Comments on: Toyota Officially Launches Plug-in Prius, Mass Production to Begin in 2011

By: Sam Stewart

Sam Stewart — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:05:02 +0000

CDAVIS: ______________________________________________________ I can plug-in the Volt at night and drive to work and back without using …that makes sense to me.I can plug-in the Prius at night and drive 2/3rds way to work without using gas provided I drive below highway speeds…that makes no sense to me.I’ll take the Volt. _____________________________________________________

I'll take the Prius for at least $10000 less with greater reliability, and pass your broken down volt on the highway at 62 mph...

By: George K

George K — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:46:26 +0000

I’m really glad Toyota is doing this, as they were denying the merits of a phev until the Volt looked like a real project.

Now their phev is a giant leap in the right direction. However, if I didn’t already own a phev Prius (which I love!), I would prefer the Volt. The Prius uses the gas engine for cabin heat, and also requires engine warm-up to heat up the catalytic converter, during the 14.5 miles, and beyond.

Dollar for dollar, both cars are probably pretty close (higher price for the Volt, but more EV miles and technology).

But I still give an “A” to both companies for going in the right direction.

=D~~~~

By: Magilla

Magilla — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:36:05 +0000

I know that there is very low probability that anyone will be reading this, but here goes:

Based on an article I read today on MSNBC.com ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34434424/ns/technology_and_science-future_of_energy/ )

A report from the national research council indicates “The battery pack for a car capable of going all-electric for 10 miles, like the plug-in Prius, would add about $3,300 to the cost, the authors estimated. They said the battery pack for a car that can go 40 miles without using gas, like the Volt, would add about $14,000 to the car’s cost.” Which means you would have to save a bunch of money on gas to get the investment back out.

Also of note, $3,300 amount above was close to my estimate of $3,000 in my post above. What a lucky guess!!

By: Randy B.

Randy B. — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:00:27 +0000

When will the insanity of using MPG with a plug-in hybrid end. This method of comparison is inaccurate, misleading, ….We’re smarter than this, aren’t we? Are you telling me than a plug-in hybrid that is rated at 100 MPG will get down the road 300 miles in a five hour period using only 3 gallons of fuel? All this effort by GM to make it right the first time will be negated if advertisements seem like smoke and mirrors.
There is the need for a standard unit of energy that is not limited to hydrocarbons. I have suggested the term “therm” before because it is an easy unit of measure to remember (100,000 btu). Use Kilowatts, megajoules, or something else…anything reasonable besides Miles Per G A L L O N.

By: storm

storm — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:31:52 +0000

sudhaman: why buy this crap when volt can offer 40 miles on ev mode

Because you might actually be able to buy one of these. Looks like the Volt will not be available to "real people" for several years.