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Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles are Amazing

Lord Tammerlain said:
What was the price difference between the hybrid and regular Pacifica's?
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$6K but we get a $7,500 tax credit at the end of the year, so I'm not sure how much that will come out in our rebate.
 
I just want to clarify that this is a bit different than a regular hybrid. It's, in effect, a full EV for driving around town, which is 90%+ of the time. We just still have the gas as backup for those times when we have to go a little further.

Here is a picture I took today.
- The left gauge is the electric usage
- The total miles can be seen in the bottom middle-left (650 exactly)
- The 14% and the 5 miles in the aqua on the middle right is the battery charge and distance
- The white number under that is the combined total between gas and battery.
- The bottom blue number is the distance with only gas.

Then there is obviously the gas gauge is on the right. As you can see, we are barely under 3/4 of a tank left and we've gone 650 miles. We should be over that 2K miles mark by the time we need to fill up at this pace, so long as we don't make a long trip.


36885958_10156401510351212_9037743670580740096_n.jpg
 
The 3.6 liter Chrysler Pentastar V6 engine used in the Pacifica is the same engine that Maserati offers in the Ghibli, except that Maserati narrowed it down to 3.0 liters and added twin turbos. But it is a Chrysler Pentastar engine all the same.
The Pacifica version is 289 horsepower and non-turbo. The Maserati version is 430 horsepower, so that should tell you that your engine is overbuilt and is basically loafing. Yes, the added assist from the electric motor does help the life of the engine.

The Pentastar was dubbed one of the ten best engines made by Ward's Automotive.
This is either the second or third year in a row that this engine has received this honor.

Take it from me, a lifelong MoPar fanatic. You did real good.
 
Fishking said:
I just want to clarify that this is a bit different than a regular hybrid. It's, in effect, a full EV for driving around town, which is 90%+ of the time. We just still have the gas as backup for those times when we have to go a little further.

Here is a picture I took today.
- The left gauge is the electric usage
- The total miles can be seen in the bottom middle-left (650 exactly)
- The 14% and the 5 miles in the aqua on the middle right is the battery charge and distance
- The white number under that is the combined total between gas and battery.
- The bottom blue number is the distance with only gas.

Then there is obviously the gas gauge is on the right. As you can see, we are barely under 3/4 of a tank left and we've gone 650 miles. We should be over that 2K miles mark by the time we need to fill up at this pace, so long as we don't make a long trip.


View attachment 67236023
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In case you didn't already know, there is a complete complement of gauges, the only downside being that you only see one at a time, but your
oil pressure, alternator voltage, coolant temp, transmission temp, everything is available on that screen via the steering wheel controls on the left side spoke.
 
Remember when Right wingnuts were saying hybrids were a flash in the pan?
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
The 3.6 liter Chrysler Pentastar V6 engine used in the Pacifica is the same engine that Maserati offers in the Ghibli, except that Maserati narrowed it down to 3.0 liters and added twin turbos. But it is a Chrysler Pentastar engine all the same.
The Pacifica version is 289 horsepower and non-turbo. The Maserati version is 430 horsepower, so that should tell you that your engine is overbuilt and is basically loafing. Yes, the added assist from the electric motor does help the life of the engine.

The Pentastar was dubbed one of the ten best engines made by Ward's Automotive.
This is either the second or third year in a row that this engine has received this honor.

Take it from me, a lifelong MoPar fanatic. You did real good.
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Thanks. The fact that most of our driving doesn't use the destructive force of gas explosions just made me wonder what that meant for less stress and wear on the engine.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
In case you didn't already know, there is a complete complement of gauges, the only downside being that you only see one at a time, but your
oil pressure, alternator voltage, coolant temp, transmission temp, everything is available on that screen via the steering wheel controls on the left side spoke.
Click to expand...

I'll have to check that out. I didn't know that. Also there is a lot of info on the middle console screen that can be displayed. I like to have the power monitor app so I can see exactly how the power is being used so I'm hoping over time I can slowing teach myself the most efficient way to drive it. It's just so much fun for anyone that likes to fiddle with stuff.
 
late said:
Remember when Right wingnuts were saying hybrids were a flash in the pan?
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Well, this is a little different than a regular hybrid. But you're right for the most part about righties and their disposition on this stuff. I'm a righty and I like saving all that money and it's super fun to drive and fiddle with.
 
Fishking said:
Thanks. The fact that most of our driving doesn't use the destructive force of gas explosions just made me wonder what that meant for less stress and wear on the engine.
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It's a very stout engine, and it's made in Trenton MI and the Mack Avenue Engine Plant in Detroit, by the way.
They transferred all Pentastar V6 manufacturing back to the US from the Saltillo plant in Mexico.
It is a FOUR CAM 24 valve unit and features dual variable valve timing.

Since you only have 650 miles on it, keep it under 4500 RPM until you hit 1000 miles of engine operation.
Try to vary the engine RPM a little for the first 1000 miles, don't keep it strictly at one speed.
Even though the owner's manual doesn't call for it, I would recommend an oil change at 2000 miles, the first time around.
After that, you can follow the manufacturer recommendation but I've always changed out the break-in oil at 2000 on all MoPar vehicles I've ever owned, and that's a lot of vehicles.
 
Fishking said:
I'll have to check that out. I didn't know that. Also there is a lot of info on the middle console screen that can be displayed. I like to have the power monitor app so I can see exactly how the power is being used so I'm hoping over time I can slowing teach myself the most efficient way to drive it. It's just so much fun for anyone that likes to fiddle with stuff.
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Have you used the Advanced Cruise Control at all yet? Ours is the Limited model, so it is fully loaded and I do not know if ACC is available on all models but if it is, you're in for a treat once you get the hang of it.
 
late said:
Remember when Right wingnuts were saying hybrids were a flash in the pan?
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There was a gun store here in town that used to advertise "park your prius around the corner" like they were shaming it and saying it wasn't manly, stupid ads. When I get 55 mpg for the day and only have to fill up once a month, well that is pretty smart.

Hybrids are great cars.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
I have a 2007 with 103,000 and still going strong. A remanned battery is less than 1200 bucks, big deal.
Most Prius taxis still have their original battery after 300,000 miles.
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What happens to the batteries when they hit the junkyard?
 
Hawkeye10 said:
Well it is still early yet and I will want to talk about when those batteries need to be replaced and we will of course need to make sure that you are right that this is better for the Planet....there is some extreme doubt on that just now....maybe we got sold another bill of goods like ethanol we Americans have so much trouble wising up you know....but I am happy that you are happy.

EDIT: I noticed a piece somewhere on how the Germans never saw this battery car thing happening like this....maybe it is a fad.
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One problem that seems never talked about but is a major problem is that EV's are heavily subsidized both at purchase and when filling up. Subsidies can amount to nearly half the cost of the vehicle and in most cases no road tax is paid on fuel. Take away that and the picture doesn't look so rosy.
 
American said:
What happens to the batteries when they hit the junkyard?
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They get recycled. Nickel Metal Hydride is recyclable, Lithium is recyclable.
Even LEAD is recyclable.
Did you honestly think that ANY batteries just get buried in landfills?
Second life, my man.

And by the way, by advancing Lithium battery technology, we also happen to be advancing the way in which they get recycled at the same time.
The latest leap forward in lithium battery technology not only virtually assures us that we're going to need progressively less virgin lithium to manufacture NEW batteries over time, it also promises to offer 3X the power density and lightning fast recharging.

But that's not even the most exciting news.
Graphene batteries are on the way.

The old conservative shibboleth about electric cars being worse overall for the environment is turning out to be mostly bullcrap.
And over time, as battery tech improves (exponentially) that myth will eventually be 100% bullcrap. It already is 85% bullcrap and right now, at this present time, electric car technology is where gasoline car technology was in the days when they had just invented the electric starter motor.
It's still, even now, just in its infancy, which is why it always amazes me to see Luddites trying to "kill the baby" instead of nurturing it.

And to think, you guys say you're "pro-life".
 
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Checkerboard Strangler said:
They get recycled. Nickel Metal Hydride is recyclable, Lithium is recyclable.
Even LEAD is recyclable.
Did you honestly think that ANY batteries just get buried in landfills?

And by the way, by advancing Lithium battery technology, we also happen to be advancing the way in which they get recycled at the same time.
The latest leap forward in lithium battery technology not only virtually assures us that we're going to need progressively less virgin lithium to manufacture NEW batteries over time, it also promises to offer 3X the power density and lightning fast recharging.

But that's not even the most exciting news.
Graphene batteries are on the way.

The old conservative shibboleth about electric cars being worse overall for the environment is turning out to be mostly bullcrap.
And over time, as battery tech improves (exponentially) that myth will eventually be 100% bullcrap. It already is 85% bullcrap and right now, at this present time, electric car technology is where gasoline car technology was in the days when they had just invented the electric starter motor.
It's still, even now, just in its infancy, which is why it always amazes me to see Luddites trying to "kill the baby" instead of nurturing it.

And to think, you guys say you're "pro-life".
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What's the total cost of all this manufacturing of batteries and then recycling? How much actual new energy is creative vs converted?
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
Have you used the Advanced Cruise Control at all yet? Ours is the Limited model, so it is fully loaded and I do not know if ACC is available on all models but if it is, you're in for a treat once you get the hang of it.
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I didn't get the Limited. It was just too much money for us to handle and that I don't have the butt cooling system makes me sad. We got the mid-range model so we have one central DVD player and only butt warmers. It doesn't have the advanced cruise control, I don't think.
 
beefheart said:
There was a gun store here in town that used to advertise "park your prius around the corner" like they were shaming it and saying it wasn't manly, stupid ads. When I get 55 mpg for the day and only have to fill up once a month, well that is pretty smart.

Hybrids are great cars.
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It's so true and running straight off of battery is just really fun for some reason, as well as very quiet. I'm also super cheap so saving all that gas is a bonus to go with all the tech fiddling I can do with my van. I think that they could reach a much wider market if they changed their messaging and brought up the money saved, the power that batteries can give you, the actually fun part of driving them and fiddling with the options available, instead of only talking about the environment.

I mean...I don't not care about the environment, but that's not why I got the vehicle at all. It was all the other things.
 
Fishking said:
I didn't get the Limited. It was just too much money for us to handle and that I don't have the butt cooling system makes me sad. We got the mid-range model so we have one central DVD player and only butt warmers. It doesn't have the advanced cruise control, I don't think.
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Does the right hand spoke on your steering wheel look like this?

maxresdefault.jpg
 
American said:
What's the total cost of all this manufacturing of batteries and then recycling? How much actual new energy is creative vs converted?
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So sorry American, I just cannot pull those numbers out of my ass.
The ERoEI on rechargeable batteries however, is a major part of how these industries are run, because in order for these industries to get the kind of help the petroleum industry got when it too was in its infancy, they are required to have a fairly convincing portfolio of strategies to make use of the complete units as well as the raw materials, but if you're not even going to read the links I provided, what's the point of sitting here answering your questions?

I am just going to assume that if you actually have interest, you'll make an effort to inform yourself.
 
beefheart said:
Love it!

I just bought a used 2016 Prius, and I feel weird if a day goes by where I get less than 55 mpg. I wanted the plug in, but $$$$$. Next car, for sure!


(as for your electric bill.....get an extension cord, and plug into the neighbors over night....)
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We have a lot of lots with free charging.

I love my regular old prius (2015) but I would love a plug in - but the money currently is too crazy.
 
beefheart said:
There was a gun store here in town that used to advertise "park your prius around the corner" like they were shaming it and saying it wasn't manly, stupid ads. When I get 55 mpg for the day and only have to fill up once a month, well that is pretty smart.

Hybrids are great cars.
Click to expand...

I always love it when folks belittle electrics.
I could sell a hybrid to the biggest baddest coal rolling redneck on the planet if Chrysler would turn me loose in their design department.

Q: What's more macho than a diesel-electric locomotive?
A: NOTHING.

The solution is to develop a diesel-electric truck. Diesel-electric tech is eighty years old and therefore quite mature.
Adding battery technology to it simply brings it into the 21st century.

And since electric offers 100 percent torque at ALL RPM's, what you wind up with is the biggest, baddest most stump-pullingest truck on the planet.
Just toss in the right "locomotive" design concepts and Billy Bob and Joe Bob and all their friends will be lining up around the block to get one.
And it will get 45 miles to the gallon and make all the right noises, too.
 
year2late said:
We have a lot of lots with free charging.

I love my regular old prius (2015) but I would love a plug in - but the money currently is too crazy.
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Plug-in Prii don't offer all that much more in terms of miles, so they're not really worth the cost.
The Prius is, make no mistake, a GASOLINE engine car with electric assist. That's why many states finally withdrew their green HOV lane exemption for the Prius. It's a hybrid, but it is a very MILD hybrid at best.

Simply put, my Prius wants to be a Chevy Volt when it grows up.
Of course, what I would really like is a Chevy Watt.
What is a Chevy Watt, you ask?

Well, right now, it is "unobtanium" but we might see it in the near future.

Chevy Watt pickup truck

chevy-watt.jpg
 
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