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Automotive News & Views How The 35 mpg Law By 2020 Will Affect The Cars We Will Drive
538 messages, Last post on Jul 31, 2008 at 6:28 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: bumpy (Dec 28, 2007 8:03 am) (we have asthma inhalers around this household, and I sort of like the idea of keeping the particulates down to a manageable level). That said, I like the 35mph fleet idea more for the hope that I'll have more buying options that will still save me gas money. I'm too cheap to buy a car that doesn't get at least 20ish around town.
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Replying to: bumpy (Dec 28, 2007 8:03 am) Well if the engineers at any of the auto manufacturers could do that, don't you think their company would want that design? If Chevy could make a truck with 35 mpg that had truck-capabilities don't you think that would give GM the whole market? and GM wouldn't do that? Maybe you'd like to design that for them? You could probably make a few billion $'s! |
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Replying to: kernick (Dec 28, 2007 10:07 am) Anyway, start with a Holden Ute, bring the drag coefficient down to 0.275, install the 6-speed 2-mode hybrid with a 0.5 overdrive, and debore the 2.9 V6 diesel in the Euro CTS down to 2.5L for the mileage bump. |
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Replying to: bumpy (Dec 28, 2007 10:32 am) The new GM hybrid is not going to be worth much as a towing vehicle. It gives up about 25% of the towing capability of the smaller engined versions. Fine for soccer moms, not so good if you want to tow much of a trailer. I am all for a smaller V6 diesel engine in an SUV. I do not need to have a 0-60 MPH under 7 seconds.
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 28, 2007 10:44 am) Also, the impending release of SAE towing standards is going to knock a lot of the puffery out of the current tow "ratings" anyway.
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Replying to: bumpy (Dec 28, 2007 11:04 am) |
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Replying to: bumpy (Dec 28, 2007 10:32 am) Since this is about the best of any car, are you suggesting the truck will have a similar body to a Corvette? As for the rest, yes you will see more diesels in trucks (and cars), but I don't think that powertrain you're envisioning is going to work well in sub-zero weather, snowplowing, or pulling trailers uphills. You need an adequate engine in trucks, for those times when the hybrid batteries are depleted, or just several years old and not recharging fully (like new).
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Replying to: kernick (Dec 28, 2007 1:16 pm) The 2.5L V6 diesel by itself would be something like 220 hp / 350 ft-lb at a nice, low rpm, plenty for a half-ton. |
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Replying to: kernick (Dec 28, 2007 10:07 am) Why would GM's trucks have to get 35 mpg? This 35 mpg is a fleet average. Obviously the larger vehicles wouldn't meet this and the smaller vehicles would exceed it. The Chevy Tahoe with the two-mode hybrid system is rated at 22 mpg. That's EPA, which is not what the new CAFE numbers are based upon. I don't know what agency's ratings they are using but my understanding is that the numbers are at least 20% higher. So this Chevy Tahoe would be 26 mpg for CAFE purposes. I think that GM could sell quite a few of these and still achieve a 35 mpg fleet average. This Chevy Tahoe can tow 6,000 lbs. I'm guessing that if you look at all Tahoe buyers those that need to tow more than that are a very small subset. 6,000 lbs is a pretty substantial amount.
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Replying to: smithed (Dec 26, 2007 7:24 am) It's also hilarious to see the big macho American male talk about how we can't function without behemoths that can "haul" and "tow". If you look at the percentage of trucks that EVER haul or tow anything, it would be like 5% I'm guessing. Manufacturers could keep building the monsters for those 5%, but the rest of us would figure out how to get the job done economically. It was also interesting to see that Australia and New Zealand have no behemoth trucks either. Most passenger cars have bumper hitches on the rear, and when people need to haul something, they get out their trailers for that once a year haul. Most cars the size of an Accord can easily pull/haul their "caravans" (small RVs). Face it... Americans have been buying big trucks and SUVs because they're the best value for the money, and there isn't anything else to pick from... not because they need to haul and tow. Even now I could go out and buy 20 full size trucks that cost less than my new Tacoma did, but I already know from experience that the Tacoma will cost me less to own because it gets better mileage and has better resale value. Actually much of Europe (especially Italy) is functioning with scooters for transportation. It was hilarious to be sitting on a tour bus stuck in traffic, and watch them zip in and out of traffic while we went NOWHERE. And to answer the safety question... when vehicles can't go more than 30 MPH, it's easy for a scooter to get out of their way. America is just way behind the learning curve. When low sulphur diesel gets here, you're going to see a new wave of smaller vehicles (already available and in use elsewhere in the world) being unloaded at our ports. As soon as a diesel Tacoma (HILUX) gets here, I'll be first in line.
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Automotive News & Views How The 35 mpg Law By 2020 Will Affect The Cars We Will Drive
