1998 Toyota Rav4 "l" Package Limited Very Clean One Owner Florida on 2040-cars

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Lost power in a winter storm? Just hook up a Toyota Prius like this guy did

The Toyota Prius' battery pack just got something like a five-star rating from a truly seasoned professional – a 50-year aircraft technician. Bob Osemlak, who'd served more than three of those five decades with the Canadian Air Force, brought electricity back to his home in December during a heavy ice storm thanks to his gas-electric car. His ingenuity allowed him to turn on lights, furnace, refrigerator and the TV. The Thornhill, Ontario resident lost power for nearly a day on December 21 – not nearly as much as millions of other people hit by the recent storm - and so he still set about using his Prius for backup power, according to EV World. His ingenuity allowed him to turn on lights, furnace, refrigerator and the TV. Being an aircraft technician for so long brought Osemlak the ability to home-brew his V2H set-up that he urges other people to avoid, for safety reasons. He had planned for a potential power outage by installing an outlet on his furnace and, when the storm struck, he ran a cord through the basement window to the car. During the nine hours Osemlak used his Prius for backup power, the car's fuel gauge only reduced less than one bar, or roughly the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline. It wasn't the first time Osemlak had played with his vehicle. In the 1960s, while stationed in Winnepeg, Manitoba, he created a car starter. Every hour, the car would start up and run for 10 minutes to avoid being frozen solid in frigid winter temperatures. Featured Gallery News Source: EV WorldImage Credit: Flickr Green Toyota Green Culture Hybrid PHEV vehicle to grid storm

Next moves for the Tesla Model 3 and Bollinger B1 | Autoblog Podcast #522

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Producer Christopher McGraw. We discuss two different electric vehicles: the Tesla Model 3 and Bollinger B1 truck. We also discuss our time driving the Porsche 911 and McLaren 570GT, plus the reveal of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Also, Spend My Money (your money, everyone's money) is back this week. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #522Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention Rundown Tesla Model 3 Bollinger B1 Porsche 911 Driving McLaren 570GT Driving Rolls-Royce Phantom Reveal Spend My Money (with guest appearance) Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Green Podcasts McLaren Porsche Toyota Truck Coupe SUV Electric Luxury Performance mclaren 570gt bollinger b1

America was the unexpected theme at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show thanks to Trump

President-elect Donald Trump was not in attendance at this year's Detroit Auto Show, but it sure seemed like he was the target audience for many of the press conferences and announcements surrounding the event. Several manufacturers chose to play up existing and future commitments to the US in general and American jobs specifically in their presentations to the press, and we're pretty sure that has everything to do with Trump's recent targeting of automakers on Twitter. To us, it seemed automakers were going on the offensive to try and preempt any future tweet-shaming for investing in auto manufacturing anywhere but the US. The pro-America sentiment started the week prior to the auto show, with Ford announcing that it would build several future electrified vehicles at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan and also cancel a $1.6 billion factory planned for Mexico. Ford announced the two items on the same day, but the reality is that they likely have no relation to each other; the Mexican plant is being skipped because the company doesn't need the extra capacity to build the Ford Focus right now. Trump was still happy to share the news on Twitter. Then, on Sunday, FCA announced it would invest $1 billion in manufacturing plants in Ohio and Michigan to produce the new Jeep Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer, and Wrangler-based pickup. It's not as though those potential new jobs were on their way out of the US, necessarily, but FCA took the opportunity to mention that plant upgrades at the Warren Truck Plant would allow the company to build Ram heavy duty trucks, which are currently assembled in Mexico, there. CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed that Trump and his proposed tariffs had nothing to do with the decision. We certainly believe that, but we also have to believe that the timing of the release, positive outcome for America, and zero gain for Mexico were all orchestrated. Again, Trump sent out a victory tweet as if this had been his doing. Ford then used its press conference at the show on Monday to reiterate the plans for Flat Rock and also confirm that the Ford Bronco and Ranger nameplates will be returning to the US market, and that both will be built at a plant in Michigan. Announcements of manufacturing locations are usually aimed at the UAW, which certainly has a stake in these things, but again this one was broadcast to the auto show crowd in general.