(no subject)

[jim_p]

It was a long drive, but I drove the old car up to NH to give it to angelovernh. Actually, I did up a bill of sale to sell it to her for $1.00, and she was kind enough to actually give me the buck. Guess I owe her at least a dollar's worth of kindness in return :)

This was actually good for me. I have this nasty habit of keeping cars until way past their trade-in-by date. The last two cars I decommissioned ended up holding down weeds in my driveway for more time than I would have liked. Getting rid of this car quickly was actually a plus for me. Giving it to someone who could make good use of it was a bonus.

angelovernh was kind enough to give me a ride back home. It was the first time I'd met her in person, and it was nice to be able to chat with her for a while.

Today I took delivery of my new ride, a not-too-used 2003 Toyota Prius. I'd wanted a Prius for a while, having been totally fascinated by the hybrid system. The more I learn about the car the more seriously impressed I become. I got stuck in a big traffic jam on Route 2 today; for about 20 minutes traffic didn't get above 10mph. During that time the car operated entirely on electrics; the engine didn't start up once. It's a little unnerving at first to have the engine stop rumbling when you come to a stop, but it's reassuring when the car starts moving again when you hit the accelerator.

Comments

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

That car you got sounds interesting. I'm glad you got it without a problem because being without wheels can be frustrating. I had no problem bringing you home last night. Well, ok, it was raining cats and dogs, but other than that no problem. Your directions from your place were great! Enjoyed talking with you, also.

So happy to have the new car!! :)

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

Huh. When I test-drove one of the older models, I was never able to get it to be 100% electric. But it was an interesting vehicle, and I approve of the concept.

[jim-p.livejournal.com]

The gasoline engine wants to be warmed up before it'll go into shutdown-when-not-needed mode. In a highway traffic jam after a long drive my car was plenty warm. Also, the gas engine will run if you have the A/C on. It's very hard to force a pre-2004 Prius into electric-only mode; it'll decide by itself which powerplant(s) to use.

The exception to this is backing up. Part of what keeps the "transmission" so incredibly simple is the fact that it has no reverse gear. Backing up is done entirely on the electric side, by reversing the electric motor. The idea is that typically backing up is only done for short periods of time at slow speeds.

The 2004 Prius is a complete redesign, and among other things it has the capability to be set into "EV-only" mode. The actual switch to do this is absent on US models but present on European and Japanese models. There's an aftermarket kit to hack this in, though.