All Entries Tagged With: "Prius"
More Woes For Toyota: This Time It’s Brake Troubles
By Gunnar Heinrich
MAN, when it rains… it pours like the open valve of a fire hydrant.
Toyota’s hit again with new and damaging accounts of drivers complaining of brake troubles with new generation Priuses.
According to the BBC, Toyota has received more than 114 complaints of “brake problems” from American and Japanese customers; three of which claim that said problems directly led to the crashes.
This new round of bad press comes right on the heels of Toyota’s now infamous stick-pedal problem that has been reported to have claimed lives. The auto giant is looking at an estimated $2 Billion in recall costs and that’s not considering sales losses and likely impending class-action litigation.
Not That You Should Give A Damn, But…
The guitarist can’t believe it, either.
By Gunnar Heinrich
MILEY CYRUS, the teen star also known as “Hannah Montana”, is said to have “traded in” a Porsche that she had inherited from her mother in favor of a Toyota Prius according to Us Magazine.
Obviously not having read Jeremy Clarkson’s columns, the young star believed that her little Toyota was, “good for the environment, and it’s adorable!” [More following jump]
Hybrid Is The New Turbo: Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHYBRID
By Gunnar Heinrich
HYBRIDS are to ’00s what Turbos were to the 80s.
In the 80s, cars had a decisive lack of power due to a need for fuel efficiency. Turbo chargers provided the boost while maintaining that lean power-petrol consumption balance. So, putting the “Turbo” badge on anything meant that it was going to go fast (even if it didn’t).
Take for example, the late 80s 300SDL “Turbo”.
Mercedes’ turbodiesel W126 S-Class was great on mileage (600+mile range on a tank of 23.8 gallons) but not so hot on performance (0-60 = 10+ seconds; 130 mph = never). Still, the turbo undoubtedly made progress a little quicker than if Benz’s boffins had made the big sedan go without.
But that really didn’t matter. “Turbo” was the buzz word for performance. And the badge was on the boot for that very reason. It suggested Porsche performance even if it delivered Peugeot.
Reading today’s news at The Motor Report, Tony O’Kane reported that Stuttgart has introduced the S400 BlueHYBRID (there’s aquamarine marketing: blue = water; hybrid = green). Here again, it’s the marketing that has more kick than the reality.
Mr. O’Kane writes:
“The S400 BlueHYBRID takes the 3.5-litre V6 from the S350, gives it a mild bump in power to 205kW and mates it to a compact 15kW electric motor. Further down the driveline is a modified version of M-B’s familiar 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic, whose ratios are matched to the hybrid powertrain’s power delivery.”
So, does this little motor provide the heavy S-Class with the gas saving performance of a Prius?
No. Of course not. But it does allow for stop-starts in traffic, assistance with acceleration, and regenerates everytime you use the brake pedal.
In other words, it’s helpful. Which means that like the fabled turbo charger, lots of cars are going to have hybrid lithium ion batteries complimenting gas motors in the not-too-distant future. We’ll just loose the marketing appeal of “Hybrid” in the process – and the need for the badge.
[Linked: TMR]
