This week we dive into audience questions and cover what you can do when an electric-vehicle's battery runs out on the road; why rearranging second row seats is a safety risk; how always driving in four-wheel drive can damage your vehicle; and tips on what to do when deer cross the road.
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SHOW NOTES:
1:04 – Question #1: What can you do if an EV runs out of power while driving?
5:35 – Question #2: How many miles does the average windshield last?
8:57 – Question #3: Can you reconfigure the second row seats in the 2022 Kia Carnival and is it safe?
14:58 – Question #4: In inclement weather, can you drive in 4WD all the time?
16:07 – Question #5: What are some tips to avoid deer in the road?
17:52 – Question #6 – Should you use fuel stabilizer to prolong fuel life in the ICE engine of a plug-in hybrid?
22:26 – Question #7: Is it time to raise the speed limits on highways?
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LINKS:
Electric Vehicles That Can Go More Than 250 Miles on a Charge: consumerreports.org/hybrids-evs/electric-vehicles-that-can-go-more-than-250-miles-on-a-full-charge-a2189661367/
First Drive: 2022 Kia Carnival Delivers on Comfort and Practicality:
How It Works: 2WD vs. AWD vs. 4WD:
How to Avoid a Deer Strike:
UN Global Road Safety Week:
9 sec ago
The best solution would for a Government initiated workshops with the engineering EV experts to come up with dimensional and electrical interconnect standards for a compatible family of quick exchange power packs. In addition of providing a measure of financial protection from technological obsolescence, it would open up the market for drivers that do frequent long distance interstate highway and rural road travel and those that shave dwellings in high density multifamily location where home charging hookups are not possible or allowed.
So called car seat expert can’t explain why is safer to be rear facing 🤷♂️
Don’t mention that automatic emergency braking is getting better and should bring animal collisions down
The usual anti-EV bias. Never does CR emphasize the ability to live with an EV despite a decreasing case of range anxiety.
Cr testers are based in colchester, ct. look it up on google maps and you’ll understand why they have such range anxiety
I wouldn’t call it anti-EV bias since it’s a legitimate fear with less available solutions than the ICE counterparts but if the governments get their way, someone will come up with a solution sooner than anyone thinks. If AAA already made a solution but it wasn’t all that useful yet, it’ll just be a matter of time.
The frontier reminds me of my 98 4runner. It’s such a pain switching between the modes based on weather. 4wd is such a basic and crappy mode if you’re not offroading.
When cars are autonomous, you can raise speed limits.
And that is many years away, probably 15.
A great combination of panelists today – the new(er) kids on the block and probably the three who smile most at CR.
On the final question, the problem with safety features is that they encourage drivers to drive faster, because they feel safer and think they can “bank” the safety improvements as the questioner suggested.
Supposedly, the safest car would have a metal spike pointed at the driver’s chest, and to stop us from banking that condition, it should vary in its distance from our chest in a random manner, so we have to always be on the alert…. I doubt CR would support such a feature, though.
I have a tree farm behind my house. There are at least a dozen deer that live and frequent my property. Almost every morning there are at least two in my back yard and at least three deer in the front yard every evening. I live surrounded by them and have never hit a deer when my mom, sister, and BIL have all had deer hit the sides of their cars and my dad and brother have hit them head on. I make a point of downshifting and keeping the RPMs high between the main road and my house so they can hear me coming. I own a Forester XT with a WRX exhaust (semi-loud if I keep it above 2,500RPM) and an F350 that you can hear from far away (factory diesel noise). The deer seem to hear me and just stand still and watch as I go by. I have been thinking about getting an EV too, but there has got to be a way to make it loud enough for the deer to hear first.
Hey, I don’t know about your theory that deer are always looking out for prey. I was on i-66 heading into Washington DC late one night when it was clear visibility. At the last second I noticed a deer on the right hand side of the road. On the shoulder. I should have been able to just drive by him! Next thing I heard was exploding airbags. So he jumped in front of my car. I became the predator he became dead. Deer suicide, is there such a thing? Yes, he totaled my car. Fortunately I somehow came out unscathed! My airbags and seat belt did their job! Note, I never saw him actually jump in front of the car, I just heard airbags exploding my hood popping up covering the windshield, which the highway patrolman said probably protected me. Because the deer was an eight point buck!
I remember seeing videos of high G tests with front & back facing people, and it was found that humans deal with higher G’s better when our innards are pushed toward our feet or back. We do worse when it is pushed to our chest or head.
As for airbags in case of collision, that’s definitely something to worry about.
In regard to people facing each other, at least the kids won’t be removing their seatbelts and climbing over seats to play with their siblings.
no idea which is more safe, so agreed, don’t modify the vehicle to do something it’s not supposed to do in your country.
speed limits need to be strictly enforced. no one gives a damn about them. what’s the use of a law if everyone’s just allowed to break it without consequence.
Raise the speed limit +10m/h (city) ~ 15m/h(highway) and take away the right to drive of anyone caught speeding for 6months minimum (1mph over even).
Effect: people already drive that fast, and faster most of the time, however knowing there is a real consequence for speeding, not just a nominal fine if caught would cause people to slow down 2~3 mph instead.
I love Emily’s answer to the speed limit question.
And Keith’s additional comments about over-reliance on technology reminds me of my concerns about adaptive cruise control: I’ve noted over the last year how I can be in the interstate right lane and a car comes up on me quickly and slows a distance behind me that I find just a bit too close. A couple of times I’ve tried a test. I accelerated quickly by five, eight, or ten mph. The car stayed with me; and when I slowed to my original speed again, it slowed as well, always staying the same distance behind me. No proof, but I suspect adaptive cruise control (ACC)
I suspect ACC because of discussions I’ve read (and participated in) at online auto forums, Most of the ACC enthusiasts mention “I don’t have to concentrate.” To me, that is an over-reliance on technology.
I never ran out of gas in an ICE car in the past 35 years. I’ve had my EV for 3 years and never came close to running out either. Range anxiety is a non-issue with modern 200+ mile EVs.
CR staff are very scared of EV’s. Probably because they just can’t let go of ICE and none of them own a modern one and live with it to understand.
US can increase speed limits on highways with better driver education. Since this costs money and people don’t want to pay it will never happen.
The dodge caravan has 2nd row swivel seats that allow you to face rearward. Based on car seat testing, have the baby on the fwd facing seat and the adult in the rear facing
Would think a swivel seat would be easy, would still install a child seat that way, facing backwards for an infant , and even for older kids, backwards would be better. That’s why flight attendants fly backwards. Not that much stress on the body