OK, a little gas every now and then, when no one is watching

craneplaneguy said:

..... don't really know why I bothered as I charge it for free anyway but I like playing around with efficiency things and I was throwing away power by leaving with a full charge.

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? If you do not use regen on the way down, wont you have to use the mechanical brakes instead ?
..That would cost you eventually in maintenance.

...it had been bugging me to leave home with a full charge...and it's only 9 miles to my crane yard...

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You are the ideal candidate for an EV to be one of your vehicles. Lithium batteries will last longest when they are not stored at a high charge. If there is any way possible for you to charge to 4.0V per cell over night? because that could possibly double the life of the expensive batteries. So, I guess the question is...will that downhill slope regen-charge the pack from 4.0V per cell up to 4.2V when you reach the bottom?

Full charge or not, the car can control the descent by using the engine as an air pump in effect, almost like a diesel truck jake brake, once the capability of that is reach, then mechanical brakes are used. It all happens automatically with no input needed from the driver, neat stuff. The way I understand it, when the regen bar graph reaches the end of the display, then and only then do the brakes come into play. So the game is to keep the indicator slightly away from the end, maxxing out the regen, while not careening out of control, while also looking out for random deer, skunk, turkeys, and cattle. The only thing I dislike about all this, is someone behind me will think my brakes are being used the whole way, not being hybrid savvy, as the brake lights are activated when in regen though not using the mech brakes. Going down the mountain here with your brake lights on the entire way is a sure sign you are a tourist or worse, from town.

It looks like a 1.5 hr charge is the sweet spot to get me to the start of the down slope, and that at the bottom of it, with a full charge to easily handle the remaining more or less level ground into town. The PluginPrius is way smarter then I am, so I'll let it's onboard system worry about voltage per cell, main traction battery life span is not much of a concern in practice, according to the Prius forum I frequent. The car is pretty brilliantly engineered, and it gives me a further appreciation for the WW2 vets in winning against Japan, they are damn clever people. That reminds me, I was at the new local Hyundai dealer the other day on a crane related issue, I meant to ask someone there if they follow the news at all, I mean of course the threat of a total nuke war with NoKo can't bode well for the car company. Maybe they are made in Kentucky or Ohio, don't know.

.....I was at the new local Hyundai dealer the other day on a crane related issue, I meant to ask someone there if they follow the news at all, I mean of course the threat of a total nuke war with NoKo can't bode well for the car company....

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more than Hyundai cars to worry if that crap hits the fan.
not only several other major car plants in SK, but many other international businesses ( Samsung, LG ETC ), and Japan is if the firing range too..Toyota, Honda, Nissan, etc etc. and if those evil little b"stards target a few of the Nuclear power plants !!..what a mess !
Its been likened to the Cuban Crisis, and if you have read how lucky we were that a single Russian sub officer had a conscience crisis at the last minute to prevent total war,...lets hope it doesnt get that close again.

This one shows how using a gasoline engine to charge an 'electric' car is becoming institutionalized with an entire service industry growing around the idea.

Remember we're talking about car drivers here. The least creative problem solvers around, they exhibit no genuine reflection on the morality of harms they commit, and they demonstrate a willingness to destroy both natural resources and public quality of life for the sake of slight increases in their convenience. It's not surprising that they'll do things that are technically possible, but stupid.

Chalo said:

Remember we're talking about car drivers here. The least creative problem solvers around ...

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So according to you the most creative problem solvers around are people who have lost their driver's license, people who couldn't qualify for one, children and teenagers who are too young to drive and geriatrics who can't see or operate car controls. Those are your picks for the most creative problem solvers.

The other 95% of us that aren't in those categories and hold a license, which is most every normal person in the country, we're the immoral schmucks according to you.

What I'm saying is that almost all car drivers drive cars as a first resort, without regard to whether it's the most appropriate means of getting them around, and without the slightest consideration of the drawbacks and externalities. They are the sort of people who do what they're told without ever pausing to figure out why. The least creative problem solvers, in other words.

There's a qualitative difference between people who've given up their cars (or avoided owning one) as they've become more thoughtful and conscious, and those who have lost their cars through foolishness, or who want to drive a car but can't afford one. The latter are simply car drivers deprived of cars.

Tesla should but a bunch of capabuses and bus stop/charging stations to take their employees to and from the city :lol:

https://youtu.be/LYL6NyU1g3k