Actually the most american made car is currently a toyota...
Actually the most american made car is currently a toyota...
My first company car in the UK was a Citroen C5 estate wagon.. Huge with a manual 6 speed tran that got 55+ out of the quiet diesel engine. Then got a Citroen C2 4 door hatchback that I could cruise at 80 all day and get 75 mpg (again Diesel). When the wife and I moved back here we looked at the Versa, 35 MPG hwy here, same exact car in Portugal (her home country) 55 MPG hwy there. I called Toyota US and asked why. They would not give me an answer. I think we all know why. So a hybrid at 40 mpg does not impress me at all. Not when the EU smart car and the Citroen C1 and others are 90+ mpg. Oh, and higher safety standards than the US.
One possibility is some European countries use the Imperial gallon measurement which is larger than the US gallon, ergo better mpg.Originally Posted by kentmitchell1961
It's not that much bigger..... And the UK uses the same 'gallon' as we do since our system came from there. The rest of EU uses liters (which takes a bit of math to convert.... and they use how many liters per 100 KM, gets to be a headache.... ;> )
Just noticed a new free standing brick and morter battery store about to open here in town. Lots of glitz and glamore and sweet location, three large bay doors here on a main road. I have only seen battery getting places open in run down buildings or out the back door of slummy type places.
Just wondering is this a new type of business venture because of the new hybred cars coming into the market? Do they plan on selling that many batterys?
Could be. I doubt it though. Would have heard about it on Priuschat.com. Sure there are some lemon batteries, but many Prius drivers report 12 years of driving and 250k miles with no noticeable loss of mpgs. LEAF drivers in Arizona...now that's another issue.
Actually the UK gallon is equal to 4.55 litres, and the US gallon is 3.79 litres. You get to learn these things living in Canada next to the US border, as the gallon Canada used to use is the Imperial (UK) gallon, and you go across the border to get gas and have to figure out what you're actually paying from US gal to litres. Math, gotta love it!
Jonathan
Thought so...
Fun ain't it? Still does not explain the HUGE difference in fuel economy..... ;>
Is the testing method different? Because almost all cars sold in Canada have better fuel economy ratings than the US, even after converting, because our testing is rather unrealistic. Maximum highway speeds of 85 km/h (52 mph ish), also no stop and go. This doesn't really happen in real life...
Jonathan
Not really, the big difference is how the engines are tuned and the rear end ratios. My wife wanted to bring her 99 Peugeot 206 to the US, but all the garages we talked to said that it would need to be detuned too much and would shorten the life span. so it sits in our garage in the UK.
Oh, UK tests are highway speed 70mph, and EU are 120 kph for highway fuel ratings..... No autobahn sillyness....
Hmmm, that is a stumper... don't know what would explain the difference in fuel economy then...
Jonathan
...somebody says they have a car that they can drive 80 mph all day long and get 75 mpg...?? I'm not gonna argue with them. I only have a car that gets 55 if I keep it to 65 mph.
Anybody else lately getting into a hybrid or EV?
I'm still getting about 55 mpg in my 2010 Prius in everyday traffic.
Anybody with updates on their hybrids or EVs? I can take more abuse.
My gas guzzler...2010 Prius (not plug in) averages between 50-55 mpg all day long, city or highway. A little better in the summer, a little worse in winter.
My efficient car...2012 Mitsubishi iMiEV. small size, easy to park in NYC, yields approx 112 mpg equivalent. No tailpipe. I wish everybody in NYC would get one for their local driving.
Last edited by fjpod; 05-14-2013 at 04:27 AM.
Hybrid vehicles cause a large amount of pollution in their production process. If one is used in heavy stop-and-go traffic, they make sense. But if used mainly on the freeway, they do not save enough to justify all the energy that went into making them.
Just asking, but do you have scientific evidence to prove this statement? And not something from Fox News,...an actual scientific paper? A link perhaps?
When I get 55 mpg on the highway with my Prius, how is that not helping us to decrease importing foreign oil?
You're right that many hybrids do not get the mileage they claim (Ford). And someone here will say that their old diesel used to get 50 mpg (blowing smoke all the way), and their sub-compact got near 40 on the highway (and never mention they get 20 in the city).
I've seen articles that point out the carbon footprint of building a typical car is comparable to the carbon footprint of driving that car for three years, I haven't seen any evidence that building a hybrid car has a significantly higher carbon footprint than building a gas or diesel car. Can you cite a source for such a claim?
Also, whether you're suggesting continuing to drive a gas or diesel car instead of buying a hybrid, or buying a new gas or diesel car instead of buying a hybrid, would signify greatly in this analysis.
Most of these articles suggest that buying an efficient car and driving it for a long time is the most carbon-efficient approach. I'd suggest that not buying a new car - or a second new car, unless it's really necessary - is more effective still, in terms of minimizing carbon output (unless by doing so you would be retiring a high-polluter).
Of course, forgoing the purchase of a new car of any kind, while possibly Earth-friendly (depending on the efficiency of the particular cars in question), certainly isn't commerce-friendly. Oh, bother.
If your only consideration is MPG then you have a lot of options and probably more new choices coming every day.
You young whipper snappers can drive whatever you desire but if you are long of tooth and want to go out to dinner with another fat assed elderly couple you might find something like a Prius just a bit too snug even if your degenerative disk disease allows you to get into the dang thing. And dont forget the warm fuzzy feeling that you get from onlookers when you dismount from your large luxury car. A hybrid indicates that you are still a worker bee while a big arsed inboard lets the world know that you are a big shot.
My Hyundai Equus gets about 15 MPG with its 429 hp V8 and 8-speed transmission driving the rear wheels like God intended. I can easily accommodate 5 portly people in the style.
Drive whatever suits your lifestyle.
Can't argue with you there...big shot.
Actually, it's not "big shot," it's "High Muckamuck" or as the lovely Mrs. Baker calls me "His Majesty - The Baby."
My Hybrid comes with a life time warranty on the battery.
What are you driving and why? How is it working out for you?
I have the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. Gets great gas mileage, the price was reasonable and it still has good power. I love it! Went from filling my tank every 2 weeks or less to an average of 3 weeks. Recently drove from Portland OR to basically the Canadian border and back on a tank of gas.
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