Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Automotive News & Views Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own?
312 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 1:15 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
|
|
|---|---|
can Citroen offer their all-electric car for only $16,500USD?  The specs are strikingly simliar to the Mitsubishi i-MiEV all-electric car coming out in another year or so in the U.S. Yet I have heard that the i-MiEV will run $30,000 or more here. Huh? It's not that I don't trust Mitsu's engineering and product development teams, in fact au contraire. I am thinking of just staying in the Mitsubishi family of automobiles from here on out. I am going to look at BYD's e6 in a year or year and a half, and see if it even comes close to getting 249 miles on one charge. BYD will charge around $30,000 for the e6, too. But the e6 and the i-MiEV are my two favoritist all-electrics under development right now. |
|
|
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 16, 2009 9:29 pm) |
|
|
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 16, 2009 9:29 pm) 20 August 2009 Test drive: ECC Citroen C1 Evie electric car The rocking motion gets worse the faster we go, so it’s fortunate that acceleration runs out at 60mph. The 30kW (40bhp) motor, fed by 25 lithium ion batteries, hauls the car smoothly from nought to 30mph in about eight seconds with foot flat to the floor. This doesn’t sound quick, but it’s more than fast enough for inner-city cut and thrust. We keep pace with ordinary traffic during our test, which tends to involve using the car’s power to the full for much of the time. Our round trip leaves 61% in reserve, equating to a total range of about 34 miles, well short of the manufacturer’s quoted 60-mile maximum between six-hour charges. No doubt a more feather-footed driving style would extend the range dramatically, but we would definitely want to think twice or even three times before heading off to a destination more than 15 miles away. Overall, we’re disappointed but impressed by the Evie, if that verdict makes sense. It is a better car than we thought from our first brief taste, but is not quite the persuasive package we had hoped for. It is a better bet than the similarly-priced G-Wiz L-ion if only because more of the speed on offer will be usable without fear of disintegration, although the much lighter G-Wiz will probably do better in real-world range. http://www.greenmotor.co.uk/2009/08/test-drive-ecc-citroen-c1-evie-electric.html-
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Nov 16, 2009 9:29 pm) The Frankfurt auto show showed lots of really fun to drive electric cars, and BMW showed its diesel-electric hybrid for the car line. I would say the future in fun-to-drive green cars is bright! But you will have to pay European prices to get there, as the big Japanese and domestic automakers are slower off the mark in this regard. |
|
|
Replying to: gagrice (Nov 17, 2009 6:33 am) The ev’ie doesn’t feel very lively as you draw away from a standstill, but with a top speed of 60mph and a 75-mile range, it’s adequate enough for city driving. Despite the extra weight in the nose, it still handles well and remains a full four-seater – unlike its rival, the MINI E. The big problem is the price tag. Even though it costs little more than a penny a mile to run, you’d have to travel 200,000 miles to make up the difference between this and a regular C1! It’s a brave effort, but it only serves to prove that before promised Government grants are taken into account, electric cars still have a long way to go. Rival: Mitsubishi i-MIEV Electric version of the firm’s city car carries over the regular model’s bold looks and four-seater cabin. But the £35,000 asking price is prohibitive. That is $58,875 US dollars for the Mitsubishi. Looks like they really don't want to sell then in the USA. 
|
|
|
Replying to: gagrice (Nov 17, 2009 7:00 am) It will still be too expensive, though. |
|
|
|
|
Your dream may be coming true: Some BMWs will get 4-cylinder engines November 23, 2009 - 12:01 am ET WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. -- BMW will offer four-cylinder diesel engines in North America as it seeks to improve fuel efficiency and match the performance of its current six-cylinder gasoline engines. BMW is considering diesels in a range of models, including its 1 series, 3 series and 5 series sedans and possibly the X3 crossover and Z4 roadster, said Tom Baloga, vice president of engineering for BMW of North America. "You're going to see it in the 3 series, and the 5 series is a good possibility," Baloga said. "If the performance is sufficient in the X3, U.S. customers would likely accept it in the X5 as well." Baloga did not disclose timing but said BMW will be ready to comply with emissions rules. Federal rules will regulate the amount of carbon dioxide per mile, based on an automaker's fleet average. The rules call for an average of 250 grams of C02 per mile by 2016, which equates to 35.5 mpg. Baloga said BMW will seek diesel performance comparable to that of its current six-cylinder engines by using a turbocharged 2.0-liter model tuned for performance. In Europe BMW sells a 320d with a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel. "Our four-cylinder diesel will be so good that people will readily accept it as a replacement for six cylinders," Baloga said. "With the weight reduction, performance could be similar to the turbocharged six-cylinder [gasoline engine] if we pushed very hard." Baloga said BMW will aim for a substantial increase in its diesel sales mix in North America. "If we hit 10 to 20 percent, we would be happy," he said. In Europe, 70 percent of BMW's sales are diesels. With exhaust treatment, BMW's diesels will meet California emission standards as well as federal tailpipe emission rules. Baloga didn't disclose what technology would be used -- a diesel particulate filter or a selective catalytic reduction treatment with a refillable on-board urea tank as in the BMW 335d. .....Sales of the X5 xDrive35d and 335d, which are powered by a 3.0-liter, twin-turbo, six-cylinder in-line diesel, got off to a slow start. Diesels now represent 13 percent of total X5 sales but only 1.3 percent of 3-series sedan sales. BMW launched a marketing campaign and offered a $4,500 rebate on both diesels during last summer's cash-for-clunkers program. The incentive continues through December. Through October, BMW sold 1,002 335d sedans and 2,706 X5 xDrive35d crossovers. http://www.autonews.com/article/20091123/OEM05/311239982/1186 So sales of diesel 335s totally SUCK. What was the point of bringing that model over? If they had brought the 2.0 diesel over from the start, they would have sold five times as many of these, I'm sure. Even in the X5, diesels should be more than 13% of sales. But with the overkill 6-cylinder, the price is too high and the fuel economy rating isn't impressive enough, so, no sales. It will be cool once they have a solid 45 mpg car or two for sale in the States. And we all know how fun BMWs are to drive...... 
|
|
|
Replying to: nippononly (Nov 22, 2009 11:23 pm) |
|
|
Replying to: nippononly (Nov 22, 2009 11:23 pm) A 320d has to cost much less. 328i prices, at most.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: ateixeira (Nov 23, 2009 9:35 am) |
|
You are here:
Forums
Automotive News & Views Will Green Cars Be Exciting To Drive And Enjoyable To Own?
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
