Talk of Tacoma powertrain upgrade from head guy at Toyota US...

I drove a rented BMW X1 in stop and go traffic in Seattle and I could not disagree more. Auto Stop/Start only had effect on the first stop, and once it realized it was stop and go it would stop shutting itself off, making it basically ineffectual. Also, re-engagement was clunky and jarring, and of course when it stopped there was a significant loss in output from the AC. Overall, kind of irritating and not actually a great gas saver.

 

Having dealt with city planning and building and safety in multiple municipalities, I can pretty safely say that there are a large number of people that (justifiably) would pay an extra $17K in exchange for not having the hassle of dealing with the clusterf*** that is every building and safety department I've dealt with. Full disclosure, this is LA county in California, so it might be worse than average there.

 

agreed, when I had my Macan GTS I tried out the start stop and it was pretty useless. Especially on a warm day, AC demand would make it kick right back up. I think it's just a way for the car makers to say "look we're trying to save gas"

 

I rented a Chevy Cruze with start/stop once. Didn't care for it, but everyone was talking about it since some in the car were unsure what was going on. Long term I'd rather not have it. It seems like it would drastically shorten the life of a starter or cause wiring issues down the road.

 

Aren't con-artist and salesman one and the same? Both try and swindle you out of your money with lines of bullshit...

 

It's a matter of perspective I guess.

 

The global Ranger I recently rented in Scotland (2.2 diesel manual trans) had start/stop. I never knew they put those on vehicles with manual transmission. The first time I stopped and put it in neutral it killed the engine and I thought something was wrong but as soon as I pushed the clutched down the engine fired up again. I eventually found the override button and disabled that feature. Even it worked well, it still look more time to get into gear and go when the light turned green. Slowing up traffic with angry folks behind me just didn't seem fun.

 

I don't think so, the Tesla/Apple/Starbucks/etc... fanboys are very brand loyal

 

I agree with that, but when you compare how many tesla fanboys there are compared to how many drivers there are they are in the very small minority, although very noisy. If tesla could produce enough model 3s to put one in the hands of anyone that wanted one like Apple or Starbucks it would be a different story. I think teslas will still be too exclusive to gain a massive following for the next few years, and a lot of players will step in during that time. Just my view on things.

 

Meanwhile in Quebec:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny180iK8DKs

 

Wow I got to page 19 on this thread before it became a shit flinging contest. I kept thinking I was on the wrong website.

 

Products should sell themselves...salesmen (con-artists, solicitors, reps, etc...) push shit on you that you don't need for their own agenda...like lightening your wallet.

Do you need a salesman when choosing a truck, or bicycle, or motorcycle? I sure don't...often times I know more about it than the salesman.

Maybe because we get salesmen/solicitors/reps calling and stopping by the shop all day long, I have utter distain for them....all a bunch of con-artist to me. It is always the same thing, "Buy our shit, because it is the just ever so greatest and better than the other guys, it will only cost you...you NEED it!"

 

The only reason you need a salesman usually is to sign the papers.

 

This we discovered holds true even for houses. You can get just about everything to need other than access to showings (you need a realtor to access the lockboxes) on the Internet. We just use a real estate attorney to sell them, though.

 

Exactly...and we shouldn't even need them for that.

Guess that is the one thing about Tesla I like, wanted to get rid of salespeople, and the dealer. Be awfully nice to order a vehicle online and have it just show up your door. Really just need a service department, and a no hassle test drive department.

 

Both of my houses, I found the realtor after I located the houses. Come to think of it...not sure what the realtor actually did other than unlock the houses for us to view, because it was the mortgage broker and a rep from the bank that did all the final paper work.

 

That's where a true hybrid has some advantages. The cycling on and off of the engine much more seamless and all the accessories like power steering, heat, A/C, etc. are all electrically powered. No degradation is performance when the gas engine is shut down

 

Plastics are actually made from ethane that is removed (technically separated) from natural gas liguids during the fractionation process. But I concur with your point.

 

Yes.

Waiting for Mr Fusion...or nuke to power the electric motors...never having to refuel/charge does sound awfully appealing...of course there is the cost, and side effects, tho'...

 

uh....

Let me list some of Toyota's innovative cars.

Toyota AE86-- regarded as a classic for decades outside the US. In the US it was seen as a garbage econobox until a racing cartoon gained popularity in the states in the early 2000s.


Toyota MR2 MKII-- one of the best looking and bold production cars ever made. A complete commercial failure in the United States. Sales stopped in the US 5 years before the end of its production run

Toyota Supra MK4-- Probably the best mass produced Front-Rear sports car released in the 90s. Sales were ceased in the United States 4 years before the end of its production run due to poor sales.

Toyota Celica All trac-- Sales ceased due to poor sales in the United States.

Toyota/Scion FR-S-- a FR car meant for kids and young adults. A bold barebones back to basics sports car. Highly criticized in the US by journalists and Vloggers, Barely sales more than 5000 units per year (mustang sales nearly 100K a year).


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Also let me predict the future for you.

MK5 Supra-- Joint project between BMW/Toyota. 450HP FR car with perfect weight balance. Beat the Camaro ZL1 LE1 at the Nurburg. Pulled from the US in 2021 due to poor sales.

MR2 MK4-- a stunning reimagining of Toyota's bold mass produced MR sports car-- Pulled from the US market in 2025 due to poor sales


Can you see why Toyota doesn't take risks?