how is a Tesla proximity sensor any different than my Ford's proximity sensor in terms of maintenance? My Ford has a computer in it getting input from many sensors and controlling hundreds of functions, how does an electrical power train make that different from an ICE powertrain?

Besides the standard proximity sensors, Tesla's have a radar system that other cars don't have.  One can watch on the pad to see if the lane is clear to merge, you will see an actual image of a car next to and in front of you.  It even shows an image of a bus or a human walking and their dog if they're walking their dog too.  And this isn't a camera image, go google it to see.

Then add in the self driving technology that no other car has yet. 

IDK if other makes have this, but Tesla's sentry system comes with the car. It's a 360 degree camera that records.  Also it detects movement and alerts anyone near by with a honk and flash of lights that they're being recorded.  Also 1 can view the cameras from their phone live stream.  Tesla can also allow someone to drive your car via your app on your phone. So if you're out of town and a friend needs to use the car, you can allow them to.  They don't need the "keys" to use the car.  You can also turn your AC on from your phone, lock and unlock doors, open trunk/frunk, schedule roadside assistance or repair appointments, limit the speed a valet can go.  This is all from your phone.  IDK if any other maker has all this tech that is standard with all Tesla's.

And with Starlink, one can watch Netflix inside their Tesla, You Tube, basically internet access.  I think some cars can do this. But Mrs. CMO's 2021 Honda HRV, she cannot watch Netflix or Youtube.

An all electric isn't for for everyone even in Hawaii mainly due to the initial cost of the car and high electricity prices.  If a person can afford the high initial cost and has solar panels, then it saves money in the long run saving on fuel costs and maintenance.

Hybrids are a good option which are cheaper and could be more useful in emergencies.  The biggest downside is the limited battery capacity as most hybrids only have 10 to 20 mile batteries. A 30 to 50 mile range would be ideal, but there are fewer options.  I'm not sure how they are on maintenance since you now have two drive systems to deal with.

The problem with gasoline in an emergency is the vast majority of stations don't have generators to run the pumps.  It could be a while till generators are available to run them or the station's tanks can be refueled.

Not true. The traction battery assists the ICE most of the time. The longer you run the hybrid on the electric motor alone the shorter battery life...ask me how I know this.

here are some distance sensors
https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/84

As changeoil said, the service station and mechanics are going away, even for ICE cars, due to the complexity.  My local service station wouldn't work on my Subaru WRX except for simple stuff.  They said to take it into the Subaru center.  One of my friends asked me to invest in his new service station idea, but I had to tell him no since service stations are going the way of TV repair shops.

So where your car is repaired doesn't really make a difference going into the future. 

No matter how dumb the idea is, HI seems to copy CA.

my kailua fb page yesterday had a picture of the TheBus EV out of charge right next to a gas station
bruh...

Not true. The traction battery assists the ICE most of the time. The longer you run the hybrid on the electric motor alone the shorter battery life...ask me how I know this.

Makes sense.

I have never looked into how a hybrid trades off motive power in normal operation.  Did get the impression the battery was for intermittent assistance, not as the primary power source.

Makes sense.

I have never looked into how a hybrid trades off motive power in normal operation.  Did get the impression the battery was for intermittent assistance, not as the primary power source.

There are various "hybrids".

1) Runs on gas and charges the battery. Once it's a certain level, it switches to battery. Then cuts back to gas if the level drops or depleted
2) Runs on gas and doesn't charge the battery.

I think there are more, but I can't remember of the top of my head.  This is why some cars run on both, but don't have EV tags. And others run on both and have EV tags.

My daughter's Prius is the only real example I can cite.

There's an "EV" mode, where the car runs 100% on battery.  You have to maintain speeds below a given max (I think it's 26 MPH -- maybe) and the batteries have to be over a certain percentage charged.  If either one of those criteria is not met, the car switches back to Hybrid mode.

The batteries are charged primarily when braking.  When you're slowing to a stop (red light, stop sign, ...), the brakes are being used to generate a charge.  Basically, when the engine isn't moving the car, it's charging the batteries along with energy generated from the braking system.

There's a large lighted display on the dash showing the status of the electrical system.  If you're discharging, charging or just not using the batteries at all, the display lets you know.  Over time, you learn to modify your driving behavior to optimize how you're charging the batteries, such as starting to brake sooner when approaching controlled intersections.

If you're driving at higher speeds, like on the highway, the vehicle shifts into gas mode.  The batteries and electric motor don't have the ability to run at those speeds for very long without depleting the batteries.

Of course, the #1 benefit to a Hybrid is, if you're out of gas, you still have batteries -- and if your batteries are dead, you still have gas.

Her car didn't come equipped with a charging port, so the internal systems are the only way to keep the batteries working.

She averages about 45+ MPG.

Hybrid engines typically come in series or parallel. In a series hybrid, the gasoline
engine charges the car’s battery which powers the electric motor. The gas does not
power the wheels directly. In parallel hybrid engines, the vehicle can receive power
from the electric motor, gasoline engine, or both.

Series engine hybrids have larger batteries, motors, and generators, which drive up
vehicle costs. However, they function better in stop-and-start traffic compared to
parallel ones. Parallel hybrids have a better efficiency on the highway.

The Toyota Prius uses the best components of series and parallel engines, making
it a series-parallel hybrid.

The Prius has a power split device, which includes a gearbox connecting the generator,
gas engine, and electric motor. The Prius Gen 2 was the first to have this device.

A ring gear attaches to the electric motor and transfers the motor’s power to a reduction
gear on the final drive. The power split device has a planetary gear set with sun and
planet gears.

The gears’ movements power the car and generator. The sun gear spins quickly,
and its maximum speed limits the car’s electric capabilities. If the vehicle needs more
power than the planetary gears can provide, it turns on the internal combustion engine
to use gasoline.

Large engine sizes boost horsepower, which lets the car drive faster. A Prius does not
need recharging because the generator acts as a constant power supply for the battery.

https://exclusivelyhybrid.com/how-does-a-prius-work/

The batteries are charged primarily when braking.  When you're slowing to a stop (red light, stop sign, ...), the brakes are being used to generate a charge.  Basically, when the engine isn't moving the car, it's charging the batteries along with energy generated from the braking system.

Teslas have "regenerative breaking". Basically the car slows down when you let off the accelerator pedal. So if you want to maintain a certain speed, you need to keep the pedal pressed and not move your foot.  It's very common for me to drive the car all day and not even use the break pedal.  So as you let off the gas, you slow down and the charge goes back to your battery.  I like this new system. It does save on break pads/disc usage.  But the down side is when it's not in use often, it still needs to be replaced due to it not being used.  But it wouldn't be as quickly as you need to replace normal worn pads and disc.

You also don't roll when stopped on hills and there is no idle creep.

You can also turn this feature off and go back to traditional braking.  So if I let someone borrow the car, I would disable it.  It's very simple, just go to the touch screen and select the tab to disable. It doesn't take a special program or connection to the ECU to do it. Takes 2 seconds.

I forgot to add, 1 benefit of not using the breaks a lot is the lack of dust going on the rims. I typically wash my car every 10 days and my normal car, I had to also clean the rims and they would be noticeably dirty. Now with the lack of pressing the break, I can go like 2 months without having to clean the rims.  Then add in the roof is glass, I don't have to really wash this either. So I can do my entire waterless wash in about 5 mins. So I often do it at work when I arrive in the morning.

If you operate your ev in the snow belt states or in damp conditions, doing the brake caliper service
is a good idea. A lack of needed preventative maintenance can broke da brake.
A DIYer can do it or the dealer will be perfectly happy do it, as Mr. Haney would say, "for a small fee"...

Here is some car advice from Scotty:



 

I just ordered a Kei truck from Japan. My guess is in the not distant future fuel will be so expensive that everyone else will be driving slow so keeping up with traffic wont be an issue.

After fighting with computer gremlins in my van I wanted something with a carb as well.

My guess is Ev’s larger than a bicycle will all be lawn ornaments soon

I just ordered a Kei truck from Japan. My guess is in the not distant future fuel will be so expensive that everyone else will be driving slow so keeping up with traffic wont be an issue.

After fighting with computer gremlins in my van I wanted something with a carb as well.

My guess is Ev’s larger than a bicycle will all be lawn ornaments soon

I think it'll be like the gun control grandfathering.  If you owned the vehicle when the ban goes into effect, you get to keep it.  You can't transfer ownership/sell it, but you can hold onto it for as long as you want.  Like the video said, you'll have a hard time finding new parts, and rebuilt or junker parts will be in high demand. 

As for efficiency, many cars were grandfathered for not having catalytic converters.  Minimum gas mileages are tough to enforce.  Who knows what actual mileage is versus manufacturer's estimates?

Given the age of some of the cars I see on the road, it could be several decades before the majority of bans are reducing gas-burners by any significant amount.

The funniest thing is, CA Gov Newsom wants to ban fossil fuel ICE autos by 13 years from now? (According to the video).  Didn't AOC already say it's a FACT that Climate Change will kill us all in 12 years if we don't adopt the Green New Socialist Deal AND pay billions into the Paris Accord slush fund that solves no actual problems?

I think it'll be like the gun control grandfathering.  If you owned the vehicle when the ban goes into effect, you get to keep it.  You can't transfer ownership/sell it, but you can hold onto it for as long as you want.  Like the video said, you'll have a hard time finding new parts, and rebuilt or junker parts will be in high demand. 

Yeah that’s definitely a possible scenario, especially with so many clueless states like ours who copy all the worst ideas from California.

There was an episode, I think it was on Variable Valve Timing, where Scotty said he preferred the older version because it was easy to fix. Someone else on another forum mentioned that car technology peaked in the 1990’s with reliability, safety, and efficiency, but after that cars got way too complicated so that instead of fixing it the only solution was to change out the ridiculously overpriced parts (CVTs being the most glaring example).

I had a project and ended up cannibalizing 2 other cars to get it to work after literally watching all the OEM parts dry up in about 6 months. Luckily there was lots of support online from a small group of enthusiasts, but now even the cross compatible stuff is getting hard to come by and a lot of what is available at AZ and Oreilly is total junk. 

The cool thing is that in the third world they are able to patch the old ones together, load up the extended fam and head on down the road so there’s still hope for those of us who don’t mind getting a little greasy. If the transfer goes smooth on the Kei I’ll be on the lookout for a donor to cannibalize and start stockpiling stuff like brakes and clutch plates.

I just ordered a Kei truck from Japan. My guess is in the not distant future fuel will be so expensive that everyone else will be driving slow so keeping up with traffic wont be an issue.

After fighting with computer gremlins in my van I wanted something with a carb as well.

My guess is Ev’s larger than a bicycle will all be lawn ornaments soon

Where did you order from?  I’ve seen a site called https://www.mitsuicoltd.com/

They have some great prices, compared to the local Kei dealers on island.

What extra costs and hassles do you have to go through to import here, register to get road legal, and other taxes are added expenses when it arrives?

Where did you order from?  I’ve seen a site called https://www.mitsuicoltd.com/

They have some great prices, compared to the local Kei dealers on island.

What extra costs and hassles do you have to go through to import here, register to get road legal, and other taxes are added expenses when it arrives?

This is my first rodeo so we will see. The two sites the forums consistently recommended for best prices are japancardirect and beforward. Expect to pay about 3500 to 4K over the cost in order to get it here. Registration is supposed to be cheap since they hardly weigh anything and there are enough of them on the road that our DMV should know how to handle them. I went with a company that had existing inventory vs an auction site because I wanted to get it on a boat asap due to the increasing risk of shipping disruption, but you can save a lot of money through the auctions if you don’t mind waiting for something good to pop up. Another thing to keep in mind is that import tax is 2.5% on passenger cars but 25% on trucks, going by blue book value or what you paid for it. I’m going to handle the paperwork myself rather than going through a broker, and if the value is less than $2500 it makes things much easier at customs.

I’d highly recommend sitting in one first just so you know what to expect. Some of them my knees were banging on the controls. The vans were far more comfy because the seat can actually roll back and it was super tempting to get one for a surf car but their suspension is not as robust and I need a capable 4wd farm truck. If your intention is to regularly use the highway the general recommendation is to get a 5 speed with a turbo, but that’s just enough power to keep up with traffic. 

So far I’m estimating it will be about 7k which isn’t too bad because it had all the options I want (not available at local dealers) and doesn’t look rusty/abused. You never know until it’s standing in front of you though. Fingers crossed.

Yeah that’s definitely a possible scenario, especially with so many clueless states like ours who copy all the worst ideas from California.

There was an episode, I think it was on Variable Valve Timing, where Scotty said he preferred the older version because it was easy to fix. Someone else on another forum mentioned that car technology peaked in the 1990’s with reliability, safety, and efficiency, but after that cars got way too complicated so that instead of fixing it the only solution was to change out the ridiculously overpriced parts (CVTs being the most glaring example).

I had a project and ended up cannibalizing 2 other cars to get it to work after literally watching all the OEM parts dry up in about 6 months. Luckily there was lots of support online from a small group of enthusiasts, but now even the cross compatible stuff is getting hard to come by and a lot of what is available at AZ and Oreilly is total junk. 

The cool thing is that in the third world they are able to patch the old ones together, load up the extended fam and head on down the road so there’s still hope for those of us who don’t mind getting a little greasy. If the transfer goes smooth on the Kei I’ll be on the lookout for a donor to cannibalize and start stockpiling stuff like brakes and clutch plates.

When cars are too difficult and costly to repair, leases begin to look better and better.

Get rid of it before the warranty is up.  Should allow you to avoid major repair expenses.

"My BMW needs new tires.  Time to trade it in!"

When cars are too difficult and costly to repair, leases begin to look better and better.

Get rid of it before the warranty is up.  Should allow you to avoid major repair expenses.

"My BMW needs new tires.  Time to trade it in!"

Tesla charges you if you're below a certain tread %.

Tesla charges you if you're below a certain tread %.

Not sure how that relates to "Time for new tires."  To me, that implies the tires are in need of replacement -- i.e. below a minimum amount of tread.