Whiny fuel economy/EPA story on NBC

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Mark, Mar 10, 2005.

  1. Mark

    K`Tetch Guest

    If you want to get decent milage the US needs to start getting
    low-sulphur diesel and SOON, so that the newer generatiosn of Diesel
    engines can be brought over.

    a VW lupo diesel will do 60mpg, an audi A8, with a 4l twin-turbo
    diesel can manage 40mpg on the highway (and thats a big heavy car!)

    I also agree that driving style has a lot to do with it - I did a run
    from atlanta to sailsbury, NC on sunday - there and back averaged
    30mpg, on a vehicle with an EPA highway rating of 26, and the return
    journey had 2700lb of lexan in it. That was from an 87 dodge 3l, with
    the check engine light on, imagine what i'll get when i get the engine
    working graet (i got it about 4 weeks ago)

    Basically comes down to 3 things

    1) driving style - most americans, it seems, have little knowledge of
    smooth driving, or wide spacial awareness. they don't anticipate or
    aggregate. The significantly lower standard of driving required to
    pass the test in the US compaired with the UK, also means that drivers
    look for bigger vehicles for safety.

    2) Mechanicals - American engines are not the best out-putters of
    power. Tend to be big engines, that are then tuned for low-end torque
    and made quiet. The abundance of automatic boxes also makes it less
    efficient. Side impact bars, safety cages etc. are also often missing
    in the smaller cars, meaning that peolpe look to the big heavy vehcles
    for safety.

    3) legislative. Car tags, at least here in georgia, are priced on
    vehicle value, in the UK, they're emissiosn dependant. Smaller engined
    cars cost less. the lower safety requirements, and the incrased
    reliance on active, secondary devices, such as airbags, and away from
    better stronger chassis, or better handling (admittedly, the last is
    hard to legislate) . Silly stuff too, such as Arnie proposing the
    Pruis be allowed to use carpool lanes, even when only 1 person in it
    9the prius's 1.5l engine, is the same size as that in my civic, and my
    civic is a HELL of a lot lighter with no batteries or motors to
    feed/carry - so can i run my civic in the california carpool lanes on
    my own too, eh? nope, didn't think so.
     
    K`Tetch, Mar 11, 2005
    #21
  2. Mark

    full Name Guest

    Partially agree. Would you want to be broad sided by an American
    Car/SUV/Truck in a Lupo? Hell even being in a Polo would be fatal.

    I love the A8, Mid sized Bimmers & the new GTi Diesels. Wonderful fun
    cars to drive, cheap on fuel etc. I agree on the Diesel. We should
    have Low Sulphur available for those of us that want it esp since we
    grow so much Rapeseed/Canola over here.
    Agreed. Though poorly designed roads/motorways have as big an impact
    on smooth driving. One "law abiding" idiot switching lanes in front of
    faster moving traffic & you've got a 3 hour tie up (assuming that they
    don't cause a wreck)
    Big slow revving engines last longer & can use as little or even less
    than a smaller engine working harder (compare the V8 Lincoln's to a
    Turbo Saab to see what I mean). Auto Boxes can be more efficient than
    they have been (for eg, the new twin clutch trannies in the Ferrari's
    and Porsche) Fast, efficient and potentially much more reliable.
    It's hard to swerve out of the way of someone running a stop sign or a
    red light. I like the UK idea of standard bumper heights on trucks
    and under-runners (or whatever they're called) on the sides of larger
    trucks (Lorry's/Juggernaughts).

    Also most North American vehicles are designed for our climate.
    Europe and Asia is much more temperate and thus the vehicles don't
    need quite the same HVAC system we do over here.

    Legislatively I think mandating increases in fuel economy would be a
    good starting point. Imagine a Corvette with a Hybrid V8. 500 HP gas
    plus 100HP electric with massive torque on demand then 2 cylinders
    running in stop and go. Or a 4X4 SUV with Electric rear drive train
    for acceleration and generation. There's no reason we can't hit mid
    to high 40's on gasoline with the size and shape of vehicles we have
    now. Add to it an electric battery pack chargeable from home & you're
    off to the races.
    Not touching the California thing. I have no clue what the objectives
    are down there.


    Please explain to me why there is this notion
    that economy = deprivation

    is a 6000 square foot Solar home more wasteful than a 1200 square foot
    traditional home? I believe homes are where we should be focusing the
    economy on, (greater gains fewer $). end of my rant
     
    full Name, Mar 11, 2005
    #22
  3. Mark

    hachiroku Guest

    Hachiroku, TOPPOSTING!!!!

    http://www.greasecar.com/
     
    hachiroku, Mar 11, 2005
    #23
  4. Mark

    Bassplayer12 Guest

    SNIP
    Spending on electricity what he saves on gas? Tell him to use a good quality
    synthetic oil instead. He won't need a block heater anymore.

    SNIP
    SNIP

    Don't put all gov. emplyees in the same basket. I work for a Crown Corp.
    here in Canada and I am NOT under worked. My salary is adequate, at best.

    JP
     
    Bassplayer12, Mar 11, 2005
    #24
  5. I agree, I almost always do at least as well as the EPA estimates,and often
    do better. The exception is winter driving. there is a 5-6MPG average
    difference between me and the wife in the same cars...she drives a lot more
    aggressively than I do. She goes through brakes faster too!!!
     
    James C. Reeves, Mar 12, 2005
    #25
  6. Mark

    full Name Guest

    Synthetic oil? he'd never! (costs too much ;-) Plus he only plugs
    in the block heater for an hour before he leaves. Trust me, he's so
    anal he's already done a cost benefit analysis and decided on the
    block heater for his diesel VW. 8 years old only 60K
    No offence intended, used to work with a fire fighter who worked days
    when he was on night shift b/c he was bored. At $60+ K a year his
    salary was more than adequate for what he did there.
     
    full Name, Mar 12, 2005
    #26
  7. Mark

    hachiroku Guest

    Bass player, eh? What ya got? What do you play?

    I have a Dan AArmstrong, clear Lucite that weighs a ton (an ORIGINAL,
    probably a prototype from what I'm told!); a Fender P-Bass Lyte that
    DOESN'T weigh a ton, a Carvin ProBass 300 with my choice of 1970's Ampeg
    4-12 SVT cabinet or an '80's Fender Bassman 2-15 cabinet. All depends on
    the sound and how much weight I want to hual! (The SVT bottom weighs over
    100LBS!!!)
     
    hachiroku, Mar 13, 2005
    #27
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