Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[dodint]

Hopefully they restore it and don't give it an LS conversion or something.

[DigitalGypsy66]

@DigitalGypsy66: Saw a headline that newer model Pilots were just recalled. Is yours affected?

The affected models are 2018-2023 Odyssey, 2019-2022 Pilot, and 2019-2023 Passport vehicles.

I got the recall notice yesterday, finally. Not that I noticed anything with the backup camera though. A new problem though: the Pilot RPMs "surges" around 1400-1800 RPM, somewhere in the 45mph range, if I maintain speed there. If I accelerate or decelerate, it stops. Sounds transmission-ish, which it's close to needing a flush/fill at 43K.

The recall parts aren't available until mid-November, unless you are having issues with the camera (I am not). But I got fed up with the transmission issue, and it was a simple fluid drain and refill. Evidently, I was supposed to get that done at 30K miles...which seems really soon to me. I vaguely recall Honda having a huge fluid drain/refill service at 50 or 60 and then again at 120K. Anyway, problem solved. I guess the 8 speed transmissions on these SUVs are rough on the ATF.

[Kane]

Just got done replacing the starter in my Elantra. I don't recommend doing that in a driveway, lol. Would have been way easier if it was on a lift.

[mac5155]

I've got a squeak coming from my truck. Goes away when I press the brake and only at low speeds like in a parking lot. Then today it started a bad rubbing noise too at low speed. I'm guessing a universal? But not sure exactly. I already did outer axle universals about 15k miles ago and used Spicers. Guess I'll run it to the mechanic tomorrow cause I really don't feel like doing universals again

[NTP66]

Heard somebody start their car this morning and it was crazy loud. Turns out, they had their cat stolen in the middle of the night. Lovely.

[faftorial]

Heard somebody start their car this morning and it was crazy loud. Turns out, they had their cat stolen in the middle of the night. Lovely.

A Kia?

[NTP66]

Nah, a Subaru wagon. Sounded like a tank this morning.

[dodint]

I like the new Prelude concept.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a4563 ... -revealed/

Unfortunately, I'm generally looking for utility out of an EV. But if I were going on looks alone that is pretty, pretty good.

[count2infinity]

Body line is very Porsche-esque....

[dodint]

I can't unsee it now. One of my car guy friends says the rear looks like an Eclispse (so much as you can tell from a single shot). But yeah, the front does have a Cayman/911 vibe.

[MR25]

I'm just glad companies are starting to realize you can make an electric car with some standard styling instead of making it look like a bubble or a box.

[dodint]

Yes, exactly. That's been a pet peeve of mine for years.

[NTP66]

Oh ****, that moved right up to the top of my list of EVs. That thing is slick. Right up there with the Audi e-Tron GT.

[iamjs]

I can't unsee it now. One of my car guy friends says the rear looks like an Eclispse (so much as you can tell from a single shot). But yeah, the front does have a Cayman/911 vibe.

I was gonna say Eclipse too, but now I see the Cayman/911 angle to it.

[MR25]

Apparently there was an update, and it's going to be a hybrid instead of EV

[robbiestoupe]

Took a month and a half but finally got our hybrid RAV4. That was not a fun process of waiting

[NTP66]

Apparently there was an update, and it's going to be a hybrid instead of EV

Lame.

[Rylan]

Prelude becoming hybrid makes me sad.

[DigitalGypsy66]

It looks like the move to EVs are softening in this country:

Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda, when asked about electric-vehicle challenges including a recent lull in U.S. demand, said the industry was coming to recognize that there isn't a single answer to reducing carbon emissions.

"People are finally seeing reality," Toyoda said Wednesday, speaking in his capacity as the head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Toyoda, who stepped down this year as Toyota chief executive after nearly 14 years on the job, has long said the auto industry should hedge its bets by continuing to invest in hybrid gasoline-electric cars and other options beyond just electric vehicles.

As EV sales momentum lags behind in the U.S. and more buyers gravitate to hybrids, he may be enjoying an "I told you so" moment.

"There are many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality," Toyoda told a small group of reporters at the Japan Mobility Show, formerly the Tokyo Motor Show, which is opening this week for the first time in four years.

From Tesla to Ford Motor, automakers in recent months have been issuing warnings about a sudden slowdown in consumer demand for EVs, which are generally more expensive than traditional gasoline-powered cars and need to be recharged regularly, posing challenges for some drivers.

Higher interest rates are making them more unaffordable for many buyers, and despite increasing discounts on plug-in models, unsold inventory is starting to stack up at dealerships.

The pullback in buyer interest is a worrisome sign for an industry that is sinking billions of dollars in new factories and battery-making facilities and is facing tougher regulations on tailpipe emissions globally.

In the latest sign that car companies are walking back their plans, General Motors and Honda Motor said Wednesday that they are ditching a partnership forged a year-and-a-half ago aimed at developing a line of lower-priced EVs.

The automakers had expected to produce millions of cars fitted with GM's Ultium batteries, a proprietary technology that the Detroit automaker has promoted as the mechanical backbone of its future EVs.

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/toyo ... s-31f1669c

So it makes sense for Honda to shift the Prelude to hybrid. I guess.

[mac5155]

Huh. Ya don't say.

[Shyster]

He may not be wrong, but one should keep in mind that (as is briefly mentioned above) Akio Toyoda has always maintained that a rapid shift to full electric is the wrong way to go. That's why Toyota only has one electric vehicle (the bZ4X) and was pretty late to the game in introducing it, but they offer tons of hybrids.

I think he's got a good point. Given that the average daily amount driven in the US is somewhere around 30 miles, a plug-in hybrid with 40 miles of electric range or so would electrify the majority of daily driving for most people, while still offering people the ability to gas up and go on long trips without worrying about finding charging stops. Since manual-transmission cars might be dead by the time I need a new car, I've been strongly looking at something like the Prius Prime PHEV for my next daily driver. I've decided to save up and buy a Morgan Super 3, so if I want to shift my own gears I'll have that.

[dodint]

GM and Ford made similar announcements in the last week.

[NTP66]

There are so many factors into why people aren’t buying EVs, and I’m not even sure that being more carbon neutral is in the top 3. Has there not also been pullback in new gasoline vehicle sales during this same time period?

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Personally, I rather have a hybrid because I don't want to deal with the hassle of finding a charging station.

[iamjs]

So I just bought a car I probably won’t need. No test drive, just based on a few pics and a video.

Which means I’m definitely selling the Vivio.

Update: Vivio sold, or at the very least I have a buyer lined up for it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155867183068