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The single pedal is not that revolutionary these days, and I don't see anything technologically interesting about a HEV platform supporting it, since single ped
by AtlasBarfed 5y ago
The single pedal is not that revolutionary these days, and I don't see anything technologically interesting about a HEV platform supporting it, since single pedal is fundamentally about regenerative braking.
"the speed range at which the all-new Aqua can operate on electrical power alone has been expanded"
That seems to me like they are putting lipstick on a pig. Tesla is showing how fast a pure electric car can be, and an all-EV drivetrain, even a cheap one, should provide a VERY zippy experience to all daily driving scenarios.
The fact they aren't bragging about an impressive all-electric range (which IMO should be a 50 mile minimum range enforced by governments to get any PHEV class incentives) or any density comparisons with even LFP or other battery chemistries seems to indicate this is basically a design that was barely improved and sent out to mint profits for another cycle.
Problem is, BEVs are going to destroy this car in performance, will outclass it in environmental virtue signaling, and shows no real technological progress towards a BEV drivetrain.
Between this and its obsession with hydrogen ... Plus the tokyo olympics (one year late themselves) were supposed to be the debut of a near-production solid state battery.
That is vaporware so far, and combined with the Quantumscape short seller report, solid state looks pretty far away.
Toyota and most manufacturers besides GM and VW are clearly praying... uh... planning for the solid state battery to be a reality and close the gap with Tesla. Meanwhile Tesla keeps inching forward with gradual improvements and scale.
- phonon 5y agoThis has a starting price of 1,980,000 Yen (about $18,000). It will be quite a few years before Tesla will offer anything in that price range.
- ratsforhorses 5y agoYeah but if you take into account the savings on fuel a Renault Zoe newer model for 25k Chf pretty much hits that sweet spot...besides torque acceleration, silence and the good conscience of no toxic smelly fumes are pretty good bonus arguments...
- AtlasBarfed 5y agoJust wait for the Chinese EV makers to hit US shores. A $10000 100 mile lfp bev is probably doable with current tech and regulations. Tesla won't stoop to that, but others will
- Anonymous4272 5y agoLexus are releasing a tesla competitor that is tailored for the enthusiast, called the lfz. 0to60 under 3 and around 550 brake horse
- AtlasBarfed 5y agoSo they are releasing a prototype that might be competitive with a 7-8 year old Model S? And probably aren't doing it at a profit? I mean, it is SOMETHING, so that does mean there is some BEV group somewhere in Toyota, but it just seems Toyota is asleep at the switch and going to lose their dominant market position. This Prius does little to allay fears by shareholders.