cars 2012 toyota prius plug-in: a modest route to the electric future - lithium ion battery cost

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All photos: Clifford Atiyeh/Boston. com Staff)
Taking an electric car in a city apartment is a long-term challenge.
The future of hybrid cars has arrived, except to be frozen in a more extreme winter in New England.
A snow storm made our jerry
Install the charging station to shorten the charging time.
Hybrid drivers who live here should expect their amazing mileage to drop to a more average level in winter, because in order to maximize performance and reduce emissions, coolant and catalytic converters must be maintained
Low temperature, tilt and speed over 60 mph are all bad for Prius plugsin.
Even if the battery is fully charged, the Chevrolet Volt will force the engine to run in cold weather.
However, Toyota did not bring us a technical miracle.
The A123 System in Watertown has sold a plug for $10,000
In the second conversion suite-
A generation of Prius since the 2008 s.
Select dealers, including Westborough Toyota, have installed hundreds of vehicles nationwide, and the Massachusetts Department of Transport is running four of them.
Toyota's specifications are close to the modified models. Three lithium-
Ion battery pack, including one in the spare tire well (
Toyota says it will have a package on the production car)
When the rated power is about 3 KW, replace the standard 1. 3-
Nickel metal-kWhhydride unit.
This has increased by about 200 pounds already light 3,042-
The weight of the pound, because the motor provides more power, is not noticeable at all.
It takes about three hours to charge on 120-
Plug, or half at 240 V.
Toyota has released Prius plug 600-
For journalists, companies and other organizations around the world, including the Port Authority of Massachusetts, and models recently provided to Zipcar customers in Boston and Cambridge.
About 150 of cars are in circulation across the United States, all of which have black boxes that record fuel consumption data, which Toyota will share on its website on February.
Toyota should find a short one in my log
Circuit 1: 43. m. on Jan.
It was when a heavy snow covered Boston.
I don't have a covered garage or an external outlet and I ran a medium
Extending the gauge extension cord from my kitchen window, three floors were hung on the balcony.
Snowflakes snuggle between contacts, Click! —lights out.
Some tape will help but I am lazy.
Although charging Prius is equivalent to charging the toaster for three hours, Toyota does not recommend using extension cords at all. City-
Parking in the garage is the only option for you, ladies and gentlemen.
Because unless you have a comfortable connection outside 10 feet
The hybrid won't let Jerryrigging.
If someone boldly steals the lights on my bike, they will definitely sell the Prius charger on eBay the next morning.
The temperature is hovering around 25 degrees and I can't push the Prius plug lightly
After 325 miles of mixed cities and highways, it used to be 53 miles.
Except for the day, the car is plugged in at home and next to the global loading dock every time.
My commute is only 9 miles, but even after the car is warm enough, the engine always runs about half the time.
Like the normal Prius, the electric motor has only enough acceleration capability.
But one night I paid for it in full and tore up Highway 24 for 10 fantastic gasfree minutes.
In the warm days I saw 8 to 10 miles of electricity
Can only operate at most. A 10-
A mile trip to Costco earned a net profit of about 96 miles, but when the battery ran out, it dropped to 56 miles on the way back.
My third Test last time.
A generation of Prius, I averaged 51 miles in July.
In addition to the battery connection on the front left fender and the "plug-
In the "mix" badge, there is little difference between this model and the regular Prius.
When the car is charging, a small LED on the dashboard lights up and the green LCD dashboard displays the estimated EV range next to the battery icon.
In the annoying fuel economy bar chart, there is a new display that shows how often Prius operates on the battery alone.
After a whole week, I scored 22% points.
Instead of building a compelling plug-in
In a hybrid or blowing everything
In terms of electric vehicles, Toyota has made modest improvements to an already impressive car, while expanding its hybrid range at the lowest cost. The minivan-
Just like Prius V went public this summer, and a small double
Prius C door and this plug
In model began selling in the first few months of 2012.
Positive pricing and production will really work from now on, not the one or two gallons of gas I might save.
Despite winning three major "cars of the Year" awards, Chevrolet Volt is only available in six states for up to $41,000 and may not exceed 10,000 this year.
The Nissan Leaf, which costs $33,600, is a similar story that requires an expensive home charging device or a rare public station to keep it running.
Toyota has yet to announce pricing, but says the premium for standard Prius will be less than $10,000.
While the limited battery capacity makes it eligible for the third of the highest $7,500 federal tax credit obtained by Volt and Leaf owners, we estimate the Prius plug
In will reduce the voltage by several thousand, even with the leaves will continue to move forward.
Hopefully Toyota is not finished yet.
There is no place to store bulky charging wires, and there is no way to tell the charging status when the car is off, and the LCD display can be better displayed when the gas engine is running.
This is an experiment, an extension of the imagination of a proper job for many people living in the city.
But if Toyota can make enough of these cars, the firm and conservative culture of Toyota will lead another niche market.
Okay: quiet, smooth, sky-