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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,928 Likes: 34
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City driving is where a hybrid is supposed to be the best. At highway speed it is just a car with a small engine. It would be interesting if they would let you swap cars for a week or two.
My Prelude is more like 24-28, all in town and I run it pretty hard for an old geezer. I hear the cam timing shift a lot. (5k RPM and up)
Greg Fretwell
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Joined: Apr 2002
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In defense of the Prius, I do tend to leave it 'on' for short inspections. Summer for AC, winter for heat.
John
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Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 98
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The old CRX got 50-55 around town and she paid $5500 for it new.
There has got to be a reason they never went back to that powerplant, probably emissions reasons, but it was great while it lasted.
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 764
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It looks like the Chevy Volt may have already had a couple of fires due to possible lithium battery issues. Should be interesting to see what comes of this. Chevy Volt Article
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Kjay:
Thanks for the info & link. Reading thru the link, the 'fire' happened approx 3 weeks after a side impact controlled NHTSA crash test. As there are no details, I would assume the 'fire' was internal to the battery pack, as they said there was damage to it from the side impact.
One would think that in a real world situation, the battery pack is isolated from the 'load', usually by the first responders to an accident. And, one would think that the battery pack would be 'pulled' from the car IF it showed any damages.
John
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Joined: Nov 2007
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I guess that Reuters article was incomplete. A couple of other articles I was reading on the subject say that there may have a couple of other possible incidences involving fires with the 2011 Volt. Supposedly one in North Carolina caught fire while it was charging in the owner’s garage. It sounds like it could turn out to be a charger issue and maybe not with the actual Volt itself. The link below is to a better article with some more info. Chevy Volt
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Joined: Feb 2002
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I believe on Yahoo there was a story about an electric car that caught fire. I forget which one it was, and I believe it was being tested by a company that rates cars for their crash ability. Anyone see it?
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Joined: Apr 2002
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Harold: That story is in Sat APP and I believe the Star ledger. Site is in Wisconsin, test facility for Highway Safety Crash Testing. Side impact on a Chevy Volt; after a period of time (2-3 weeks) car caught fire. I believe it is the same story as in this thread.
John
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 2,233
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John,
I believe you are correct. I think the article also stated that the car caught fire and the Safety Crash testing site was criticized by Chevy for now following proper procedures or something like that.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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A recent fender bender on a Twp Prius (not mine) resulted in the battery pack being isolated as a mandatory first step. The pack was physically removed from the car for the period of time in a body shop. I don't know if that is 'factory' OR the shops choice.
John
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Posts: 44
Joined: August 2005
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