dagblog - Comments for "DC Auto Prototype Show"

Tesla Roadster EVs accused of

Donal — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:20:17 +0000

Tesla Roadster EVs accused of 'bricking,' Tesla responds

Last night we were sent an interesting report about Tesla Roadsters falling into an unfortunate state -- a very terminal, very expensive state. According to theunderstatement, a Tesla Roadster that is left to discharge completely, a process that could take many weeks, will need to have its entire battery pack replaced -- at a cost of approximately $40,000. There are said to be no countermeasures that can prevent this short of keeping your car topped up, and while that may sound simple enough, it becomes tricky if you need to put the thing in storage for a few months.

While we haven't been able to confirm all the "several" supposed cases of this happening, we did hear back from Tesla issuing a statement that more or less affirms this could happen. ...

For whatever reason, they're saying that the Nissan Leaf is not susceptible to bricking. I don't see why a deep-discharged LIon battery couldn't slowly be recharged in place.

Study Suggests Gen Y Could Be

Donal — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:23:57 +0000

In reply to DC Auto Prototype Show

Study Suggests Gen Y Could Be “Tipping Point” For Hybrid Adoption

... according to a new study, Gen Y could be the generation that leads America away from oil, and into hybrid and electric vehicles. Sounds good…but does it miss the point? It can be hard, as a car guy, to step out of my skin and try to look at life through the lens of my peers, many of whom look at driving as a chore ...

Unlike previous generations, Gen Y has had to deal with higher-than-normal gas prices for a good part of their driving career. We are also graduating with more student debt, and have access to more tools, and choices, when it comes to buying a first car. My generation is more concerned with practicality and connectibility than it is with speed and style (though looks still count.) But 89% of Gen Y respondents also want a vehicle that gets better fuel economy than their current ride, which is what makes hybrids so appealing. Connectivity is also an issue of import to Gen Y, with 59% saying in-dash technology is important to interior styling, and 73% seeking a touch-screen interface in their car, with smartphone applications important to 72% of respondents. Basically, we don’t want cars, we want mobile extensions of our connected world. The study believes that our willingness to integrate our technology, and emphasis on fuel efficiency, could what is needed to push hybrid cars into the mainstream.

But there are problems, starting with cost. We want a bargain, a deal, a good investment, which is where many hybrids fall short. It can take years for a hybrid to pay off the premium price versus a less-efficient compact car, like the Chevy Sonic or Hyundai Elantra, both of which are rated at 40 mpg highway. The Sonic starts at $13,865, and the Elantra $15,345, much cheaper than the cheapest hybrid currently on the market, the Honda CR-Z, which starts at $19,495, but delivers less highway mpg. Even the Prius C, which should be rated at a combined 53 mpg, and will have an MSRP of around $19,000, will take years to pay back the owner. And with so many Millenials unemployed, underemployed, or caught under the burden of huge amounts of school debt (this guy), a new car is pretty far down the list of “must-haves.” I have to start paying for health insurance come March 16th, which in and of itself is almost a car payment.

And Generation Y knows this. We are also walking, biking, and moving to urban areas more and more. Cars are not as important to my generation as they were to previous generations. The study says that Gen Y buyers are willing to pay $300 more per mpg improvement for a hybrid over a non-hybrid, which is still $50 short of the $350 per-mpg improvement premium most hybrids charge.

So, This Is What?s Wrong With

Donal — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:38:37 +0000

In reply to DC Auto Prototype Show

So, This Is What’s Wrong With the MiEV

One of the floor models had its hood up, and I have to give points to Mitsubishi for this. The vast majority of hybrid and electric cars we poked at had the hoods (and sometimes even the trunk) locked down tight. In stark contrast, the i-MiEV was just hanging out with its electric motor on display, as if to say, “Hey, look, electric cars aren’t scary or arcane at all. Come see how this works.” It was a display that encouraged all sorts of curiosity.

But then I opened the doors and got to poke around the inside of the car. It’s really easy to tell that it’s based on a kei car (the little tiny inexpensive ones with awesome gas mileage that come with the advantages of lower yearly taxes and fees but as a trade-off don’t go faster than maybe 60 mph with a stiff tailwind). And honestly, the inside of most kei cars do not really qualify as “nice.”

Don’t get me wrong – the Mitsubishi i and i-MiEV are perfectly serviceable little vehicles. They’ve got all the parts you need in the places you’d expect, they’ll go where you want, they’re super adorable and I would still drive either one into the ground. But when bringing the i-MiEV to an American market and charging upwards of $20,000 after the maximum tax credit has been applied… the consumer expects that the inside is actually going to look really nice.