Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Edmund's first drive of the 2004 Toyota Prius. Larger, more powerful, and better mileage than before. 55MPG combined city/highway.
Chevy Cavalier 2004 (or 2003) : good car?
- Thread starter CougTek
- Start date
e_dawg
Storage Freak
I still don't like the all-in-the-center dash layout nor the new Toyota frontal styling previously seen on the 4Runner, rivaling the new Chevy Malibu for ugliness, but the new Prius otherwise seems very promising. It could very well be the hybrid that brought hybrid technology to the masses, as Honda's Civic Hybrid doesn't seem to be selling too well.
Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
The Prius looks interesting, I'll have to check out the 2004 version.
http://www.rotting-energy.net/Forums/1.avi
You will enjoy this
Get yourself a VW turbodiesel for torque and economy.
jtr1962
Storage? I am Storage!
e_dawg said:You're correct, of course, but CVT trannies have often been described as unsatisfying, despite the sometimes superior acceleration. It just doesn't "feel right"
Actually, I can tell you exactly what is missing. Remember basic physics-acceleration=dv/dt and change in acceleration, also known as jerk, is da/dt. A manual shift car has lots of rapidly changes in acceleration whereas a CVT just has a initial quick build up following by a slow dropoff as speed climbs. Lots of jerky motion simply feels faster to most people. I can think of two real world examples here:
1)Riding the subways almost every day for years got my backside quite attuned to the motions. In fact, I could even tell when a particular motorman was driving by minute differences in train handling. Anyway, after years of riding the 1962-vintage R-36s(i.e. the famous Redbirds) on the #7 line I initially thought the new trains being delivered this year were slower. Or so they felt. The timing between stations contradicted my gut feeling, however. The difference was that the newer trains had a much less jerky motion. In fact, they actually accelerate faster to 20 mph than the Redbirds(at 2.5 mph/sec vs. 1.75 mph/sec) but the computers controlling the motors limit the jerk rates for the comfort of standing passengers. They may be a bit slower after 20 mph but I'm not sure. They're also much smoother over track irregularities. End result-they just don't feel as fast even if they are. Although I haven't ridden an express of new cars yet I don't anticipate the roller coaster ride of the Redbirds at the 60+ mph that the expresses sometimes reached. Here again, the R-162s may actually be faster but feel slower.
2)My brother's Mark VIII just doesn't feel as fast as I remember my friend's Mitsubishi Precis feeling back in 1988. The Precis was a slow econobox but the manual gearbox combined with having your face about 3 inches from the windshield made it feel faster than it was(and unsafe as well). The Mark VIII has an automatic and feels much smoother. It didn't feel that fast even when I was doing some timing runs with my brother. We ended up with mostly sub 7 second 0 to 60 mph times and the few times we had enough space to try for 0 to 100 I think it averaged about 16 seconds. The Precis couldn't even reach 100 yet it just felt faster.
I guess it all comes down to what people are used to as you said. Since many people associate engine noise with power, I imagine when we have virtually silent fuel cell cars you'll have people saying they don't quite feel right either. While on the subject of feeling right, the first time I practiced driving(and maybe one reason I never got my license) was because a steering wheel felt like a cumbersome way to control a car. Compared to the handlebars on a bike it was. If I could design a car for myself I would have a joystick. Left would go left, right for right, forwards to stop, backwards to go. Normal driving might be a slight backwards pressure with small left and right movements to follow the road.
I have another interesting story. Being a train enthusiast, I also found how the brakes work on cars to be initially disconcerting. On a train you open the brake lever proportionally to the amount of braking you want and then you can leave it there or move it to the hold position. So far, similar to a brake pedal except for the hold part. However, when you want to reduce the braking force you move to the release position until the brake pipe pressure goes up and braking force goes down to the level you want. After that it's back to the hold. First time I had to stop while driving I applied the brake(a little too hard actually). I wanted to let up so released it completely for a second or two and then applied it ever so slightly(I assumed that was the hold position). I was puzzled why the car was not slowing down very much any more. Then it dawned on me that braking force is simply proportional to pedal pressure. Voila! Good thing as well because most of the general public couldn't grasp the concept of how train brakes work anyway.
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
jtr1962 said:
Just replace the steering wheel with handlebars and some reduction gearing.
Handle bars have what, 45 degrees of usable turning arc. That would make for some twitchy stearing in a 1.5 ton vehicle.
Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
NRG = mc² said:
Good suggestion energy, especially in regards to fuel economy.
e_dawg
Storage Freak
e_dawg said:
Whoops. Actually, that should be natural gas instead of diesel. A new 650 MW (enough to supply 2.5% of Ontario's energy requirements) natural gas co-gen plant opened recently in Sarnia's Chemical Valley. It supposedly uses these rare 200 tonne turbines that had to be imported all the way from Kobe, Japan:
New era in power arrives
Massive turbine reaches Sarnia
http://www.theobserver.ca/2001/pts_010602.html
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
In Japan, the Prius will park itself.Fushigi said:
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
I dont remember where I saved this from afew months back but it has some performance specs on it:
http://www.rotting-energy.net/Forums/turbine.htm
0-200mph in 15 seconds is seriously fast.
http://www.rotting-energy.net/Forums/turbine.htm
0-200mph in 15 seconds is seriously fast.
Tea
Storage? I am Storage!
Want any help, Coug?
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
NRG = mc² said:
From what I heard the other day this bike has a problem with lag (1.5s) on the front & back end. Continuing to have power for 1.5s while approaching a traffic light or corner whould be hair raising.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Perfect car for me. I'll have to find a way to wait until next year.Fushigi said:
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
I read in the L.A. Times a few days ago that an all new Cavalier would be out next year (2004). This was an article, not an advt.
So looks like youy need to find a way to wait for a year, Coug, either for the Prius or something better than what's available today.
So looks like youy need to find a way to wait for a year, Coug, either for the Prius or something better than what's available today.
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
Mercutio said:
"Besides, Faenza says the wheels on his Lamborghini start to shake when he goes faster than 70."
LOL, he's on his way to being without a license me thinks. Isn't there a cutoff point where you automatically lose your license?
I saw an article where there was a bike that used a detuned Corvette V8. It had a double wheel arrangement front and back, when the rider leaned into a turn, they would would move appropriately so all four tires stayed on the ground. It could stand up on it's own without a stand. Apparently it was a one-off prototype, but it would eliminate the spool up/down lag of a jet engine.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Actually it was a Chrysler and it used the Viper's V10 engine. http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/tomahawk.htmlPradeep said:
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
Fushigi said:
There are others that are similar.
http://www.bosshosscycle.com/v8bikes.html
http://www.bosshosscycle.com/second.html