The Prius That Shook.. - VFAQ Prius Site

so that Toyota could maintain its quality standard.
One of these new suppliers was an Irish company. It
provided a part that switched the motor's analog signals into
digital signals using a photo coupler. This Irish company
was the only one that manufactured this device, and it had
only been used as a desktop device. Through a trading
company, Toyota had to patiently and repeatedly let this
company know that installing a device in an automobile
exposed it to many harsh conditions. Even Matsushita
Electric, a giant in the industry, was not initially aware that
the product quality level necessary for a car was much higher
than that for a home appliance.
Oi had another important task - obtaining a
certificate from the Ministry of Transport. Oi visited the
Ministry of Transport many times to explain the vehicle.
The fuel economy issue took the longest time to settle.
When Prius is running in the Japanese 10-15 city drive mode,
the driving mode results in the battery discharging electricity,
since this generally slow drive mode requires Prius to
frequently go into the EV drive mode. Therefore, Prius uses
gasoline as well as electricity that has been stored from a
previous charging cycle. The Ministry of Transport's
opinion was that the fuel economy based on the 10-15 city
drive mode was not accurate for Prius, since the car used more
battery power in the drive mode. Oi came up with a correction
coefficient based on the charge and discharge of the battery,
and the Ministry coalesced.
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