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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/05/2014 in all areas

  1. Range distance is only there for car salesmen to play "Fuel light Bingo" They take your demo home and see how far it can be driven without running out of fuel.........It is there for no other reason ;)
    2 points
  2. I have had Toyota cars since 1975 and bought my first Avensis in 1998 and have had five more since that one. Every Toyota I have had with remote alarm system has also locked/unlocked all the doors when using the key in the drivers door, I regularly travel to Europe using a variety of ferries and need to lock the car with the key. I think your repair garage are wrong, if you have a local dealer with a car the same as yours why not go and ask if you can try it?.
    1 point
  3. Yes I know we should put the petrol in before it reaches the light-on stage but in NZ and Australia (where we mostly drive) the petrol stations are certainly often way more than 10km apart but in the end your words ""Toyota's rationale is that even with 0 range you should have more than enough fuel ....." That is really my issue. Why have 0 range when that is not the truth? But also why does ours change so dramatically, sometimes when we aren't even driving it? Anyway - we'll carry on. We will fill it before we get near the light-on stage but continue to be amazed at a ridiculous instrument on the display panel that clearly does not make any sense. Thanks for your comment. Happy driving.
    1 point
  4. Regarding taxi's waiting at ranks. If there is a compatible way of BEVs and PlugIns having wireless charging, then that's the way forward for sure. A taxi rank would be ideal for such technology - should it ever get to market. The trouble with ranks is that they are always moving. It may not seem like it when you drive or walk past one, but every minute or so (sometimes longer) all the cars shuffle up when car at the front get a job. You couldn't be messing about pluging in, out, in, out etc. It just wouldn't work. Also, people are always in a rush. If I get out to mess about unpluging my car for even 10 seconds, the passenger will have jumped out and into another cab. Even if they didn't, you don't want to leave a stranger in your cab with your cash box/phone/sat nav whilst you get out for 10 seconds. There is then the issue of cost. The bus companies get significant Government investment/grants/tax breaks etc. Taxi drivers get none. The taxi at your local station are probably having to pay thousands of £'s a year to the station just to pick up there. The station make money by having them there. The rail companies are not going to pay to instal chargers or wireless charge points. The cabbies aren't either as they usually renew their rail contracts every 12 months and might be there the next year. Councils are in charge of the street ranks and they won't invest anything. The money for the white lines and signs at taxi ranks are paid for by the taxi's annual charges to the council who generally want to break even at least (maintaining ranks, staff wages, massive pensions, sick pay etc). They're not going to agree to installing chargers at £thousands just to benefit a few drivers who want to save a few quid. Hybrids and longer range plug in's could be viable in the taxi trade. There are none of the latter that are viable for taxi work - 5 large® seats, 350+ litre boot etc. And at the end of the day, you're paying £25k for a car with a very finite life when the guy on the rank next to you will have paid £4k for his 3 year old Mondeo, which also has a very finite life but at much less outlay.
    1 point
  5. Green wash PR. I was a private taxi driver and ran the car 10-12 hours a day covering 30/35k a year which works out about 120/150 miles a day give or take. 10 miles EV is nothing. It's not worth bothering with other than maybe first thing in a morning. The extra cost and hassle of plugging in to get your 15 miles max isn't worth doing at any other time. And if you do plug it in twice a day that means nearly 700 times you insert and remove the plug. You'll need a new socket every couple years. Is there any other electrical appliance at home that you'd do that for? I looked at the PIP before it was released and the high cost announced and it wasn't viable even at £1.40 a litre as it was back then. A plug in taxi/private hire is an ideal solution to cutting emissions, improving air quality and reducing costs so long as the electric range was useful. An Ampera would have been a good bet IF it had had 5 seats and a bigger boot. So back to the article. It's greenwash fud - sorry.
    1 point
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