Thu
May 22 2008
01:24 pm
By: R. Neal
According to a Prius Chat newsletter, the "Next Generation Prius will be unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January. The rumor around Toyota dealerships is that the Gen III Prius will be on sale in April 2009."
Edmunds Auto Observer speculates on updates which include 50 more horsepower and improved gas mileage. They suggest plug-in and Li-Ion options won't be available until Gen 3.1 in 2010.
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- A message to our Republican family members and friends (1 reply)
- Don't get scammed. Don't respond to emails, texts, phone calls. (4 replies)
- Trump versus Harris has echoes Roy Cohn versus John Henry Faulk (1 reply)
- Grief and anger mix as Tennessee plastic plant survivors say permission to leave came too late (5 replies)
- Medicare [drug plan] changes for 2025 (2 replies)
- “There are places that are designated floodplains that never flood” (4 replies)
- 50+ people stranded on top of Unicoi County Hospital, Erwin, TN (7 replies)
- Knox Area survey Re Climate Pollution Reduction (1 reply)
- Burchett: have gun will campaign (1 reply)
- Dozens of threats made against Knox County Schools. Students afraid. (7 replies)
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an energy hog (6 replies)
- It's the guns, stupid. (1 reply)
TN Progressive
- Friday Toons (RoaneViews)
- Toons...It's Friday, isn't it? (Don't tell me if I messed this one up as well...) (RoaneViews)
- Friday Toons Saturday (RoaneViews)
- Kamala! (RoaneViews)
- Alcoa, Hall Rd. Corridor Study meeting, July 30, 2024 (BlountViews)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
- July 4, 2024 - aka The Twilight Zone (Joe Powell)
- Chef steals food to serve at restaurant? (BlountViews)
- Blount County, TDOT make road deal for gun mfg ignoring town of Louisville,TN, (BlountViews)
- It's voting time again. Let's get out the vote. (BlountViews)
- Winter at the Big Rocks (Whitescreek Journal)
- Secrets from My Radio Days (Joe Powell)
TN Politics
- State penalized private prison operator $29.5M since 2022 for contract shortfalls (TN Lookout)
- Vanderbilt grad students look for increased pay, better benefits with United Auto Workers (TN Lookout)
- Foreign policy: Where do Harris and Trump stand? (TN Lookout)
- U.S. Supreme Court considers Biden administration regulation of ‘ghost guns’ (TN Lookout)
- John Cole’s Tennessee: Dog whistling. (TN Lookout)
- Registry members say Congresswoman Harshbarger’s treasurer should be subpoenaed (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- ‘Straightening our crowns’ (Knox TN Today)
- Gators in the way of Vols’ recovery (Knox TN Today)
- Cedar Lake re-set (Knox TN Today)
- Fulton Bellows building brings $13.5 million (Knox TN Today)
- KPD honors 6 civilians as top 2024 employees (Knox TN Today)
- ‘The hands and feet’: FCPC sends trucks to Greeneville (Knox TN Today)
- Knoxville Charter: Vote on future council representation (Knox TN Today)
- Smoky Mountain Hiking Club celebrates 100 years (Knox TN Today)
- Knoxville Jazz Orchestra celebrates 25 years (Knox TN Today)
- Massey on roads + who’s on your ballot? (Knox TN Today)
- Stargazing at Marble Springs on Saturday (Knox TN Today)
- Marble City Opera presents ‘driving while black’ (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- Knoxville Evacuation: Half-mile area around Lonsdale told to evacuate as bomb squad responds to possible explosive device on Western Ave. (WBIR)
- Officials draft plan to begin debris removal across Cocke County (WATE)
- Woman turns her Newport coffee shop into volunteer coordination center for flood relief (WATE)
- Loudon County School Board to join 'mass action' lawsuit over insulin prices (WATE)
- Dented cans, no date marks found at Hardin Valley restaurant during inspection (WATE)
- A 'staple' of Mexican culture: Behind the scenes at a Knoxville tortilla factory (WATE)
- Knoxville man accused of committing two downtown killings on the same morning to stand trial (WBIR)
- Soccer Talk: One Knox books playoff place with last-gasp goal against Chattanooga (WATE)
- TDOT reopens section of I-26 for local traffic; commercial vehicles and thru-traffic still restricted (WBIR)
- Hartford businesses working to rebuild after devastating flooding from Hurricane Helene (WBIR)
- Reba's new NBC sitcom 'Happy's Place' will be set in Knoxville (WBIR)
- 'She was a Godly woman' | Family remembers flood victim after Hurricane Helene brought historic flooding in Unicoi Co. (WBIR)
News Sentinel
State News
- Three prep football games to watch in the Chattanooga area - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- ‘Flush’ has been the word of the week for Vols - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Washington state woman calls 911 after being hounded by up to 100 raccoons - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and wife Ginny are divorcing - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Tesla’s soon-to-be-unveiled robo-taxi may already be behind its Chinese competition - Fortune (Business)
- Ethel Kennedy, Passionate Supporter of the Family Legacy, Dies at 96 - The New York Times (US News)
- Milton knocks out power to millions and spawns tornadoes across Florida. At least 5 dead - The Associated Press (US News)
- Solar storm expected to bring northern lights: How, where to see aurora this week - Axios (US News)
- Wall Street ends slightly lower after higher than expected inflation, unemployment - Reuters (Business)
- TD Bank Pleads Guilty and Pays $3 Billion to Settle Money-Laundering Case - The New York Times (Business)
- Biden tells Trump 'get a life' over hurricane misinformation - ABC News (US News)
- Ratan Tata is cremated with full state honours in Mumbai - BBC.com (Business)
- How did FEMA spend $9 billion so quickly? Back-to-back disasters - CNN (US News)
- Federal appeals court is skeptical of DACA but could narrow the ruling striking it down - CNN (US News)
- Boeing Would Be Biggest-Ever US ‘Fallen Angel’ If Cut to Junk - Yahoo Finance (Business)
- Trump proposes new tax break on car loan interest - CNBC (US News)
- The Fed is finally cutting rates, but banks aren't in the clear just yet - CNBC (Business)
- Palantir Stock Has Gained 16% Since Being Added to the S&P 500. This One Did Better. - Barron's (Business)
- Furious Trump Calls for CBS to Be Shut Down Over Harris Interview - The Daily Beast (US News)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
To date, the failure to expand Medicaid/TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding. (Source)
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South
Honda is supposed to be
Honda is supposed to be introducing a revamped CRX as the new CRZ in 2009. It will be hybrid.
Man I wish I designed cars for a living.
I still want my plugin Clubman, "Plugman"
From this there are supposed to be about 4 (!) new Honda hybrids, the most interesting (to me, anyway) being a five passenger "five-door," which sounds to me like it might just mean a Prius fighter.
The CR-Z could be cool, though.
I saw a Prius New York Taxi
I saw a Prius New York Taxi in NYC a few days ago. As I thought about it I wondered why there were not more of them visable.
We have a 2007 Mini Cooper
We have a 2007 Mini Cooper R56, 6-speed. (non turbo. they changed from supercharged to turbo in 2007).
round trip, we only used half a tank of gas going to Asheville and back, plus driving around Black Mountain last weekend.
We averaged 38.7 mpg for the whole trip. The Cooper diesel, sold only in Europe, gets about 65 mpg.
And yes, I now am jonesing for a Cooper Clubman.
Victoria, BC taxis
Last time I was in Victoria, BC all the taxis were Prii. A mixture of 1st & 2nd generation models.
Plug-Ins
My dream is to have a plug-in hybrid and have the power supplied from a grid of PV panels at my home.
One day it will be a reality but a person of limited means such as myself has to make long term plans for such large purchases.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
Win-win-win
Given the price of gasoline these days, if we had plug-ins now we could probably buy the electricity needed to charge them as green power (KUB GP Switch program) for the extra usage on our home utility bills and still come out ahead in operating costs.
Also, here's some hopeful news about the Volt.
Electric future
My beloved Poka Dot, AKA Ye Olde Vanne has gone to Chicago with the intention of being converted to electric power.
The new owner is a member of an electric car club:
(link...)
I will be so proud of Polka Dot if this comes to pass. I get first right of refusal if he gets resold, though I'm not holding my breath.
The buyer says the electric cost is minimal and the expected range would be 30 miles between charges. Which would be just fine for a work van for me.
____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs
Read this speculative future
Read this speculative future timeline of automobile technology advancement.
Looking for an Escape
Looking for an Escape Hybrid? There are two, count 'em, two currently for sale in East Tennessee.
One is a used 2007 at John Morris Ford in Lenoir City. It's white with a light gray interior and leather seats. It doesn't appear to have any other options, except a 120v AC outlet on the console. It has about 18,000 miles and they are asking $27,900. We drove it, and it runs and handles fine. We got about 32MPG on our suburban test drive with no speeds over about 45 and some stop and go. Acceleration is pretty good for a 4 cyl. SUV.
The other is a new 2008 at Ted Russel Ford on Parkside Dr. It's a darker but not quite dark blue (Vista Blue) with tan interior and leather seats. The dashboard controls are completely redesigned for 2008 and much nicer and more up to date than the 2007. They are asking list of $28,900 plus an extra $1000 for dealer add-on "finish protection". It has no extra options, does not have the 120v AC outlet, but does have a nicer stereo and an aux input on the front panel for your iPod, MP3, XM, etc.
According to reviews, the 2008 hybrid drive train is essentially the same, but with some software tweaks they have been able to get an extra couple of MPGs.
Both have AC with an "economy" mode that keeps you cool enough but allows the gas engine to shut off when stopped. In regular AC modes, the compressor runs off the gas engine so it never shuts off.
Both are five passenger with rear 60/40 fold down seats. One oddity is that you have to take the headrests off, pull the lower seat cushion out and up, then fold it down into the space behind the front seats. Once you do all this you get a large, perfectly flat cargo space, but you lose the storage space behind the front seats where you would normally be able to stow a cooler on one side and a camera bag on the other.
The 2007 seems overpriced by about $3000 to $4000 (which is probably why it has been on their lot going on two months), but it's the only used Escape Hybrid I've ever seen. The 2008 interior is much nicer, so I'd probably go for that, especially considering the difference in price of only about $1000 (or $2000 counting the "finish protection, which I generally refuse to pay but I'm sure they make up somewhere in the deal). When you add in the (up to) $3000+ tax credit, the new one is actually cheaper.
I'm tempted to go buy it, but it's not the color we want. I'd want the green or the lighter "ice blue."
Anyway, these are the only two Escape Hybrids for sale in East Tennesse that I'm aware of. I don't know how Ted Russel got a new one. The guy in Lenoir City said he special ordered one for a customer over a year ago and it never came in so they gave up.
P.S. Out of curiosity, I
P.S. Out of curiosity, I just went and checked the mileage on our Freestyle that we would be trading on an Escape Hybrid or something else.
Since returning home from our New England road trip last October, we've driven the Freestyle a grand total of 594 miles. In seven months. That's about 85 miles per month.
I'm not very good at math, but something tells me that $3000 or $4000 out of pocket to trade it in and make a downpayment on a new car, even if the new car gets 30% or even 50% better mileage, doesn't add up in the long run. What would pay off is to get rid of the damn thing and pay cash for a beater to have around in case of emergency, or just rent one when needed.
As the Mrs. says, "sometimes you need to do the math."
OK, then.
Dangerous thinking
That's dangerous thinking. It's unamerican to think about value received when it comes to consumer goods. The President told us to go shop.
What do want...our whole economy to go in the tank?
Oh, wait...
Drive your car to death, save $31,000
(link...)
(link...)
(link...)
I subscribed for 3 months last fall to Consumer Reports Car Buying Kit. I thought it was pretty useful.
$39.
(link...)
Then when we decided on car we printed out the dealer costs and went to dealer knowing what they paid for it with printout in hand.