ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Just an observation...

Ah, the 'man card'. French drivers are known for machismo, the problem is they can't drive a car with verve to save their lives - come to that they can't steer a supermarket trolley without ramming old ladies in the butt. Pointing a vehicle in the approximate direction desired is not driving as we anglosaxon/americans understand the term. Nor is disappearing into the scenery while attempting a curve! Fact is they have twice the fatalities per head of pop than us rosbifs - even their President implored the frogs to drive like us limeys to stem the tide of road kill. The prius c is a subcompact, but packs a hidden punch, for the 75hp gas engine is in addition to the 60hp electric motor running off the battery and you are always in the 'perfect' gear. It is 'detuned' by the computer, but will still lay down 100hp for 2 miles.
In town it will scorch up to 30mph in less than 3 secs, 60 takes about 10. Top speed is 103, all day long, as its aerdynamic drag is minimal. That's wot the salesman says, and i swoollerd it HL&S! Vrooom!

As a matter of fact, yes you can. It's a convertible

I did bring home a 1"x6"x 8' the other day and it was less then 3 feet off from the tailgate. No need for a red flag

Alan:
You talking 103 KPHr, or 103 MPH??

If its MPH, you are a brave man.

Prius complaint I have is touchy anti-lock brakes, and sensitive traction control.

I was really talking about closed up, A/C on.
Convertibles are just broiler trays here until it rains, then they are above ground pools.

That's why we are keeping our turbocharged diesel Opel 7-seater as a second car able to lug big stuff. Here, due to Gummint bureaucratic nonsense, the C is rated at 3 horsepower [!] for it's insurance bracket, so with mileage restrictions I can insure both for less than one. All other motoring tax is on fuel, currently $7.50 per gallon for regular. That's a heap cheaper than Blighty- there it's going up again with 3% more tax in January- and diesel, which is little more than strained crude, now costs more than 98 octane! The C is smaller than the standard Prius and you can't tow anything. I'm told it's because the regenerative braking system can get overloaded by trailer mass and reduce battery life. The Toyota system only charges the nimh cells between 40% & 75% capacity - resulting in battery life of 300,000 miles/ 10 years plus, at 100% original efficiency it says here.

As an aside, if portable power tool makers introduced that derating idea in their chargers, one of the bugbears of good tools getting scrapped because of high replacement battery costs would be solved! I currently have 3 Makitas on the edge of extinction!

OK, off topic but Alan brought it up. Replacement 14.4 DeWalt battery, $60-$80 price spread. Drill, circ saw, recip saw & flashlight w/2 batteries, 18 Volt lith...$<200

Yes, it's HO grade, but well enough for me around the house!

They are in the business of selling tools, have a Milwaukee 18V ni cad tool kit out of service due to failed batteries, cost of replacing them is $90 each or about $140 for 2, the ni cads are obsolete but the tools are still good so going to bite the bullet as I miss the cordless Sawzall®.

I breathed life into my 2 Makitas about 5 years ago with some no name $30 batteries from the internet (had better than stock MAH ratings). They are still going but getting a little tired.
I may do the $30 thing again.
I bought a junk 18v (Northern Tool brand) in a garage sale for $5 and it is just that. The drill is powerful but the battery/charger is junk.

I have never replaced my batteries. I have run the tool into the ground first. What I do to keep my ni-cad up is run the batteries down as far as the job let me. When I have the time to charge them, I run them dead dead. It's easy to do if you have a flash light for them. I run then til the is no light what so ever and let them sit on the charger even if they indicator says its charged. Throw the battery in the drill and be ready to snap a wrist. I have one yellow battery that is around six years old and a couple around 4.

I just picked up a 9 piece set of tools for the home and I'll likely burn them up before the batteries. Out of the dozen or so batteries I owned or used, I have had only 2 that has given up its ghost. Both tools that those batteries were on, were on their last leg. When the battery developes a memory and short cycles, I do the same thing. Problem solved.

I have several ni-cad devices and I treat them the same way. They all still run like a top. Least with lithium batteries, you won't have to do all that. It will be intesting to see how they hold up over the long hall. They don't like heat and sensitive to charge. To this day, I have not been on a single construction site that is temperate and power is top notch. Do they heat up under heavy use?

Al.,

Speaking in your area did any chance you see or heard a bleu loud Renault Sevicemaster van went by your area ?

About 2 weeks ago ?

If so c'est moi driving that one I did repowered that one with Americaine engine in it.

Merci,
Marc