What is Digg?82 Comments
- Talesk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'm still waiting for the Prius hack that makes your car sound like Optimus Prime and greet you when you approach.
That'd be awesome... Car senses bluetooth key, unlocks doors, cranks stereo audio and plays some transformer sound clip.
...
Anyway, back to work I go.
-Talesk
.Et lux in tenebris lucent - THMike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"I want someone to strap solar panels to the top of their Prius."
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/08/solar-powered_t.php
Here you go. - RevnCliffie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"robots in the sky"???.....While we're at it, Jimi Hendrix didn't sing, "Excuse me while I kiss this guy"...And J Giels Band didn't sing that their "Anus was the centerhole"
- alphaterminus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Newsflash: If car makers would get their heads out and take the engine out, replacing it with lithium phosphate batteries, you could go 400 miles at 65 mph on a 30 minute charge.
But no. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If this included booting a Prius with Linux and running Ajax apps on it, it would be the perfect Digg story.
- nogami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"People aren't buying Priuses for good gas economy, they're buying it for image."
Well I sure didn't. I bought it because my price range for a good car was approximately $20,000-30,000 (US). In that range was a VW Passat, the Prius, some cheap BMWs, Acuras, Infinitis, etc.
I bought the Prius because it's hands-down the most technologically advanced production car on the planet. Nothing else even comes close. They've improved the stock "car" in so many ways that it was the only possible choice. I didn't want to buy a car that was simply a year-by-year evolution of the same automobile that has been around for 50 or 60 years. I wanted something that was a fresh new perspective, designed from the ground-up to be a great vehicle.
I don't really care how "green" it is, that's simply a bonus in my book - it really didn't influence my purchase decision at all. - Taniwha, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3that would be nice - mine just sings Daisy and says "Dave are you sure you want to do that" when I drive too fast ....
- devoinregress, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I want someone to strap solar panels to the top of their Prius.
- freshcreation, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Old news. Long ago the same was discovered for the Lexus IS:
http://www.martijnvanosch.nl/comments.php?id=274_0_1_0_C - Nick42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"(psst: it takes more energy and pollutants to produce and charge those batteries then it would to Just. Use. Gas.)"
I rate your comment "-3 *****"
Search around for some sources and figure it out for yourself next time before you go and make a fool out of yourself. The system of using centralized power plants/batteries/electric motors is *FAR* more clean and efficient than burning gasoline in millions of seperate combustion engines. The only major things preventing electric vehicles from becoming mainstream is low range on a charge (only really an issue when going on extended road trips), and that people are unwilling to put up with the mild inconvenience of having to remember to plug their car in every night before going to bed. - Taniwha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1depends on what you do - about 2 miles on the flat, much much less going up a hill, forever going down. It's not a big battery - it's intended to even out the load on the gas engine so that it runs in its clean/efficient sweet spot - not as a general purpose power source,
- gmikej, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"Newsflash: If car makers would get their heads out and take the engine out, replacing it with lithium phosphate batteries, you could go 400 miles at 65 mph on a 30 minute charge."
Umm... and let me guess... you are using your own personal solar panels to charge those batteries? Oh wait... that's right... you're using the local coal/natural gas power station.
How very environmental of you.
(psst: it takes more energy and pollutants to produce and charge those batteries then it would to Just. Use. Gas.) - BassCadet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1People aren't buying Priuses for good gas economy, they're buying it for image.
You can spend $10,000 less and buy a Toyota Corolla with a manual transmission that gets within 10 mpg in the city and 3mpg on the highway as the Prius. Of course, none of those Prius people would EVER be caught dead in a Corolla...it's not GREEN enough. - Moses, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You mean the EV mode? Maybe because it limits the top speed of the vehicle to 34 mph? I doubt many Americans have the balls to go at that breakneck speed.
- dancurranjr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you are interested in Hybrid Cars you might want to check out http://www.MixedPower.com - there is a lot of information and if you search the archives these "hacks" have been covered there in the past.
Cheers! - Imusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So whats next... we can install linux on our Prius?!?!
- podcastnyc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Unfortunately, environmentalists won't let people continue with the mass development of wind farms in the U.S. Many windfarm projects in the Northeast have been in limbo for years due to enviromnental "concerns." The real concern is that some people just don't like their view to be blocked by the windmills. The country's top environmental rabble rouser, Robert Kennedy, is against the Cape Wind Farm project for that reason and because all of those diesel spewing yachts would have to go around the windmills when they're cruising to and from Nantucket.
Hypocritical? You decide. - trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://wiki.ehow.com/Override-Toyota-Prius-Navigation-Gray-out
to use nav while driving. - doherty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This is sort of neat, but I refuse to believe that the number of diggs is commensurate with the number of people who own a Toyota Prius AND use digg.
No digg just for that. - nogami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you order from Coastal Tech, you could wait a long time with no response and no shipping from them - they are VERY slow (but seem honest).
BTW: The EV mod is VERY easy to do for about $15 in parts from any Radioshack. Takes about 2 hours if it's your first time doing the mod - basically you are just installing a switch to pull one pin in one of the engine control computers to ground, which enables EV mode. I could probably do it in about 30-45 min now.
There are other, far more interesting mods out now:
http://www.hybridinterfaces.ca/ - TVarmy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Multiple studies done by the state of California have shown that less emissions are released that way, and it's cheaper for the driver (Imagine getting 106 MPG if gas is at $3, or if gas cost $.66 a gallon as the equivalent efficiency). The only area it pollutes more is in sulfur dioxide, and I believe by the end of 2007, it will be federally mandated for those emissions to be contained at the power plant. The tailpipe is longer, but there's less emissions coming out.
- pingviini, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0as for charging electric cars, what if you installed a giant underground transformer and put a matching one on the car. It would work kinda like the wireless chargers for shavers and stuff. That way you wouldn't physically plug into anything. And if we went to this method, couldn't you plant magnets in the road to induce a current into the coil to have a drive through charger?
- rebattim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Personally I'd prefer going over 34mph and accelerating up to 34mph in under 10 minutes
- frosted, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0First off, it takes more energy to make energy!
As a former 2004 Prius owner, I can tell you that the Prius is a work of art, and a blend of form, function, space, and comfort. It feel like your driving a Lexus. Hacking the prius is fun, but this is only one of many cool hacks you can do. There is going to be an interface hack soon that will let you run your prius backward, uphill, and generate enough power to feed starving Ethiopians. - cool4u2view, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0How about sonofusion in a form that produces enough energy for a car...
- rdoger6424, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Screw that, how about an external combustion engine?
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/External_combustion_engine - zonk3r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0seems like a few of these hacks might reduce your battery life. any word on this?
- kapstaad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sweet!
- J_Omega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Oh wait... that's right... you're using the local coal/natural gas power station.
How very environmental of you. "
Not everyone uses electricity produced from fossil fuels.
Nuclear and Hydro power are pretty common... - weiran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm still waiting for a Prius that looks good.
- Glidedon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0We Need more Nuclear power ! end of story !
- robotplague, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I almost just bought a Prius...I got a Matrix instead.
- MightyMike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0How long would EV mode last with out the gas engine turning on to "charge it"?
- padrebuf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1yeah. and we Americans need to burn as much gas as we can, all the time.
- ravenmuffin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0> We Need more Nuclear power !
In a Prius. - kvidell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I dugg this story... but not because I liked the story, I thought the story was crap.
I dugg this because you're all so damn entertaining, I wanted it to be archived in my profile so I could reference to it in all of it's hilarity later.
Good job! - bluefire0728, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Do people factor in the cost of a whole new set of batteries in 4-5 years?"
--- sremick
I own a Prius. Yeah, I've looked into that, and it's not a pretty sight. - jahutch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wind farms aren't the answer. They will always be a marginal source of power - they are simply too inefficient to ever fully take over from higher yield power sources (eg, coal, nuclear). And believe it or not, filling up open greenspace with thousands of windmills is not exactly environmentally friendly.
For example, I read about one wind farm in Cali. they are trying to shut down because hundreds of birds, some endangered species, are killed by the windmills. All in all, hydro and solar hold far more promise than wind. - kapstaad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You're misinformed. Prius batteries - at least, those in my '05 Prius - are fully covered by the factory warranty for 8 years, and are expected to last 11 or more years.
- kapstaad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0""People aren't buying Priuses for good gas economy, they're buying it for image."
{sigh} why would anyone have this sneering, derisive attitude towards the Prius and their owners? Oh yeah, I remember now: monumental ignorance and a strong preference to believe what they think to be true, rather than a propensity for wanting to know what IS true.
The reasons for our purchase were:
1. it gets 45MPG (real world) vs. the Honda Passport we traded for it which used to get maybe 20MPG on a good day.
2. After trade-in, the cost of the Prius was $18k. After trade-in, the cost of an EQUIVALENT Camry (with the same optionals) would have been $16k - that's two thousand dollars difference.
3. We got that $2k back in our tax return as an EPA clean vehicle credit.
4. The Prius is quieter, roomier and drives nicer than the Camry (or the Corolla)
5. Even if (4) wasnt the case, we're still saving significantly in gas over time. At $3.20 a gallon (local price here in the last week), we still save several hundred dollars a year over the Camry, and thousands over the Passport.
6. resale values of hybrids are higher than for non-hybrids, no matter how "small" the gas savings are.
7. The warranty on the Prius' battery is longer than the typical product life of a Camry.
8. We're "doing our bit" for the environment.
And someone thinks we buy these things for "Image"? Puh-leeze. - Foosballist, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There's a bunch more hacks around online...and hidden menus and such
In my mother's 05 package six prius, you can override the "safety" feature where you can only input the destinations while the car is not in motion by pressing the menu button (on the left side), then tap the upper left corner of the LCD monitor, then the lower left, then the upper left, and the lower left again
a new menu will pop up and press and hold down the "override" button for about 3 seconds. You will hear a beep and it will change color and walaa..you can now drive around and have the front passenger operate many of the controls they could not before. Note: the setting will be reset after the car is restarted. - kapstaad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Maybe, maybe not. We own an '05 Prius, and Digg it big time!
- rebrad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'll wait until Apple releases their iCar before I go hybrid. I don't think it's enough to just save energy. I want to be cool too. Until then I'll just have to put up with the bargain basement Hummer they couldn't get rid of because it only gets 5 MPG.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0And what about the energy used to make the batteries? :)
Where do you put your nuclear waste when you're done with it? - energyhog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I say go solar for the most part.
Even though the solar panels are expensive, I have managed to get 4 large solar panels along with 6 huge deep cycle batteries that weigh about 150lbs each, with some chargers. The panels charge the batteries during the day and also produce enough power to feed some lights. The setup was mainly for power outages but we now use it to power all outside lights, emergency lights and a few appliances in the house. When the power goes out the batteries (on full charge) can power all three refrigerators and our deepfreeze for about 2 days without additional charging. With the panels they can run up to 4 to 5 days along with our lights. If the Prius had an option to charge it, it wouldn’t be any problem to hook it up as well.
For that reason I say solar power and wind farms need to be brought into consideration. There is way to much pollution from everything to keep going like this any longer. Fuels will run out so what are we gonna do then? Think of the future now and do what you can. - sremick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm very liberal and environmentally-conscious, and am all for alternative energy, but I can't help but feel that hybrid cards are hypocritical. Like others have pointed out, you pay a PREMIUM for hybrids up-front, then are also faced with the environmental impact of not only the manufacture of the batteries, but their eventual disposal. And NiMH batteries don't last forever... don't they wear out sooner than most cards? Do people factor in the cost of a whole new set of batteries in 4-5 years?
- apache2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0***** the "hack" *****! demeaning to the word :(
- kapstaad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cant blame you for being misinformed; most folks are.
http://hybridcars.about.com/od/news/a/priuslandspeed_2.htm
We've had our production car to 115Mph (at 35mpg!), and it didnt seem like it was maxed out. - Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0There's never any love for the Civic hybrid, it's depressing.
- UnKnownViper27, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wha'ts the point of digging this story when 99% of you dont even own a Prius...
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