Monday, April 16, 2007

Prius fails Georgia Emissions Test... though not how you think

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6931

I found the above article fairly amusing. The Prius didn't fail the test because its emissions level is high. It actually failed because the test methodology doesn't work w/the way the drive train is designed. The short version is this, the Georgia emissions testing measures the exhaust at idle. The catch here is the Prius' internal combustion engine disengages at idle and cuts over to the electric powerplant. The result is that there isn't a steady amount of exhaust pressure and so the sensor treats it as a failed read.

So... the question becomes how do you evaluate that? Do you measure it at a rev state? or give them all a "passing" grade regardless. Hopefully Hawaii doesn't get stupid.

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