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Automotive News & Views How does gas at $4 and higher impact you?
2183 messages, Last post on Nov 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM
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Replying to: dieselone (Nov 16, 2008 11:03 am) It's crazy because the mileage achieved by E85 is what 2/3 that of rug? I'm not sure the math all I know is that people driving the same car that I have, a 7th gen Accord, get upwards of 35 mpg mixed doing the same kind of driving I do in states where gasoline has no E85, but the most I've managed is 31 and that was being ultra-careful and paying a lot of attention to what I was doing. |
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I realize $4.00 gas did point out one thing to me. All of the cars we were offered were sub standard for any major fuel shortage. 25 years ago we were getting cars like the VW Rabbit diesel that got a real world 45+ MPG and back then diesel was less expensive than gas. We had the Metro that got better than 45 MPG average and no one was pushing down the door to get one. It is not as surprising that they were dropped as it is that in 2009 we are offered sub compacts that can't improve on fuel mileage from 25 years ago. Yes they are heavier but they also cost more than the old cars they are trying to replace. The Smart couldn't be more disappointing and has shown why it has been in the red in Europe forever. The triplets from Scion aren't winning any rewards for highest fuel mileage ever and the Fit isn't exactly a Fuel king even compared to a Corolla. SO just where have we come in all these years? At least in a full sized SUV you can now buy a Tahoe or Denali that gets 20 MPG highway rather than 9 like they did 25 years ago. Comparatively sub compact development or small car technology sucks compared to the larger ones. At least from raw real world numbers. I seem to remember old VW bugs getting better than 30 MPG in the 60s. That is almost 50 years ago.
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Replying to: boaz47 (Nov 16, 2008 1:28 pm) From what I've heard, you were lucky if you got 30 mpg out of a VW Bug. You also got 0-60 in about 30 seconds, and a top speed of 70-75 mph. No power steering or brakes (although probably not necessary on something that light with a rear engine), and no a/c. In contrast, I had a '69 Dodge Dart that would get around 22 mpg running 70-75 mph, air conditioning going full-blast, and a full load of passengers. That Dart also had no problem at all running up to 100 mph, even with just a 225 slant six. So to my way of thinking, that 30 mpg out of a Bug is kinda lame, especially when you figure that it probably wasn't getting 30 mpg running at its top speed! I think the biggest problem is simply that the internal combustion engine can only be made so efficient. There definitely seems to be a ceiling that's hard to break through unless you go hybrid. Smaller cars started off closer to that ceiling, whatever point it may be. Bigger cars, and trucks, were further away to begin with, so they had a bigger gap to close. Back in 2007, I borrowed my uncle's '03 Corolla when I went to PA for one of the Carlisle swap meets. I drove it gently, and didn't use the a/c. MPG came out to 37.4 mpg. I was actually a bit disappointed, as it was EPA rated 30/38, but I still thought that was pretty good mileage. However, this past June, I made the same trip in my 2000 Intrepid, and tried to drive it similarly to how I drove that Corolla, and still managed around 32.5 mpg. So the gap has definitely been narrowed between smaller cars and bigger cars. Still, smaller cars do have some advantages. For instance, my uncle's Corolla doesn't go through brakes and tires nearly as quickly as my Intrepid does. Now the brakes could be partly because of driving habits. He does mostly highway driving, I do mostly local. Brakes are more dependent on how much stop-and-go your driving is, but it seems to me tires would be more of a mileage thing. His tires are also smaller than my Intrepid's so they're cheaper to replace. |
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At this rate it will about one more week before a certain someone has to eat crow. I think he promised us all a steak dinner too, didn't he? 
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Nov 16, 2008 3:05 pm)
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Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Nov 16, 2008 3:05 pm) |
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Replying to: gagrice (Nov 16, 2008 4:12 pm) Yummy... we have a Ruth's Chris SteakHouse a couple miles down the road. That's about $75 a pop for a medium steak, $10 for a salad, baked potatos are extra... about $5, drinks another $10... then dessert, $10. Unless Al Gore shows up to help with the bill, larsb can plan on spending about $140 per person. 
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Replying to: tankbeans (Nov 16, 2008 11:28 am)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Nov 16, 2008 2:53 pm) If I needed a commuter car, I'd buy another TDI even though the 09 Jetta TDI isn't quite as economical as the older Jetta, but the new one has more power that is cleaner and the car is bigger and heavier. While I'm not completely sold on hybrids, I would like to see some hybrid features in every vehicle. Such as, auto engine start/stop at traffic lights and the ability to use a/c and heat for a short time with engine off. Those changes alone could save a lot of fuel for any ICE vehicle.
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Replying to: dieselone (Nov 16, 2008 5:48 pm) |
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