Yep - again I'll go back to my statement from earlier. It ain't
perfect. But we can't just stop and say "No more petrol cars, you all
have to run solar from July 1st"

And while we are doing this changeover I doubt fuel economy is even a
poofteenth part of the environmental factor. Building the bloody thing
would produce more damaging emissions than probably 5-10 years of
running it.

We need to get a lot more cleverer about how we do this. But it ain't
going to happen overnight.

 

Kevin Gleeson wrote:

I knew that Kevin!

Not so sure of that, tho. :-|

Yup! ;-)

Your average wee shopping trolley/family car has put on weight, due to
having to comply with all sorts of crash protection rules.

Most small "economy" cars now weigh in at about 1,000 kilos, compared
with thirty years ago, when a wee car was about the 600-700 kilo mark.

regards,
CrazyCam