[MarkJerling]

Mmm discounts :-D

Congrats you old bugger!

[richandfleur]

Interesting to see the Toyota Prius isn’t selling particularly well anymore. It was all space age like inside and led the way on hybrid tech for the masses. It’s not selling now because all that same tech is now available on most models from Toyota. It’s normal now and doesn’t have all the space age styling. Tried one for a few hours for my mother recently and the driver doesn’t have to do anything different to a normal car, just takes off silently then motor kicks in after you’re up to speed.

Less thirsty than a full petrol car, but not as large a battery reserve as a PHEV or full EV. Price was about say 10% more than petrol only (so the subsidies help balance that at least). Full EV is still well out of reach for many but will come down eventually.

For my mother a big benefit would be to never have to visit a petrol station again. She hates filling her tank herself and the smell etc, especially if any smells. Plug in at home in garage really appeals.

[Transit]

Well done on receiving a reward for reaching an esteemed and honourable age

I have been running a 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for work for the past 18 months. $2 per night to change the battery at home, for 30km of running. When I am in town I basically never use petrol, and it is actually really nice to fill up from home. I will move to a full BEV when they become more affordable, but at the moment the PHEV's are the bee's.

You should look into it Pete, and then you will spend nothing on petrol, if you stay local

---------- Post added 23-08-21 at 05:43 PM ----------



Thanks Pete

Sounds like a plan!

---------- Post added 23rd Aug 2021 at 10:37 PM ----------

Congrats you old bugger!

Thanks Mark, fortnight to go, not counting chickens yet :-)




---------- Post added 23rd Aug 2021 at 10:40 PM ----------

Warewhare 1st Tuesday of the month, spend like there's no tomorrow


Help

Bloody Nora everythings coming up Milhouse !

[NZ_Ross]

For my mother a big benefit would be to never have to visit a petrol station again. She hates filling her tank herself and the smell etc, especially if any smells. Plug in at home in garage really appeals.

It is the way to go Rich. If your mother typically does less than 100km in a day i.e. only around town, then there are heaps of Nissan Leaf's around for reasonable prices, that have that sort of range still. One of my team brought one for his wife for about 10K and says it does the job really well

[MarkJerling]

Interesting to see the Toyota Prius isn’t selling particularly well anymore. It was all space age like inside and led the way on hybrid tech for the masses. It’s not selling now because all that same tech is now available on most models from Toyota......

I'd argue that one of the key reasons it's not selling is it's looks. And the fact that its become quite bloated. Bloated and ugly.

[zkarj]

I have been running a 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for work for the past 18 months. $2 per night to change the battery at home, for 30km of running. When I am in town I basically never use petrol, and it is actually really nice to fill up from home. I will move to a full BEV when they become more affordable, but at the moment the PHEV's are the bee's.

When my 15 year old Mazda 3 came up with a sensor warning a couple of times in the last 6 months I began thinking what I would replace it with — this is the first fault it's had in 15 years so my yardstick was a new mid-level Mazda 3.

After much research I came to the following conclusions on cost:
1. A full EV of similar spec is like upgrading to a larger class of vehicle.
2. An EV of the same class & cost comes with only very basic amenities*.
3. PHEVs are great if you stay inside the EV range, but outside that don't offer much advantage (on the planet-saving side).
4. The government subsidy makes EV/PHEV cars cheaper but does not bring them close to ICE equivalents.

I paid about $900 to have my sensor replaced bringing my total non-wear/servicing costs for the car to around $60 per year. The car still runs wonderfully, especially on 98 fuel, and is a long, long way from being a "gas guzzler" and I don't use it to commute. I will seriously look at buying an EV when:
1. It's not a major premium over equivalent ICE.
2. It can get to Rotorua comfortably on a single charge**.

* One vehicle I looked at was so basic that the big-photo features page included "LED running lights" as a banner feature.
** When looking at the range equation for the new Mazda EV, I realised how terrible the North Island is for "a place to spend half an hour" on a long drive. At least in the lower half. If it can't get me to Taihape, I'm not interested.

[richandfleur]

I'd argue that one of the key reasons it's not selling is it's looks. And the fact that its become quite bloated. Bloated and ugly.

I guess that's the point really, this sort of tech doesn't have to be packaged in wild out there styling, it's just inside normal vehicles now.

---------- Post added 08-24-21 at 09:58 AM ----------

It is the way to go Rich. If your mother typically does less than 100km in a day i.e. only around town, then there are heaps of Nissan Leaf's around for reasonable prices

Very interesting to read how newer EVs have active cooling on the batteries, and are getting much longer lifespans than the early ones. This tech really is surging ahead in leaps and bounds.

Just need it to arrive at a point where the pricing is more in line with traditional vehicles, because right now it certainly isn't.
Only alignment is with 'self charge' hybrids, which will likely receive the subsidy in early 2022.
These have more efficient 'Atkinson cycle' petrol engines, which are pretty gutless off the mark, so use electric motors to assist with that part.

Random point of interest is car makers use vehicle size as the point of difference as you go up the product offering ladder.
It's very hard to find a small car that's fully spec'd with the likes of front and rear parking sensors and especially the 360deg camera birds eye view feature.
Was difficult shopping for my mother where we wanted all the safety features and assistance kit, just in a small vehicle suitable for around town mostly.
Toyota Yaris Cross ltd hybrid was the best we could find, but that was larger than we wanted.

Everyone's use case is different though (just like with cameras).

On the camera world side, have you guys seen the photoshop AI colourise tool for adding colour to older black and white photos, and the new feature of AI sky replacements.
Not sure how you feel about all this, but moving forward it's going to be a very strange media world in future.
Images will be able to be manipulated very easily and convincingly. That coupled with the ease of misinformation, echo chambers of web forums where everyone thinks the same way etc, and it's going to be very hard to know what's real.

[zkarj]

Random point of interest is car makers use vehicle size as the point of difference as you go up the product offering ladder.

I don't think that's a new concept, though? They also "grow" their models over time. I remember when the Civic was a little runabout and now its a beast of a car.

It's very hard to find a small car that's fully spec'd with the likes of front and rear parking sensors and especially the 360deg camera birds eye view feature.

I agree you can't find that easily on a small Japanese car, but what about Europeans? Maybe there are small Citroens or Renaults or Beemers that would have them? Then again, I don't think of the Mazda 3 as a large car and the midrange model I have my eye on has the vast majority of those systems. I guess they are upsell items (and with significant inclusion and integration costs) and maybe it doesn't make sense to spend time integrating them with "cheap" models?

On the camera world side, have you guys seen the photoshop AI colourise tool for adding colour to older black and white photos, and the new feature of AI sky replacements.
Not sure how you feel about all this, but moving forward it's going to be a very strange media world in future.
Images will be able to be manipulated very easily and convincingly. That coupled with the ease of misinformation, echo chambers of web forums where everyone thinks the same way etc, and it's going to be very hard to know what's real.

Convincingly to the masses, and I guess that's enough to move the needle. But images can be convincingly manipulated already. I think I've already told the story here of one example my brother did, replacing the sky and moving or removing major elements. Heck, I've removed tree branches, the odd fence, and more than a few people from my photos over the years. Plus there's even work one can do prior to shooting to "shape the narrative". Or even just use a picture of A and claim it's of B.

[Kiwizinho]

Interesting to see the Toyota Prius isn’t selling particularly well anymore. It was all space age like inside and led the way on hybrid tech for the masses. It’s not selling now because all that same tech is now available on most models from Toyota. It’s normal now and doesn’t have all the space age styling. Tried one for a few hours for my mother recently and the driver doesn’t have to do anything different to a normal car, just takes off silently then motor kicks in after you’re up to speed.

Less thirsty than a full petrol car, but not as large a battery reserve as a PHEV or full EV. Price was about say 10% more than petrol only (so the subsidies help balance that at least). Full EV is still well out of reach for many but will come down eventually.

For my mother a big benefit would be to never have to visit a petrol station again. She hates filling her tank herself and the smell etc, especially if any smells. Plug in at home in garage really appeals.

I'm still considering one, but because it's one of the few cars with a 7 seater/station wagon model. We currently have a Wish that is reasonably economical, although if I'd bought a model two years later the economy improves still further. We live at the top of the South Island and my parents are in the middle in a rural area, so a 350km drive is normal several times a year. During the week though, school runs aren't efficient for an ICE powered vehicle.

Hybrid fuel economy drops on long trips whereas ICE economy improves. I can get about 6.2L/100Km on long runs with the older model Wish while the Prius Alpha (7 seat model) I think is rated 4.8L/100Km on long runs or 3.8L/100Km for urban driving. A PHEV would be better for urban use, but presumably a bit worse on long runs due to more mass to move with a bigger battery. Either way would result in a net reduction in emissions, although the standard hybrid would be more affordable to buy. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a PHEV version of the 7 seater Prius as that would be ideal. I know some people don't like the looks, but personally I think the earlier generation 'bug eyed' Leaf is way uglier, although the latest generation looks a lot better and range is just about good enough now too, but price is still out of reach.

---------- Post added 08-25-21 at 11:21 AM ----------

On the camera world side, have you guys seen the photoshop AI colourise tool for adding colour to older black and white photos, and the new feature of AI sky replacements.
Not sure how you feel about all this, but moving forward it's going to be a very strange media world in future.
Images will be able to be manipulated very easily and convincingly. That coupled with the ease of misinformation, echo chambers of web forums where everyone thinks the same way etc, and it's going to be very hard to know what's real.

Of course it pays to turn off meta-data export if you want to get away with fakes, as Photoshop embeds a full edit history by default even in jpg exports. Someone only needs to get caught doing that once without disclosing it, and they'll never be credible again, so it's a potentially double edged sword. Sure, some people will get sucked in by fakes, but others will potentially destroy their careers getting caught producing undisclosed fakes.

I think there can be artistic or marketing uses for colourising or sky replacements, but I think they should be disclosed. I had a bit of a play with sky replacements, and it seemed to work quite well, and for the cost of an Adobe Photography subscription vs the cost of having to reshoot a scene when it's all good apart from the sky, I can see potential. Marketing material is often highly staged anyway, so if some of it doesn't happen in camera, that's not necessarily making it any less real, although a bit of honesty around disclosure would go a long way.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of fantasy as long as everyone knows it's fantasy. If that wasn't the case, Hollywood and a lot of authors would be out of business.

[MarkJerling]

2. It can get to Rotorua comfortably on a single charge**.

Several Teslas can do that. But, still a bit expensive!

[MarkJerling]

I don't think that's a new concept, though? They also "grow" their models over time. I remember when the Civic was a little runabout and now its a beast of a car.

Yes, it's odd. BMTroubleU is the same. The earlier 3-series cars were small, now they're huge. My wife's new Mondeo is also much bigger than the old one. Wider and longer.
Mind you, this is not new. Cars grew throughout the 50s and 60s and then the 70s came along and shrunk everything.

[Clarkey]

Happy with my Highlander hybrid. 7 seats (although cramped in the back row) lots of space in the boot and actually has a tow rating. 6.4l/100km when vehicle only and averaged 8.4km100km on a recent 4400km road trip with a 1250ish kg 22ft RV trailer. Not flat roads, either. Gas electric is still the only option for a rated towing capacity here.

[Transit]

This old Greenie might pick a cheap second hand ICE now ppl are flicking them off :-D
Rather like more crash protection... Friends got centre punched a few weeks ago... Multiple injuries... Saved by side airbags

[Kiwizinho]

Cars grew throughout the 50s and 60s and then the 70s came along and shrunk everything.

Ah yes, the 70s oil crisis and carless days. I remember the little sticker each car had to have to say which day of the week it wouldn't be driven. I'm pretty sure it was a wonderful time for car salespeople, as everyone naturally acquired an additional vehicle if they could afford it to get around the restrictions.

I don't think there were double cab utes back then though - or much in the way of health and safety rules. I think I recall riding around on the back of farm utes when we visited friends when I was a kid, or four people crammed across the bench seat including the driver with no seatbelts.

[MarkJerling]

This old Greenie might pick a cheap second hand ICE now ppl are flicking them off :-D
Rather like more crash protection... Friends got centre punched a few weeks ago... Multiple injuries... Saved by side airbags

Yes, new cars have rather many airbags. My 2003 car has airbags for the driver and front passenger and in the side of the seats. My wife's new car has two for the driver, one for the front passenger, two in the front seats for side protection as well as side curtain airbags from the roof and also inflatable rear seatbelts for rear passengers. Added to that, of course, auto emergency braking and other clever gizmos. Makes for safer travelling.

Gone are the days where, as a kid, I used to lie on the rear parcel shelf during long journeys!