Can toyota be even more lame?
07-09-2008, 05:39 PM
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Can toyota be even more lame? So i was talking to a friend who was reading to me from one of his car magazines...apparently the new Toyota Prius will have a solar panel on the roof.
Do they think we are THAT stupid? The article didnt say if it will charge the batteries with the car parked, but they said that it would power the HVAC mostly.
First off, a solar panel isnt very efficient unless it is directly perpendicular to the sun. if the sun is at an angle then it generates litle to no power. if you done the panel then you have little surface area at any given time generating a charge.
So the only way it generates power is when the sun is directly up in the sky. this means that it will only get a decent charge during the summer, late spring, and early fall...so maybe 4 months a year. at that, it will only happen in the middle of the day, maybe from 11 until 1, and depending on if it charges when its parked, who drives during that time?
this seems to just be a feature to get the hippies excited. anyone else think toyota is lame?
Do they think we are THAT stupid? The article didnt say if it will charge the batteries with the car parked, but they said that it would power the HVAC mostly.
First off, a solar panel isnt very efficient unless it is directly perpendicular to the sun. if the sun is at an angle then it generates litle to no power. if you done the panel then you have little surface area at any given time generating a charge.
So the only way it generates power is when the sun is directly up in the sky. this means that it will only get a decent charge during the summer, late spring, and early fall...so maybe 4 months a year. at that, it will only happen in the middle of the day, maybe from 11 until 1, and depending on if it charges when its parked, who drives during that time?
this seems to just be a feature to get the hippies excited. anyone else think toyota is lame?
07-09-2008, 09:16 PM
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dont think of it as when the sun is out that will be the only time those panles will have an effect on the car's hvac therefore increasing mpg, im certain that they will be hooked up to some sort of nmih battery or lituim ion, to soon to tell. but i can tell you if you leave your car out in the sun all day, im sure the batterys will be able to store enough energy to last the last evening hours of the commute home
07-09-2008, 09:41 PM
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the new "fuel efficeiant" cars suck, I dont like the Prius, but I hate the so called "smart car" the get **** for gas milage for there size and displacement, what is it like 30mpg city and 35mpg high way(I could be wrong but I think thats close)they are slow as hell too. In the geo we average 43mpg and this is supposed to be new technology
07-09-2008, 09:55 PM
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actually it is a pretty smart move by toyota they get to charge an arm and a leg for that feature and they get to charge an arm and a leg to repair it. But ya i dont get the smart car movement the thing is like a tin can, when do gas prices get so high that you risk your life when you drive just to save gas.
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07-09-2008, 10:02 PM
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Dude, how long has the Prius been out and they STILL haven't gotten the power cells right? How much is this "upgrade" going to cost, and how much will it cost to replace right after the warranty expires? I swear that car is made for stupid tree hugging fat Americans.
...not fat rainforest-murdering Fbody loving Americans like me.
...not fat rainforest-murdering Fbody loving Americans like me.
07-09-2008, 10:07 PM
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07-10-2008, 02:17 AM
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Not for this guy LOL: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=113_1173211817
i would imagine that the solar panel option will cost a lot, and even if it does charge when the car is not in use, like i pointed out earlier, solar panels arent at a point yet where they can be very efficient. I did my senior project on them and spent 8 months researching them.
look at those college solar car clubs. the entire top surface is made from cells (rather than just a panel on the roof), and the cars are teardrop shaped to get the best aerodynamics, and they are super light weight, and they only run single short races, but its not practical for normal use yet. they only charge during a short period of the days during a short period of the year.
besides...how many prius owners keep their cars clean? well if the glass is dirty it wont absorb much sunlight.
07-10-2008, 11:53 PM
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Heres some tidbit information about Toyota and their green Prius:
Toyota Linked to Human Trafficking and Sweatshop Abuses
Toyota May Be a Shade Greener Environmentally but has badly stumbled with Human Rights Abuses
NEW YORK, June 18 -- Today the National Labor Committee (NLC) is releasing a 65-page report, "The Toyota You Don't Know" documenting serious human rights violations by the Toyota Motor Company, which will disturb most Americans.
"Celebrities like Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pit, Bill Maher and others have led the way in turning Toyota's Prius into a symbol of concern for our environment," said Charles Kernaghan, director of the NLC, "We hope that these same celebrities will now also challenge Toyota to improve its respect for human and worker rights. As a start, Toyota should cut its ties to the Burmese dictators and end the exploitation of foreign guest workers trafficked to Japan."
* Toyota linked to human trafficking and sweatshop abuse: Toyota's much admired "Just in Time" auto parts supply chain is riddled with sweatshop abuse, including the trafficking of foreign guest workers, mostly from China and Vietnam to Japan, who are stripped of their passports and often forced to work--including at subcontract plants supplying Toyota--16 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid less than half the legal minimum wage. Guest workers who complain about abusive conditions are deported.
* Prius made by low-wage temps: Fully one-third--10,000--of all Toyota assembly line workers in Japan are low-wage temps who have few rights and earn less than 60% of what full time workers do.
* Unpaid overtime and "overworked" to death: Mr. Kenichi Uchino was just 30 years old when he died of overwork on an assembly line at Toyota's Prius plant, leaving behind his young wife and two children. Mr. Uchino routinely worked 13 to 14 hours a day, putting in 106 1/2 to 155 hours of overtime--depending on whether work taken home was counted--in the 30 days leading up to his death. Toyota claimed that he had only worked 45 hours of overtime and that the other 61 1/2 to 110 hours were "voluntary" and unpaid. His wife had to go to court -- which ruled that Mr. Uchino was overworked to death -- to win a pension for their children.
* Ties to Burmese dictators: Toyota, through the Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which is part of the Toyota Group of Companies, is involved in several joint business ventures with the ruthless military regime in Burma. The dictators use these revenues to repress and torture the people of Burma.
* Toyota and the race to the bottom: Toyota is imposing its two-tier, low wage model at its non-union plants in the south of the United States, which will result in wages and benefits being slashed across the entire auto industry.
The National Labor Committee recently documented how the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement descended into human trafficking with tens of thousands of foreign guest workers held under conditions of involuntary servitude.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...18/090268.html
Toyota Linked to Human Trafficking and Sweatshop Abuses
Toyota May Be a Shade Greener Environmentally but has badly stumbled with Human Rights Abuses
NEW YORK, June 18 -- Today the National Labor Committee (NLC) is releasing a 65-page report, "The Toyota You Don't Know" documenting serious human rights violations by the Toyota Motor Company, which will disturb most Americans.
"Celebrities like Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pit, Bill Maher and others have led the way in turning Toyota's Prius into a symbol of concern for our environment," said Charles Kernaghan, director of the NLC, "We hope that these same celebrities will now also challenge Toyota to improve its respect for human and worker rights. As a start, Toyota should cut its ties to the Burmese dictators and end the exploitation of foreign guest workers trafficked to Japan."
* Toyota linked to human trafficking and sweatshop abuse: Toyota's much admired "Just in Time" auto parts supply chain is riddled with sweatshop abuse, including the trafficking of foreign guest workers, mostly from China and Vietnam to Japan, who are stripped of their passports and often forced to work--including at subcontract plants supplying Toyota--16 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid less than half the legal minimum wage. Guest workers who complain about abusive conditions are deported.
* Prius made by low-wage temps: Fully one-third--10,000--of all Toyota assembly line workers in Japan are low-wage temps who have few rights and earn less than 60% of what full time workers do.
* Unpaid overtime and "overworked" to death: Mr. Kenichi Uchino was just 30 years old when he died of overwork on an assembly line at Toyota's Prius plant, leaving behind his young wife and two children. Mr. Uchino routinely worked 13 to 14 hours a day, putting in 106 1/2 to 155 hours of overtime--depending on whether work taken home was counted--in the 30 days leading up to his death. Toyota claimed that he had only worked 45 hours of overtime and that the other 61 1/2 to 110 hours were "voluntary" and unpaid. His wife had to go to court -- which ruled that Mr. Uchino was overworked to death -- to win a pension for their children.
* Ties to Burmese dictators: Toyota, through the Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which is part of the Toyota Group of Companies, is involved in several joint business ventures with the ruthless military regime in Burma. The dictators use these revenues to repress and torture the people of Burma.
* Toyota and the race to the bottom: Toyota is imposing its two-tier, low wage model at its non-union plants in the south of the United States, which will result in wages and benefits being slashed across the entire auto industry.
The National Labor Committee recently documented how the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement descended into human trafficking with tens of thousands of foreign guest workers held under conditions of involuntary servitude.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...18/090268.html
07-11-2008, 12:00 AM
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Heres some tidbit information about Toyota and their green Prius:
Toyota Linked to Human Trafficking and Sweatshop Abuses
Toyota May Be a Shade Greener Environmentally but has badly stumbled with Human Rights Abuses
NEW YORK, June 18 -- Today the National Labor Committee (NLC) is releasing a 65-page report, "The Toyota You Don't Know" documenting serious human rights violations by the Toyota Motor Company, which will disturb most Americans.
"Celebrities like Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pit, Bill Maher and others have led the way in turning Toyota's Prius into a symbol of concern for our environment," said Charles Kernaghan, director of the NLC, "We hope that these same celebrities will now also challenge Toyota to improve its respect for human and worker rights. As a start, Toyota should cut its ties to the Burmese dictators and end the exploitation of foreign guest workers trafficked to Japan."
* Toyota linked to human trafficking and sweatshop abuse: Toyota's much admired "Just in Time" auto parts supply chain is riddled with sweatshop abuse, including the trafficking of foreign guest workers, mostly from China and Vietnam to Japan, who are stripped of their passports and often forced to work--including at subcontract plants supplying Toyota--16 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid less than half the legal minimum wage. Guest workers who complain about abusive conditions are deported.
* Prius made by low-wage temps: Fully one-third--10,000--of all Toyota assembly line workers in Japan are low-wage temps who have few rights and earn less than 60% of what full time workers do.
* Unpaid overtime and "overworked" to death: Mr. Kenichi Uchino was just 30 years old when he died of overwork on an assembly line at Toyota's Prius plant, leaving behind his young wife and two children. Mr. Uchino routinely worked 13 to 14 hours a day, putting in 106 1/2 to 155 hours of overtime--depending on whether work taken home was counted--in the 30 days leading up to his death. Toyota claimed that he had only worked 45 hours of overtime and that the other 61 1/2 to 110 hours were "voluntary" and unpaid. His wife had to go to court -- which ruled that Mr. Uchino was overworked to death -- to win a pension for their children.
* Ties to Burmese dictators: Toyota, through the Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which is part of the Toyota Group of Companies, is involved in several joint business ventures with the ruthless military regime in Burma. The dictators use these revenues to repress and torture the people of Burma.
* Toyota and the race to the bottom: Toyota is imposing its two-tier, low wage model at its non-union plants in the south of the United States, which will result in wages and benefits being slashed across the entire auto industry.
The National Labor Committee recently documented how the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement descended into human trafficking with tens of thousands of foreign guest workers held under conditions of involuntary servitude.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...18/090268.html
Toyota Linked to Human Trafficking and Sweatshop Abuses
Toyota May Be a Shade Greener Environmentally but has badly stumbled with Human Rights Abuses
NEW YORK, June 18 -- Today the National Labor Committee (NLC) is releasing a 65-page report, "The Toyota You Don't Know" documenting serious human rights violations by the Toyota Motor Company, which will disturb most Americans.
"Celebrities like Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pit, Bill Maher and others have led the way in turning Toyota's Prius into a symbol of concern for our environment," said Charles Kernaghan, director of the NLC, "We hope that these same celebrities will now also challenge Toyota to improve its respect for human and worker rights. As a start, Toyota should cut its ties to the Burmese dictators and end the exploitation of foreign guest workers trafficked to Japan."
* Toyota linked to human trafficking and sweatshop abuse: Toyota's much admired "Just in Time" auto parts supply chain is riddled with sweatshop abuse, including the trafficking of foreign guest workers, mostly from China and Vietnam to Japan, who are stripped of their passports and often forced to work--including at subcontract plants supplying Toyota--16 hours a day, seven days a week, while being paid less than half the legal minimum wage. Guest workers who complain about abusive conditions are deported.
* Prius made by low-wage temps: Fully one-third--10,000--of all Toyota assembly line workers in Japan are low-wage temps who have few rights and earn less than 60% of what full time workers do.
* Unpaid overtime and "overworked" to death: Mr. Kenichi Uchino was just 30 years old when he died of overwork on an assembly line at Toyota's Prius plant, leaving behind his young wife and two children. Mr. Uchino routinely worked 13 to 14 hours a day, putting in 106 1/2 to 155 hours of overtime--depending on whether work taken home was counted--in the 30 days leading up to his death. Toyota claimed that he had only worked 45 hours of overtime and that the other 61 1/2 to 110 hours were "voluntary" and unpaid. His wife had to go to court -- which ruled that Mr. Uchino was overworked to death -- to win a pension for their children.
* Ties to Burmese dictators: Toyota, through the Toyota Tsusho Corporation, which is part of the Toyota Group of Companies, is involved in several joint business ventures with the ruthless military regime in Burma. The dictators use these revenues to repress and torture the people of Burma.
* Toyota and the race to the bottom: Toyota is imposing its two-tier, low wage model at its non-union plants in the south of the United States, which will result in wages and benefits being slashed across the entire auto industry.
The National Labor Committee recently documented how the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement descended into human trafficking with tens of thousands of foreign guest workers held under conditions of involuntary servitude.
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...18/090268.html
07-11-2008, 01:17 AM
#18
And on a side note, I'll be the first to say I'm not offended by human trafficking and sweatshops. But I firmly believe in revolution and will support it to my dying breath.
If you don't like the **** you're sitting in, do something about it. Otherwise, shut up and get the **** to work.
If you don't like the **** you're sitting in, do something about it. Otherwise, shut up and get the **** to work.
