from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Friday, May 31, 2013
LeMons Colorado Inspections: AMC Onslaught, Wankel Overload, and a Checker Marathon
Living With an EV for a Week – Day Two
Because of my RA (Range Anxiety), I drove Zippy Zappy gently on day 1, plugged the EV in immediately upon arriving at home and nixed my impromptu drive to the beach. (I haven't named a car since I was 12 but the garish orange hue and pill-box proportions have made the name stick.) Thanks to my prudence (or was it fear?) I awoke to a 90% charge. According to Fiat's computer, that was good for an 87 mile journey, plenty for my 52 mile one-way commute. Of course, it was after I started climbing up the mountain pass that separates my home from civilization that I asked "how am I going to charge today?"
You see, [for me] planning is something you do after you meet a problem, then you back-date the plan so you can claim you were prepared all along. As a result, I decided to turn off the heater in the car to save mileage, after all it was "only" 43 outside. The heater is thing most people don't think about when it comes to EVs. In your gasoline car, you use the heater all you want and don't run the A/C to save gas because heat is a "waste" product of combustion engines. EVs turn this logic on its head. Since there's very little heat happening under the hood they have to use resistive heating elements to heat the cabin. According to Toyota, heat pumps would be more efficient but they cost way more and add a great deal of complexity and weight. Running the A/C in the little Fiat consumed about 1.5kW of power while the heater on medium sucked down nearly 8kW. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill, I decided the heated seat wasn't cutting it and I needed to be more realistic so I set the climate control to 68. Let the future be damned! Once on the freeway I realized my RA had returned. I decided to set the cruise control to a decidedly pokey 59 MPH, a speed that even tractor trailers don't stoop to in California (even though their speed-limit is 55). At this speed I was able to commune with other EV drivers on the highway (the ones I normally fly by in the left lane.) When I drove a BMW Active E, I got waves and thumbs up from the LEAF drivers. I decided to try the same in Zippy Zappy but the lack of decals announcing the Fiat's electrification caused confusion in the LEAF drivers and just made them swerve wildly thinking I was some crazy person out to get them. My bad. 55 miles later (I decided to take the flattest and shortest route) I arrived at work where I discovered my RA was unjustified. I had 45% of my battery left. Charge time at 120V was 12 hours and 45 minutes. Electrical codes in the USA limit the 120V EVSE plugs to about 12A which isn't very fast. Logically 8 hours at 120V would be more than enough to get me back home, but since I work in an area that has only street parking, things had to get creative. Extension cord plugged into the outlet in the hall (the breaker that wouldn't trip), down the hall, through my office, out the window, across the lawn, over the sidewalk and into the street. I don't recommend trying this in San Francisco, I'm sure an ADA compliance mob would stone you to death. (If you are meter maid in the Bay Area, I deny all knowledge of the picture above. It was someone else.) After a few hours, I bothered to look into charging stations. After all, I did sign up for a ChargePoint account a while back. Low and behold there was a charging station just around the corner charging $0.49/kWh. Looking at the map it's obvious what a year has done to the EV landscape, there are easily three times the number of public EV charging stations in the Bay Area than there were a year ago. Because I'm selfish, what mattered was there were now EV stations near ME. I'll digress for a moment. People call the thing on the curb with the cord and plug a "charging station" but that is something of a naming error. All modern EVs have on-board chargers. That thing that you connect to your car is an over glorified "smart" extension cord. The purpose of the "charging station" is to tell the car what kind of power is available (120/240 V) how much current the car is allowed to draw and to provide some safety mechanisms to protect the person plugging in. All the magic is happening *in* the car. As parts are getting cheaper and more widely available, faster chargers are being integrated into EVs. The first LEAF's 3.3kW charger took 9 hours to fill the battery at 240V, barely 2.5x faster than at 120V. A year later most EVs use a 6.6kW charger that completes the task in 1/6th the time. Good news for me. Since I'm supposed to be getting more exercise I drove a few blocks, plugged in and walked back. Two hours later I had for the first time in my life, a full EV battery and I have a picture to prove it. Feeling like an ePrisoner eLiberated from their eBondage, I renewed my pledge to test drive Zippy Zappy like any other car. That meant taking Highway 35 home. If you aren't familiar with the Bay Area, the coastal mountain range separates the population from the sea. At some point a brilliant highway engineer decided to put one of the most scenic highways in the state along the ridge of the range. The trip (shown above with an elevation profile) takes me from sea level to 3,157 ft, then down to about 400 ft with plenty of ups, downs, sweeping curves and corkscrews. If you haven't driven it and live nearby, shame on you. About the time I reached that first 2,000+ foot blip on the left of the graph, I had a mild panic attack. ZZ said I wouldn't reach my destination. Had I bitten off more than she could chew? No, because the software in the car is only using your past record for future range. By climbing rapidly, it assumed the next 40 miles would be on a similar incline. Don't blame the software. Blame me. The driver is in control so I had to take my (limited) experience into account. I decided not to bail (and charge in Palo Alto). I pressed onwards. (But I set the cruise control to 50.) In the process I snapped some cool photos.
My faith was rewarded as I neared CA Highway 17 with a battery still 40% charged. I decided to throw caution to the wind and visit downtown Los Gatos. The EV gods smiled upon my diversion and without looking for one, I stumbled upon a brace of EV chargers. One was occupied by a decidedly non-EV BMW 760iL, which I briefly considered putting a door ding in "accidentally" as I got out. One expensive carrot cake and a 1.8kWh charge later I headed home. Since I didn't make it to the beach yesterday, I decided today would be the day. Thanks to my nifty iPhone app from ChargePoint I found that there was an EV station operated by the City of Capitola By The Sea just two blocks from my favorite beach dive restaurant. A quick numbers game in my head told me that 2 hours would not only power me back up the hill to home, but also put me in a better charge situation. There was just one problem. OK, two. The EV station had one broken charge cord and some douche in a LEAF had occupied the other for 2 hours over the parking limit and counting. What would you have done? I sat in the car and contemplated my options. 1 unplug him and plug myself in (not on his dime, the sessions stop when you unplug). 2 leave him a nasty note and hunt for another station. 3 wait him out. I waited for 20 minutes at which point he had been over his 4 hour parking limit (clearly signed) by almost 3 hours (according to the charging station). I thought: lave a note explaining why I had unplugged his ride so that he (or maybe she) wouldn't retaliate by unplugging me when they returned. No pen. I took the high road and moved on to an EV station 7 blocks away. After a stroll along the beach and dinner, we walked by the LEAF (still plugged in) and left him a more tactfully-worded note than I had planned. I reminded the driver that the spot clearly said "4 hour limit" and that there are other EV drivers out on the road that need to charge. I may or may not have indicated that I would unplug his shiny red LEAF with "NOGAAS" license plate should I see it there for 4 hours again. Or maybe not. Is this the start of "plug rage" perhaps?? Upon returning to ZZ, something else crossed my mind. This EV station is new, and like others is no longer in a prime parking area. Instead they jammed it at the back of the parking lot. Preferential EV treatment may be starting to end as early as it started. Day two and 155 miles ended with a 68% charge. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
2014 Chevrolet Impala 2.5 Driven: Spacious Meets Parsimonious
Chevrolet hasn't built an Impala to warm up to for 20 years, unless, of course, you were a fan of the bruising 1994–1996 Impala SS or a cop who loved a roomy squad car. In this latest example of how bankruptcy can occasionally be a good thing, Chevy has delivered a much-improved Impala. Our test of the 3.6-liter V-6 version of Chevy's full-size sedan proved the car to offer spacious accommodations, quiet composure, and solid handling, but will the good feelings carry over to the version with the base engine, the direct-injected 2.5-liter Ecotec four? READ MORE >> from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI vs Jetta Hybrid
"Have you driven the new Jetta Hybrid?" popped up in my Faceache message box. It came from Captain Leslie, an E-3 Sentry driver, consummate professional, a current Jetta TDI pilot (with a manual), and friend from a tour in the Middle East and Oklahoma City. Unable to resist her profile smile, I went in search of the elusive electrically motivated VW in a sea of 2.5L sorority mobiles. As she has saved my ass in the past, I shall attempt to repay the favor. Leslie, skip the Hybrid, get another TDI… but make sure its a Golf…wagon…in brown…with a manual.
Sajeev pointed out my fondness for VAG products and warned me to be vigilant in my impartiality (cough, Panther Love for all) to render a verdict in true TTAC fashion. Having owned numerous Audis, a SEAT Toledo V5, Golfs, and a MKV Jetta TDI, I might have difficulty. But no, thank you VW for screwing up the Jetta enough to make this issue a nonstarter! The latest Jetta does not live up to the previous generation. Before me was a stretched mk4 Jetta, only missing some of the details (Vellum Venom here). The MK VI Jetta looks attractive enough; readily identifiable as a Volkswagen, with neat creases, and all that Euro technocracity. But it's a bit boring compared to the beauties made in Korea. The MK IV forged a bold path and the MK V at least caused controversy, however VW played it too safe with the MK VI. At least it's not ugly.
The Jetta's most interesting external aspect are the taillights: sporting a complex lighting pattern for a slightly upscale look. And…thats it. Step inside: virtually identical, the Jetta TDI and Hybrid showcase the latest in Germanic interior design: perfectly aligned plastic, a cutting edge notion in 1979 when Audi switched to black plastic in the Audi 4000 over the faux wood in the Fox. It's straight forward, easy to use and looks like it'll last forever, but exhibits no flair or panache. I'm thinking VW hired a hipster and they rehashed the mk5 interior…but ironically. The comfortable seats still impress. The leatherette is attractive and will prove durable. Space is good, with the biggest complaint coming from the Hybrid, where the battery pack robs crucial trunk room, and makes the rear seat pass through about 30% smaller than the regular TDI. Now about that infamous plastic dash. I know why VW equipped the low and mid-range Jettas with an injection molded dashboard so hard that Viagra should file a patent lawsuit: Americans do not touch the dash, or care about squidgy bits like the Europeans, or so I have been told. They care about price and value for money. This fact explains why most Americans buy Corollas. VW once stood in a "just above average" slot, slightly aspirational and cool but avoiding BMW douchiness. Catering to a cheaper price point made VW just another player in this saturated market. "But look at the engineering precision and how well it's put together!" say the engineers (or more likely the marketers). Yes, the engineers dotted their "i's" with this design, but failed to realize they spelled penis instead of pencil. I learned in Germany that you don't buy a Golf for looks, as the Focus and anything French blow it away. You buy one for the dependability and the drive, true VW trademarks in the homeland. The Jetta, a be-trunked extension of the Golf philosophy, should follow this mantra of safe looking, yet wholly hooligan mannerisms. Flogging the TDI and Hybrid like I stole them, I found that not all is lost in Wolfsburg. The TDI with a manual induces grins from the open road to city traffic. With the 2.0L, direct injected, common-rail diesel, VW engineered the finest motivator in the American line-up. Wind it up to the low redline and feel a surge of torque launching you through traffic. The numbers on paper suggest a middling 0-60 time but the thrust provided in real-time proves most addictive. I found myself punching the throttle just to induce grins. Pitching the car into a corner netted more surprises. The front end moved around a corner like a GTI. Generous applications of the throttle failed to induce excessive understeer, or surprising amounts of torque steer. The Jetta TDI hunkered down and blew through the apex with a bit of turbo whistle. Wow. I think the average looks and interior were a ruse so the police think you can't possibly speed in an efficient bar of soap. I also found lift-off oversteer very possible with more speed and ham-fisted steering inputs. Careening around University Ave intersection onto the Marsha Sharp Freeway, I could lift off the throttle, step out the back-end and nail the go pedal in true Nürburgring fashion while netting an honest 40mpg. The cheap trailing beam rear suspension was not a handling detriment save for the fiercest bumps, which allowed just a bit of skipping. The steering was alive and communicative, provided you ignore the slightly artificial electric feel at lower speeds. So what of the Hybrid? The "green" Jetta handles exactly the same, yet the leather wrapped steering wheel was a tad nicer. The same wonderful corner entry and roll transition urge you on to illegal speeds. The main difference? Power delivery: the TDI surges while the Hybrid just….goes. Instead of a tachometer denoting engine revs, a dial ranging from 1-to-10 presents a percentage of available power currently being utilized. A tantalizing "boost" zone glares at you past the 10 mark. My goal was to live in "boost" as much as possible. Not the point of a hybrid, but I am still an enthusiast. I kick Priuses like the Taliban kick puppies! The Hybrid proves an engaging drive, with a lackluster engine note and not quite sharp throttle responses. The TDI emerges as the clear driver's victor, especially when real world fuel economy figures are factored in. The Hybrid says 48mpg highway to the TDI's 42, but the TDI managed 40mpg in mixed driving, with the Hybrid only scored 38mpg. The Hybrid is not a green and happy GLI, it's an expensive alternative to the TDI for the hippy crowd. Just behold those blue Hybrid badges tattoo'd at every corner! The TDI comes across as cheaper, more reliable, comes in a manual, and will hold its value (look at those used mkV TDI prices!). The Hybrid, well…it'll be an interesting Murilee junkyard find in 20 years. Now Captain Leslie knows the truth: I suggest she keeps her current manual shift Jetta TDI (with 185,000 trouble free miles!) and save the money for her upcoming wedding. Leslie, if you have some scratch left over, get a Jetta Sportwagen TDI, which is just a Golf TDI with a big trunk. The current Jetta TDI and Hybrid are good, but after being a command pilot over Afghanistan, you won't have the wool pulled over your eyes: the new Jetta is not superior to yours. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Campaign Targets Child Heatstroke Deaths in Cars
As summer weather heats up in earnest across the nation, the death of an infant boy in Florida this month serves as a tragic reminder to never leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Hoping to prevent such incidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has partnered with Safe Kids Worldwide to spread the word. According to CBS News in Miami, authorities have charged a West Miami-Dade woman, Catalina Bruno, with aggravated manslaughter following the death of her infant son, Bryan Osceola. Bruno allegedly left the baby in his car seat after arriving home; his temperature was 109 degrees when he was found, CBS reported. NHTSA said that as of May 28, there had been four child heatstroke deaths so far in 2013; that's in addition to 384 between 2003 and 2012, according to a study by San Francisco State University. Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash vehicular deaths for young children, NHTSA said. "It is especially dangerous because vehicles heat up quickly," NHTSA said in a statement. "Even with a window rolled down 2 inches, if the outside temperature is in the low-80s, the temperature inside the vehicle can reach deadly levels in just 10 minutes." With their safety campaign, NHTSA and Safe Kids Worldwide urge parents and caregivers to remind themselves to check each time they get out of the car with the mantra, "Where's baby? Look before you lock." One tip the campaign offers is for drivers to habitually remind themselves to do a quick scan, front and back, of their vehicle by leaving a reminder such as placing their purse or briefcase in the back seat, writing a note-to-self or positioning a stuffed animal in the rearview mirror. Most importantly, never leave a child unattended in a car, even if the windows are open or the air conditioning is on. Other tips include:
NHTSA Wants Parents to 'Look Before You Lock' This Summer Study: Aftermarket Devices Not Preventing Child Deaths in Hot Cars More Children Dying in Hot Cars from KickingTires http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/ | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Archive
-
▼
2013
(7180)
-
▼
May
(619)
- LeMons Colorado Inspections: AMC Onslaught, Wankel...
- Living With an EV for a Week – Day Two
- 2014 Chevrolet Impala 2.5 Driven: Spacious Meets P...
- 2013 Volkswagen Jetta TDI vs Jetta Hybrid
- Campaign Targets Child Heatstroke Deaths in Cars
- 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: A Quickie Makeover for the ...
- Subaru Running Low on 2014 Foresters
- Porsche 991 Targa Going Back To The Air Cooled Era
- 2014 Chevrolet Malibu: First Look
- PSA: Carsqa.com Is A Bunch Of Rotten Thieves – And...
- Meet The New ‘Bu, Same As The Old ‘Bu
- The Holden That Almost Became A Buick
- Derek And Doug’s Fantastic Crap Wagons: Mitsubishi...
- Two (Hundred) If By Sea: Crossing Lake Michigan on...
- Dark Days: Broken Hearts and Blown Gaskets
- Despite Overcapacity, Fiat Jobs Are Secured In Italy
- 2014 Mazda 6 vs. 2013 Honda Accord: Can Little Ol’...
- NHTSA Does Not Want Self-Driving Cars To Drive By ...
- Mark Templin Wants To Set New Lexus Record
- 2013 Hyundai Genesis: Family Checklist
- Junkyard Find: 1986 Ford LTD Country Squire LX
- Great Wall Wants To Out-Jeep Jeep
- Le Figaro: Renault And Mitsubishi Talking Tie-up (...
- First Drive: 2014 Acura MDX
- 2014 Acura MDX Starts at $43,185
- Cars.com Reviews the 2014 Acura MDX
- For the Jet-Ski Set: Acura Prices 2014 MDX Startin...
- 2014 Acura MDX First Drive: From the NSX People, t...
- Living With an EV for a Week – Day One
- 2015 Toyota Prius Spied: It’s What’s Under the Cov...
- Cheap(er) Fit EV: Honda Lowers the Lease Price to ...
- GM Pondering Silverado/Sierra Variants, Including ...
- Following Coda and Fisker, Spring of EV Carnage Cl...
- NHTSA Maps Strategies for Driverless-Car Safety
- 2014 BMW X5: First Look
- Honda Cuts Fit EV Lease Costs
- Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Porsche Panamera Hybrid
- The BMW X5: A Look Back
- What Keis And Big Pickups Have In Common: A Galapa...
- Dodge Journey Moving To Michigan, Toluca May Be Le...
- Honda Cuts Price on Fit EV
- Mmm . . . M5: 2000–03 E39 BMW M5 Buyer’s Guide [Ec...
- The Ultimate Self-Driving Machine, Now Available I...
- World’s Largest Automakers 2013: No Change Seen By...
- Refreshed Mazda CX-9 Doesn't Need to Change Third Row
- Musk Promises Triple The Superchargers, Transconti...
- Kampai! Japanese Make Ethanol From Straw
- Junkyard Find: 1977 Ford LTD Country Squire
- Fiat To Merge With Chrysler When VEBA Case Solved
- Piston Slap: Coming to Terms with an Old Soul
- Tax Saabotage: Muller And Saab Board (=Muller) Tar...
- John Phillips: Okay, So Maybe a Test Drive Isn’t S...
- 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Tested: Not the Fastes...
- 2014 Acura RLX: Car Seat Check
- Chevy Volt “starts to lurch forward, like my foot ...
- How Often Should You Check Your Engine's Oil?
- Vauxhall Dives Into GM Product Bin and Comes Up wi...
- 2014 BMW X5 Photos and Info: Less Weight and a Rea...
- 2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel Driven: Is This the an...
- Smartphone Apps Make for Spot-On Parking Management
- Toyota Bets Big On Big Data
- Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Toyota Sienna
- The Chevrolet SS We Should Have Gotten
- 2014 GMC Sierra Denali Photos and Info: Packing a ...
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: Who Is Really ...
- Introducing The Hongqi H7. Now At Your Neighborhoo...
- Tax Saabotage: Swedish Economic Crime Authority To...
- French Paper: PSA Low On Cash
- Can a Minivan Be Stylish?
- Junkyard Find: 1976 Ford LTD Country Squire
- Volkswagen Law Here to Stay – For Now
- Review: Toyota Camry SE 2.5L, Track Tested
- Tales From The Cooler: A Primer On That Primer-Lik...
- Generation Why: Finally, Some Hard Data Shows That...
- Dealer May Sell For Less
- Three Questions GM Should Answer
- Piston Slap: Crystal Ballin’ The Mighty Dak’s Tranny
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage Loses A Pedal, Refuses To...
- Hyundai Air Freshener Leaves Lasting Impression
- 2014 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Debuts, Follows Fa...
- A Little Context From A Forgotten Photograph
- 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L 4×4 Crew Cab Te...
- Name That Shifter, No. 130
- NHTSA Looking Into Possible Ford F-150 EcoBoost V-...
- Stress Tester: How to Test a Car’s Handling Withou...
- Livin’ Large: 2014 Fiat 500L Starts at $19,900
- 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet Video
- 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet Video
- Four-Hundred and How Many Horses? Chevrolet Finall...
- Tesla Wants To Build A Leaf Competitor
- 2014 Corvette Stingray Rated at 455 Horsepower
- Can Bob Lutz and the Chinese Save Fisker?
- Cadillac CTS-V Wagons Made Up 0.005 Percent Of CTS...
- Surprising Japanese Exports: American Jobs
- Tales From The Cooler: Instant Karma Depreciation
- Hawaii Lays Down Law on Texting While Driving
- We, The People, Want Hybrid SUVs
- Iran Khodro Looking To Build Cars In Iraq
- Inside The Industry: An Unsung Hero Recalls How A ...
- Car Crash Deaths Higher for Young Women
-
▼
May
(619)