cars.com -- changing stripes?
#1
05-09-2008, 03:50 AM
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cars.com -- changing stripes?
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...-accelera.html
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2...ge-blog-4.html
Cars.com had garnered a reputation as an anti-hybrid site with a history of publishing nonsense reviews. In some cases, stretching bounds of credibility beyond breaking (2007 Toyota Prius: Real-World Mileage that reported Prius mileage at "34 mpg") Then along come two recent (this past week) postings that actually show reproducible results ... the same experiences we have been having. It is as if a switch was thrown and instead of anti-hybrid cruisading, at least this last week, they have finally realized that deliberate, anti-hybrid postings are a dead end.
I have no illusions about their conversion "on the road to Damascus" but welcome it. I've never had a problem with factual reports including the warts and pimples of our cars but I can not stand 'making stuff up.'
Welcome to reality, Cars.com. And my thanks to CarsDirect.com who had the good sense to pickup GreenHybrid.com back when it wasn't a popular decision in some quarters.
Bob Wilson
...
Since about 2001, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity department has conducted accelerated reliability tests on hybrids to address such concerns. AVTA’s tests are primarily for fleet operations, where vehicles rack up absurd amounts of miles in a short period of time. The vehicles tested see mileage numbers up to 50,000 miles per year and remain in service until they hit 160,000 miles. The information collected still holds value for the average 15,000-mile-per-year car shopper, however. Data such as fuel economy, maintenance and repair costs are meticulously recorded throughout the vehicle’s term, and every factory-recommended maintenance procedure is followed. The test results are available to anyone and can be viewed at AVTA’s website. ...
Since about 2001, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity department has conducted accelerated reliability tests on hybrids to address such concerns. AVTA’s tests are primarily for fleet operations, where vehicles rack up absurd amounts of miles in a short period of time. The vehicles tested see mileage numbers up to 50,000 miles per year and remain in service until they hit 160,000 miles. The information collected still holds value for the average 15,000-mile-per-year car shopper, however. Data such as fuel economy, maintenance and repair costs are meticulously recorded throughout the vehicle’s term, and every factory-recommended maintenance procedure is followed. The test results are available to anyone and can be viewed at AVTA’s website. ...
...
We’ve been blogging all week about Cars.com’s latest Mileage Challenge, in which we took four hybrids through a day of Chicago traffic. Along the way we logged more than enough seat time to size up the competing drivetrains. Though different in many ways, all of them build on the same formula: a gasoline engine aided by one or more electric motors, which draw power from a high-voltage battery that’s recharged by the brakes. (Got all that? Next up: quantum physics 101.) ...
We’ve been blogging all week about Cars.com’s latest Mileage Challenge, in which we took four hybrids through a day of Chicago traffic. Along the way we logged more than enough seat time to size up the competing drivetrains. Though different in many ways, all of them build on the same formula: a gasoline engine aided by one or more electric motors, which draw power from a high-voltage battery that’s recharged by the brakes. (Got all that? Next up: quantum physics 101.) ...
I have no illusions about their conversion "on the road to Damascus" but welcome it. I've never had a problem with factual reports including the warts and pimples of our cars but I can not stand 'making stuff up.'
Welcome to reality, Cars.com. And my thanks to CarsDirect.com who had the good sense to pickup GreenHybrid.com back when it wasn't a popular decision in some quarters.
Bob Wilson
Last edited by bwilson4web; 05-09-2008 at 03:53 AM.
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