In the utmost of seriousness...

I dropped my wife off to work this afternoon and was making my way home through Pomona. Waiting at the McKinley on-ramp to E/B I-10 my light turned green. I entered the intersection when a Semi blew the red light at full normal speed of about 45mph.

He just... spaced out and blew right through the ****ed red light. and this wasn't just any truck. This was a DOUBLE tandem hauler , fully loaded with gravel being pulled by a filthy old Peterbilt.

As his brakes went into full-panic-lockup he could not pull out of the momentum that lined up exactly perpendicular to my passengers side 'B' pillar.

There was no time to move my foot to the brake pedal. At his rate of closure, I would have been a pink-mist on the pavement before the pads ever touched.

In a normal gas car, mashing the accelerator would do no good because it takes fractions of a second to unlock the torque converter, spool-up the engine and kick-down the gears to establish aggressive forward momentum. I didn't have the 3/4 second to spare. But I mashed the pedal anyway.

Instantly the DC motors delivered 100% torque to a CVT transmission that is normally wound up like a rubber band anyway. In a blink I was up and out of the way. The truck missed me by about an inch. I literally saw my life flash before my eyes. And I know for a fact I would not be here right now if I tried the same evasive maneuver in a gas car.

No. I'm not a shill for Toyota. But I do know a lot about cars.

I've had this car for 8 months and it continues to impress me every day. some days more than others.

 

Downright scary!;

...but it re-enforces one of the long list of reasons I bought my TCH. I do not mean to dismiss your ordeal in any way, but I spent a lot of time on this website and several others before making my purchase, and your recollection of your exerience gave me a very, very, warm fuzzy about my own decision -- although I hope I never need to come as close to that aspect of it as you did.

My heartiest congradulations on your escape. I agree completely -- the longer I have this car, the more it amazes me.

 

wow.. and here people complain about the lag. It might be because their engine is off and yours is already running. Either way, that's waaay too close!!

 

Tom, I am sure I speak for everyone here: we are all glad your are safe and well.

 

I really wonder if the lag is mostly imaginary. You've got a 40HP electric motor directly connected to the wheels that can produce maximum torque at 0 RPM -- far better for starting into motion than any ICE + transmission. It's the initial acceleration before the ICE kicks in that gets discounted because there is no roar of the engine. Also, the traction control will prevent spinning the wheels -- the rubber burning gives the illusion of massive acceleration. I'd like to see 0-5 and 0-10 mph times for the TCH versus the gas versions.

 

true but do keep in mind that Toyota DBW systems do tend to have a lag time, even with regular cars (I know our 02 Camry did)

 

Actually it wasn't from a dead stop. The intersection is strange as if a standard 4-way criss-cross layout was just rotated about 30 degrees, just enough so that perpendicular traffic cannot see you.

My heading was a straight-shot through the intersection and directly onto a short, uphill on-ramp to I-10 which was moving at full speed. So I was already in modestly aggressive acceleration at about 15mph. To have a chance of saving my hide I needed to get from 15 to 40 or so, like... instantly.

In that very specific operational scenario the HSD system simply delivered what no straight ICE car ever could, instant response to throttle input.

I'm still having cold-chills. He came so close to hitting me that I could feel the rush of displaced air push my car as he went by.

 

[quote=McGyver;146151] Actually it wasn't from a dead stop. .../quote]

I have been fortunate enough to avoid any accidents since my early twenties. But the ones I was a part of and the ones I have seen mostly involved two cars that were moving. With motion on the vehicle, the immediate possibilities are therefore braking, accelerating and/or some combinations of turning. To make an instantaneous decision that is correct requires an intimate knowledge of the vheicles performance with each of these inputs.

So... This thread strongly suggests that there is a need for exploration relative to the acceleration performance vs. braking performance for different starting speeds. I, for one, plan to do some acceleration graphs for starting speeds from 10 miles per hour to up to 40 miles per hour -- and with starts from various modes (ICE on, Fuel Cut, full ECO). I will try to establish constants for the other parameters (level, paved surface of same type and quality, constant temperature, same weather, same vehicle, same weight (mid tank with one up, etc.) If anyone esle is equipped to participate, you are welcome to do so, and we can compare results.

 

Yes, I totally love the way I can punch my car, and it'll just go. It's gotten me out of a few binds. The only other car I had that came close was my '68 Mustang way back when.

 

man, I do NOT like tractor trailers. I've had quite a few run-ins with them in my "short" driving career (7 years). All these stories about TCHs getting people out of jams have reaffirmed my belief that I chose the right car