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Tdefny

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Everything posted by Tdefny

  1. And yet all the reviewers LOVE the leaves for some reason.
  2. Even 1-2 MPG would be appreciated, but I doubt it would be more than that. They did their homework and already coaxed so much from this car.
  3. On the cars Laurel first spoke about, perhaps the options were wrong for the region. All had black interior and all the ones I checked also had the Pano roof. Either of those would normally have been a dealbreaker for me (except that I did end up with the roof and like it). I would not have bought the combination for heat reasons that I wouldn't expect to be a big issue in Canada.
  4. Nice picture. The only way it might have been better is if there were a T Rex in view just under where it says "check surroundings for safety".
  5. Maybe, but don't ever do it. Depending on your state of charge you might go pretty far but there is no way to predict exactly how far before you get stuck. The real problem is that you will get so low that you might draw the sludge from the bottom of the tank into the filter and clog things up. Or you might dry run the fuel pump which could burn it out. Much better to plan ahead and fill the tank before that point. It isn't like you don't get ample warning. You might get away with it now but the chances of problems increases as the car ages because the level of sludge is constantly increasing as the car gets older.
  6. I have not used it but I have used a small 12V compressor without sealand for at least 20 years and almost always got enough air into the tire to get home or to a tire shop. Actually, I have gone weeks on just refills when I didn't have the time to waste at the tire shop. Using the goo triggers a lot of other stuff to be needed, including a new TPS and more goo for the kit, so I prefer the compressor only. I only hope that the one supplied by Ford is at least a decent one.
  7. "if only they would pair the electric with a duratec diesel!" It would be some improvement over Diesel alone, but Electric and gas have better synergy than electric and diesel because diesel has plenty of torque at low RPM while gas does not. Perhaps if they did more like the Volt and made the car more electric with the diesel there more for charging and light assist, it could be kept in its optimum range and only run when needed.
  8. I would love to see what you could do with an Energi. I suspect 30 or more miles on a full charge. I am tempted to unplug and go hybrid only for a while to see what I can do without plugin. I have done several short (37mile) trips to another work location without battery and get around 43 MPGe, about what the Energi is rated, so I am sure it can do a lot better with a little thoughtfulness. I state MPGe because the Energi needs to burn off some of a full charge to make enough headroom for normal hybrid operation, so the first mile or so will always be electric after a full charge. Anyway, I was looking on fuelly and came across this member http://www.fuelly.com/driver/leenanj/cmax. His record suggests a 1065 mile tank. Possible? Yes. Likely based on his other fuelups? Maybe not. If leenanj is on this forum, I would like to hear his comments. Either way, your next target is set. I wish you luck, but I would understand if you choose to wait until the hottest part of the summer is over. Windows closed, no AC can get interesting in a heat wave.
  9. Hey Jus', Congrats. I would consider that a decent tank in my Energi with plugging in each night. With these kinds of numbers, you would easily break 250 MPGe if you had an electric, when the rest of us work to get 130+ MPGe. Thank you for showing us all what is possible. Now that you know how to do it, I can't wait to see you break 1000 on a tank. Tom
  10. In time, the real word on the C-Max will get around and they will increase in market share. I think a lot of people automatically go to Toyota because it is a safe choice and then they miss something excellent that they didn't even think about.
  11. Why do people keep referring to the Max as a minivan? It is more cofortable than a regular car because you sit upright and way more practical than an SUV, but there is nothing about our version that says minivan. The analogy may hold for the extended version in England but you sure wouldn't want to ride in the back seat of that. Calling this car a minivan sets up all sorts of connotations and expectations, that are not true and mostly work against it. What it is is a great car. It is slightly bigger than my early Prius on the outside, but basically the same dimensions and seating posture on the inside except for width. I think Ford got that part right and Toyota got it wrong when they changed the shape (and dimensions of the passenger space) of the car to make it look more like a science fair project than a production vehicle. That is a primary reason why I did not buy another Prius, although I might have if it had the body of the first generation mixed with all the modern technology, etc.. The Max looks, feels, and drives like a real car, despite the extra weight. Unfortunately, people in the press often don't think for themselves and just echo what the other guys say. Then the consumers think even less and just buy what the press says to buy.
  12. I concur with Salsaguy. How do they plan to interprete/enforce this. A couple of years ago you might have designated these spaces for hybrid cars, but there are now so many options that might be considered green. A driver of a Suburban that could use E85 might consider his car green. Or a hybrid Suburban might legitimately consider his car fuel efficient. At least the C-Max is the real deal. We should see more spaces like this as more buildings are biuilt to LEED standards. A building needs a certain number of points to get certified and "green" parking spaces can get you a few.
  13. It can be a useful screen. Even an experienced hybrid driver might refer to it from time to time, but it is nice to show a newb how the whole thing works. It also needed to be there because the Prius has one. It just took a while to figure out how to do it without looking like they copied Toyota. I think they did a good job in this respect.
  14. I liked this vid. I was annoyed at first that be burned his EV miles early, but he redeemed himself in the end by running out just as he reached his destination. It was especially interesting that Sync puked, I mean went into scheduled maintenance, fairly early in the video. The Energi does its best stuff with a full battery in heavy traffic.
  15. I stopped counting NYC taxies as C-Max sitings, they have gotten so common. I asked one cabbie how he liked it but he offered no opinion. I am not even sure he knew what is different, but he sure didn't seem to care. Like SnitGTS, I also have not been driving mine into the city. We use the 200K+ Prius for that. Not that I don't think the Max would do well there. It is perfect for that sort of driving, but I am afraid to give the expensive IA key (for which I have the original two and no spares) to the guy in the garage. It is sort of silly, considering that most of the cars there cost 2 or 3 times what mine did, but so far I have been able to just use the older car, whose spare keys cost under $20 and I have a few.
  16. Mine has started honking its horn in the middle of the night. I have had no need to go back to the dealer since I got it 7months ago, but I guess I do now..I hate being without it for even a single day.
  17. I concur with Jus'- try the opposite of what you are doing now and see if your mileage improves. When I try really hard, I get about 43 MPG in my Energi when not using plug-in power. My wife used it the other day on her first long trip and used up the battery right away. She then filled up on cheap Jersey gas and reset the odo. The car reported 50 MPG on her trip back.
  18. Ihave had that. It happenswhenI am in Sirius with alerts on and repeat. It seems that it records the sound of an alert, so you hear the beep, but cannot see the alert because it is only a recording. I don't get it anymore since my Sirius ran out.
  19. It is about a 7 mile stretch that starts mostly uphill for the first mile or two, then rolling hills. Speed around 40. I filled up the Prius and reset the odos at the bottom of the hill and checked the MPGs when I reached my destination. Looking forward to doing something similar in the Max next time I go there.
  20. This is how the prius works. The battery is always in play somehow and allows the ICE to always operate in its best range for the given conditions. It is necessary to prevent the battery from going outside its safe range and is also defined by the relationship between the ICE, MG1, and MG2. Each has limitations on max RPM that define what must happen under various conditions. The Max must be very similar because it uses the same principals. It seems to prefer all ICE or all EV, but can be coaxed into blending under the right conditions. I guess this is related to the bigger battery and bigger engine and perhaps different gearing. Funny thing is that the procedure Jus' describes of setting the cruise and bumping it back two notches is how I always forced my Prius into stealth mode (at 42 MPH, its maximum). I also find that a full battery does wonders for fuel economy. That is why I always plug my NRG in at night. (Sorry, I couldn't resist).
  21. I think the low mpg reports are going to disappear for the summer and mileage will become a moot point. My Energi reports about 43 - 44 mpg lately in EV later on the highway averaging around 65 over a 38 mile commute that I take about once a week. You might get that in a conventional small car, but this isn't a small car and it definitely doesn't feel like an econobox! HOV lane access (saved me about 20 minutes today) is just icing on the cake. Gliding past all those stuck SUVs - priceless.
  22. They would help a lot if you find a route that is downhill in both directions, but light rolling hills do help a hybrid compared to a conventional car. As stated above, it forces the ICE to run under load, where it is more efficient. I think of it as an enforced version of P&G. There is a hilly stretch nearby where my '02 Prius does 75 mpg. I cant wait to take the Max there and see what she will do.
  23. You need a master fob to clear a mykey. Once you designate a mykey, it is no longer a master. Try your other fob.
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