People who claim 'they could build a 400mpg Hybrid' amuse me.

The Honda Insight has an aluminum frame. 1875 lbs I think.

 

I'm not saying 400mpg is possible now, but technology changes.

At one time everyone agreed that :
the world was flat
Man could not fly
we couldn't put a man on the moon
we couldn't move faster than the speed of sound

etc.. etc.. etc..

I don't think we have really been trying to make great steps in fuel
economy. Yes we talk the talk, but I have a 1961 car that weighs about
a million pounds, yet it still gets ~10-12mpg.

I find it hard to beleive that with the technological advances we have
had in the last 40 years that if we had been really working on it we
haven't been able to improve on the mileage we got back in the early
60's.

*************************************************
Scott H. Sexton help@
www.sexton.com sexton.com
Eeyore's Birthday Party http://eeyores.sexton.com
*************************************************

 

Vague, but I think two things hinder further improvements: Safety, and
culture.

Safety: We could build cars out of lightweight composite materials. They
might end up being as rugged as golf carts, and the death toll from
accidents would be close to 100%. For lousy drivers, this would be a good
thing, but not for those of us who happen to be in their way when they run
stop signs, etc.

Between 90% and 95% of drivers are either drunk, legally blind, clinically
dead, or too stupid to operate a spoon, much less a car. How do we get rid
of them so composite (less safe) vehicles have a fighting chance? That would
be tough because of:

Culture: We have the right to travel anywhere in the U.S. freely. Some
people think this means we have the right to drive cars. Wrong. We need
driving tests that are almost impossible to pass. If you fail, not only
don't you get a license, but you're not allowed to own a car. This will
raise hell with those who think the right to drive comes from god, but who
cares?

 

And body. And engine. The exhaust is lightweight magnesium & the
underbody is covered with plastic to reduce air friction.

The Civic Hybrid incorporates some, but not all, of the insight's
innovations which makes it nice & light. For example the engine is
aluminum, and ditto the hood. The underside has the plastic covering
to reduce friction.



The problem with using aluminum is that it requires a higher
temperature to become malleable, and therefore costs more to produce.
That's why Honda discontinued its Aluminum insight, and VW
discontinued its Aluminum 90mpg Lupo. It was just too costly.

 

This last sentence is interesting. Is it true? Here in Canada, one does
not need to hold a drivers licence to own a vehicle. One only has to have
the money to pay for the registration and insurance.

 

It's not true, but it would be if I were king. People without licenses still
get away with driving. I'd find a way make it harder for them to have access
to vehicles.

 

Today, a Pontiac Grand Prix gets 20/30 mpg, about twice what your old car
got. In UK, they have a Mondeo (which is the later version of the Contour)
gets about 25/40 mpg with a small (1.8 l gas engine) and 30/50 with a turbo
diesel.

In Europe, the price of fuel is significantly more than in the US.

Jeff.

 

While too many drivers are drunk, the number of people who are in the above
catagories is rather small.

Actually, cars survive pretty well when they crashing into other cars or
into fixed objects. The problem comes when cars crash into big trucks and
SUVs.

You forgot price of gas.

Jeff

 

Actually, wrong. Add together the various categories:

- Elderly drivers with failed peripheral vision, driving while terrified.
- Drunks (all day long - alcoholics often start early)
- People distracted by cell phones and other bullshit toys
- People reading maps, newspaper, etc (yeah...newspapers - I've seen it.)
- People with zero sense of the physics of cars, especially in adverse
conditions.
- People who never check their tire inflation
- People who think red lights, yield signs and stop signs are for others
- Tailgaters (almost all young women)

I say 90%. My son says 95%. Take your pick. If you haven't noticed, it's
time to notice. And, you *know* that driving exams are a crock. Parallel
parking means you're qualified to drive on a highway in the snow? I think
not.

 

My old Impala 1970, got around 25 mpgs combined, and had a 350 ci.

 

Not legally blind.

Small protion, maybe 5%.

None of these people are too stupid to use a spoon. And obviously smart
enough to drive a car.

And many tailgater older and/or male.

If people are as stupid as you say, they would kill themselves (and everyone
else). While the death rate is too high, it is not nearly as high as your
figures would suggest.

All the best,

Jeff

 

You are forgetting the important question - how fast is the vehicle going to
achieve better mileage.

The current generation of hybrids operates nowhere near 40% efficiency most
of the time and probably closer to 20% on the highway. The impressive
increase in economy around town is because they are margianlly more
efficient than conventional power trains, which operate at 0% efficiency
while waiting and a couple percent when moving on city streets. To be
technical, that is only the fuel efficiency toward overcoming losses; the
efficiency in moving the payload from one spot to another at the same
altitude is exactly zero - not hard to beat that! Even 100 mpg at 60 mph /
100 kph is attainable; niche turbodiesels like the Lupo 3L are getting
close.

400 mpg is mighty ambitious, though. I'd bet against seeing that in my
lifetime. A serial hybrid with a 200-300cc turbo'd diesel engine as the
power plant should have no problems reaching somewhere between 100 and 200
mpg below 40 mph. Since an effect of hybridization is to separate throttle
responsiveness from powerplant output, the acceleration is entirely a state
of technology question. A serial hybrid with a dead engine accelerates as
well as it does with the engine running - only the range is affected.

Hybrids are in their infancy now, scarcely as developed as the pre-Model T
automobiles were. The advantages of not using a 200 hp engine to move a few
passengers around town are scarcely beginning to be felt.

Mike

 

Smart enough to pass a driving test which checks about 2% of the skills
needed to drive a car.

Pay close attention to the age & gender of the next 100 people who tailgate
you, even if it means pulling to the side of local streets so you can look
in their cars. The vast majority are young women. I don't know why.

With all due respect, you are phenomenally wrong in your observations. I'd
still let you borrow my lawnmower if you were my neighbor, but you need to
be more observant of what really goes on around you on the roads.

 

Don't complain here. Complain to your state representatives and ask that
they change the test.

You appear to be making the false assumption that I don't see who is
tailgating other drivers or myself.

Well, we will have to disagree about that. I do watch what goes on.

Jeff

 

My son almost didn't pass my test, but because he is the NEXT highway god
(after I'm gone), I gave him lots of extra attention. Nobody else would pass
my test.

Logic bomb. If you were paying attention, you'd see that I was correct.
Therefore, you are not paying attention. I don't like the gender-heavy idea
either, but it *is* factual.

Don't start with me, Jeff. I have 3 feet of snow in my driveway and I am
not in the mood for nonsense.

 

Like I've mentioned to a couple others, Joe is a couple bubbles off the
center.
--

 

That doesn't make any sense (although I know what you're saying), just
because a person owns vehicles doesn't mean that that person would ever
consider operating any one of those vehicles.

 

I don't know about Canada, but here (NY), the cops find endless numbers of
people whose licenses have been revoked, but are still driving cars. What do
you do with them up there? Send them to the Inuits for reorientation?

 

Based on what you typed, you have plenty of time for nonsense. ;-)

Jeff

 

More like a few chips short of a computer. ;-)

Jeff