Blessed by the Potato

A quick update on the Ford Fusion Hybrid: a review in USA Today puts the trunk space at 11.8 cubic feet, vs the nearly 16.5 cu ft listed on Ford.ca. That’s much more believable, and yet is still a bit of an improvement over the Toyota Camry Hybrid (10.6) and Honda Civic Hybrid (10.2). It’s still shy of the Prius (16 cu.ft. for 2009, should be 16.5 for 2010) and Insight (15.9 cu.ft.), but that’s the magic of hatchbacks!

Also, if you haven’t heard, Ford got a hypermiler behind the wheel of a Fusion hybrid and held a “thousand mile challenge” — to try to get 1000 miles on a tank of gas. Well, with Wayne behind the wheel they actually managed to take the car over 1400 miles, which translates to a fuel economy of roughly 3 L/100 km. That’s damned respectable, no matter that it won’t really reflect the real-world performance.

It’s Earth Day, which means later today the pricing for the 2010 Prius should be released! (For the US, at least).

Some other hybrids (and full electrics!) have cropped up recently with actual models on the way, or promises of real soon now:

The GM Volt has always confused me beyond the ability to blog. The concept itself is quite good: a plug-in hybrid electric car with enough all-electric range to cover the daily commuting needs of most people without needing gas, but with a gas range-extender so no one had to feel trapped or deal with the range limitations of an electric car.

However it was sprung on the world in a way that did not suggest there was ever an intention to build one, until it seemed that the GM head honchos accidentally promised they would. It was still a powerpoint pipedream, without even a prototype or autoshow setpiece cobbled together when they actually started advertising it. One has to wonder at the management of a company that spends money it doesn’t have advertising a product that doesn’t exist. The main goal seemed to be a combination of greenwashing and deflecting attention from the Prius: “Don’t buy a Prius” the subtext said “this will be better and you just have to wait a few more years to get it.”

The goofs continued when the autoshow mockup (in my estimation, likely a half-finished muscle car chassis stolen for the moment of need) had a huge, aggressive engine compartment… for the car with the tiny range-extender motor. The saying was that it did so poorly in the wind-tunnel tests that they might as well have put it in backwards. Now they’re less than a year from their promised introduction, and apparently still need billions of dollars to finish the R&D. That seems like a fairly ridiculous number, and there have been reports that the US government is not interested in continuing to fund the Volt…

Ford, nearly 3 years late, is introducing the Fusion Hybrid. This car is a very close competitor to the Toyota Camry Hybrid (in part because of the convergent evolution of the Toyota and Ford systems), but they’ve tuned it a little more towards fuel economy. The big question in my mind is how they arranged the batteries wrt trunk space, unfortunately that’s the one thing none of the preview articles seems to touch on. In the specs on Ford’s website, the Hybrid has the same 467L trunk as all the other models — I don’t know if that’s a mistake or if they actually managed to make a hybrid sedan without sacrificing trunk space. It’s certainly worth checking to see if it’s true if you’re interested in a Fusion.

Honda is also stepping up the heat by introducing a direct competitor to the Prius with its new Insight. The new Insight has the same aerodynamic & practical hatchback body as the Prius, and the two are a little hard to tell apart from pictures alone. The Insight is a little smaller (but not nearly as small as the old Insight), but it’s also going to be cheaper. Honda’s IMA system isn’t quite as efficient as the Prius, particularly in the city, but real-world tests with the Civic hybrid showed that the gap was perhaps smaller than the government testing suggested. While the Insight will certainly draw a few potential Prius buyers away, I think it might hurt the Civic hybrid sales even more — now Honda loyalists can get a car that’s more efficient with a bigger trunk for less money. Of course, for some looks matter more than practicality, and the Civic hybrid is a “stealth sedan.”

But perhaps the biggest news in alternative fuel cars this last little while has been from Tesla motors: the all-electric startup company has actually built and delivered several of their expensive all-electric 2-seater roadsters. That’s given them the confidence and operating funds to move on to the next stage: an upscale all-electric sedan, known as the Model S. Supposedly the S will be able to seat 5 adults and two children, like station wagons of old, but without an interior shot I’m having trouble seeing how the jump-seats will fit in the hatch. Nonetheless, it’s poised to be a real competitor, with a $50k US price tag, which isn’t out of the ballpark for luxury sedans, and a very generous 300-mile all-electric range. I think that the 17″ touchscreen replacing all of the traditional centre console controls is pretty silly, but it’s got to appeal to someone…

What is perhaps most interesting about the now two models of Tesla is that they’re a small company that managed to make these cars from the ground up, without the benefit of government funding or the cobasys batteries. It just sort of makes you wonder what GM is doing.

Last weekend when the wind was blowing and it was -20 in the sunshine I had the unfortunate luck to not be able to start my car on the first try. There was no second — the key turned but the engine didn’t. Luckily, in a slow, painful-sounding third attempt the engine did turn over and I was on my way.

By Wednesday night though, that was it, the battery was dead. Luckily I had an eliminator emergency jump kit in the trunk so with just a minor delay I was off and made my curling game. It’s pretty clear that the battery has been run down by all the short trips I’ve been making — I haven’t gone further than the grocery store or curling in 2 months, and it’s been cold and miserable. I drove around for a half hour to charge it up again and things seem to be working ok for now, but I know that I’m going to have to replace it pretty soon, it was coming due next fall anyway. Fortunately having that eliminator in my trunk will buy me some time to get around to it at my convenience, though I’ve lost the confidence to do things like shut the car down at long lights or railway crossings to save gas.

More bad news with the car though: when I had the hood up to jump the car, I noticed that my coolant was nearly empty. My radiator has been “weak” according to my mechanic, and obviously has some rust issues, and is another thing that’s on the list to get fixed at some point in the future. However, at the time the leak was first noticed I was losing less than a litre of fluid per year. Now I’m down nearly a litre in three months. I’m tempted to just keep topping it up — as long as the leak stays small like this a tub of coolant a year is a lot cheaper than fixing a radiator on a car that’s probably only got 2-3 years of life left in it anyway — but sadly coolant is both necessary for the car’s operation (whereas a weak battery I can skimp by on as long as I’ve got the backup jumper) and if a slow, minor leak turned into a big leak I could get stuck. Plus it might be a bit of an environmental hazard (though I’m not sure if losing a litre of coolant is any worse than the four of windshield washer fluid I might go through in that time).

Update: While the battery did run fine for a few days after taking it out on a drive and charging it up, it didn’t last. It’s completely dead now (6 days later), it won’t even run the lights after I turn the car off, let alone try to start it. The eliminator looks to be good for 3-4 boosts per charge on it, which has been fantastic. I bought a new battery at Canadian Tire and installed it myself; I have to go back tomorrow to trade in my old one. Unfortunately the battery there wasn’t as cheap as I thought from looking online: the price says “from $89.99” but I suppose that’s for like a motorcycle or something. My car has a pretty “normal” battery (mid-sized 4-cylinder car), and it was $120.

And to dovetail nicely with my last post on buying a car for the first time, Baum has recently decided to sell his car. Since this is another major transaction I’ve never done on my own, I shot him off a few interview questions which he graciously took the time to answer for me:

What made you decide to sell?

When my girlfriend and I moved in together we each had a car, we rented a place right by the subway, so I decided to give it a year and see how much we needed two cars, after that year I only put 3000km on my car and partiality due to the fact that when we’d go out sometimes we’d take her car, and sometimes we’d walk or take transit, I noticed I didn’t take my car anywhere for work, and that keeping it was costing me at least $200.00 a month in insurance and parking at the apartment, not to mention gas and maintenance costs.

How do you plan to get along without it? As I understand it, you can share a car with your serious long-term special live-in girlfriend. Has there ever been a time in the recent past where you needed both cars?

serious – long term – special… heheheh

not really, nothing dire it was more we we’re both driving to a location for convenience and I’m sure that with planning and some flexibility on both our parts, we can work this out, also I will be looking into a car sharing program like auto share or zip car when the time comes.

What steps have you taken towards selling?

I purchased the used vehicle information package (government mandated), gave it a car wash took some pictures, and posted it on craigslist, I’m not in any rush to sell the car at the moment so I’m doing the minimum

What tools are you going to use to determine the fair value of your car?

I’ve checked around on the internet to see what the car is going for, and decided what it would take to let me give up my car.

I understand you’re selling it yourself, where have you decided to advertise?

Craigslist, I’ve used it in the past to move some merchandise I like the interface

Have you considered using Autotrader.ca? [Full disclosure: I own shares in YLO]

No, I’m going to use the free sites first I’m not so keen on spending money on the listing I’d rather put it into the car to help it sell [full disclosure: sorry if this stops other people from using Autotrader.ca thus making your stock worth less, but I’m cheep]

What does someone selling a car on their own need to know? How do you transfer the ownership? How do you collect and pay the taxes? How do you protect against fraud? What sort of safety certifications are needed? Who pays for that?

Ownership needs to be transferred at the MTO, they will collect the taxes, directly from the purchaser. To protect against fraud I’ve decided that I will only deal with money orders or certified cheques. The car will need to pass an Etest and get a safety certificate from an authorized mechanic, as for who pays for that I’m willing to negotiate when the time comes. Also an aforementioned used vehicle package is required it provides the perspective buyer with information such us past owners, accidents reported, and the suggested wholesale and retail prices bases on the cars “black book” value and it is their right in Ontario to ask to see this before they purchase any used car.

Ok, thanks Baum!

A friend from work has decided to buy a car, and since it’s a big purchase and one I haven’t ever made all on my own before, I decided to shoot her a little interview to see what’s going through her mind as she makes the decision:

So, here it is in mid-January 2009 and you are, if I’m up-to-date, at the point where you’re certain you’re going to get a car, and a new one at that, but are still deciding on the make/model, etc.

What made you decide you wanted a car?

It was kind of spontaneous: my parents just said we should go car shopping while I was back in Ottawa. I never thought about it before that. Plus now I can afford it, once I looked at it from the point of view of getting a car I realized I do have the savings to afford one; I’m graduating soon, too, so it should get easier to afford even if it’s a little painful in the short-term. Also, surprise!, I already bought a Matrix! I haven’t picked it up yet, but it’s ordered and done.

Why now? You have, after all, gotten along through most of your PhD without one, why not put it off a few more months until you’re done?

The car will move with me; I can afford it now, and am near the end. I could get more (leather interior, etc) if I waited until I had a “real job”, but I don’t really need that stuff anyway.

What are you looking for in a car? Is it looks, feel, features, price?

Something to take me places with air conditioning. Something comfortable and safe.

What cars have you looked at so far? What was it that struck you most about each model (whether good or bad)?

— Yaris: noisy, unsafe feeling, small… it felt like a toy. It would be find as a second car in the city, but I wouldn’t want it as my only car

— Fit: liked it a lot better, lots of storage, but it was still pretty small.

— Civic: Looking for a hatchback, and the Civic didn’t have one. Other than that liked the civic with 4-doors (hated the 2-door).

— Matrix: Was a hatchback, was larger and felt safer. I liked the feel of it, it felt comfortable to drive, I could picture myself in the car.

At one point, you were considering a mid-sized car such as the Toyota Matrix. At that point I put forth the argument (backed by several spreadsheets) that once you were up to that point, a Prius would make a lot of sense from a financial as well as ecological, larger-backseat, and pure awesomeness standpoint (not only can you sneak up on people, you can also power your house in an ice storm). However, you have not been swayed by my logic yet. Why is that? What concerns linger?

The up-front cost was higher, and I just didn’t have the extra money now. Buying a car is a gamble, and your analysis was looking at gas prices staying the same or going up, what if they go down? Plus I don’t plan on keeping my car for 10 years, so who knows what might happen to the resale value (I know you say that right now the hybrid premium can be passed on in resale, but who knows?). Also I’m not 100% convinced about the long-term reliability. I know you told me about how long it’s supposed to last and the current failure rate and all, but who knows, maybe after 8 years that suddenly takes a dive?
Your spreadsheets didn’t convince me.

:P To quote Jonathan Chevreau, did you read them?

So how long do you plan on keeping your car?

I don’t make long-term plans, I have no idea. Less than 10 years.

If you don’t want to commit to a car for a long-term, why not lease?

I don’t like the idea of having to keep the car to their terms, stick to mileage limits. I can do whatever the hell I want with it.

I know you’ve talked to a few people about this decision, what sorts of advice have you been getting? Anything worth passing on?

–He did try to sell me the extended warranty, it was helpful to know that you can wait until the end of the 3-year factory warranty before you really have to make that decision.
–The recommendation to check out the APA was helpful (just dropping their name helped even though I didn’t sign up).
–Advice about the repair costs of different brands from word-of-mouth helped me see that some of the American cars were not great bargains.
–Some maintenance tips from the guys.
–Financing vs. leasing issues were cleared up by some friends.

Aside from word-of-mouth, what resources have you found helpful?

Magazines; lemonaide at the library; websites for car reviews and feedback.

How are you planning on driving it? (That is, will it be for a daily commute in heavy traffic, or weekend jaunties on the highways and backroads, a combination? Do you have an estimate of how many kilometers per year you’ll rack up? (For reference, I drive just about 20 Mm/year, which is about the national average)

Occasionally on weekends, driving to Toronto and Guelph. No idea if I’ll commute to work when I graduate, but it’s a possibility.

Ok, so I see how not really knowing your driving profile would make filling out my hybrid spreadsheets hard :)

How are you planning on paying for it?

Purchase financing through the dealer (Toyota had promotional interest rates below what I could find at the banks). Large downpayment from my savings.

How are you planning on negotiating? Have you considered a pre-negotiating service such as the APA (apa.ca)?

Negotiated by myself with the dealer. Did mention the APA even though I hadn’t done it, that helped bring it down. They had a $500 gas card promotion, which I had them apply to the car right away rather than risk misplacing the gas card. I walked away, telling them I was going to check out another dealer, and I really talked up the Honda Fit while I was negotiating for the Matrix. I came back a few days later after thinking about it; he did offer more when I said I was going to look at the Fit.

Have you got any insurance quotes yet? How did they vary by model and company?

Yes, I called around myself. The best rate was through my alumni association. I called every bank I’m associated with and did an internet search. It helped that I had a history of being an occasional driver on my parents’ car for years.

Do you have any advice to pass on?

Test drive. Get on the highway to see what it’s like with the big trucks blowing by you.

Ok, congrats on the car!