why are we stuck at those mpg still.?

[joco]

i was thinking and looking here at some gas miliage on new car small or hybrid.

and again we dont get mutch mpg...WHY..?

in 1985 my ex had a suzuki swift kind off car a 3 cyl that could do that 50 mpg...and that same are ageo metro etc as those miliage up to 58mpg and we are talking in 1985 here........almost 25 YEAR AGO .

AND why after all those years we are still there not doing mutch.

could do a hybrid off those metro and get like 20 more at least and get 70mpg easy..but we cant get those mpg but have to pay so mutch more for nothing.

i am sher there some car running 100mpg easy over there on those shelf but they dont want to bring them out.

joco

 

[Russell]

Because people demanded larger, quieter, safer and more powerful cars and trucks the automakers gave people what they wanted. Cars and trucks have grown larger, much heavier and have far more powerful engines than they did in the 1980's. Heck I had a 1982 Dodge colt that weighed less than 1,800 lbs and had a 64 hp carbureted motor that delivered over 40 mpg easy however today no one would touch something like that. The automakers could build high mpg cars but they can't make the switch overnight...and if gas prices don't spike up again shortsighted consumers will probably go back to buying inefficient vehicles. Consumers need to change their ways and commit to saving energy, then and only then can we reduce our consumption. If you've driven any freeway in America you can see that the easiest thing folks could do to save gas, slow down, is apparently something they won't even consider.

-R

 

[Rassy]

I agree it's frustrating not to be able to purchase a light car that gets high MPG. I had a 1988 Honda CRX HF that always delivered 55 MPG at freeway speeds. However, it was a two seater, only available as a 5 speed, no "special" equipment available such as A/C or power windows, etc. And of course no air bags and probably poor crash ratings. So my guess is it just didn't sell as good as a better equiped Honda. I also had a used 1986 GEO Metro 3 cylinder for a while that got about 50 MPG, but it was not nearly the car the Honda CRX was.

When we got married, my wife already had a 1960 English Ford Anglia that got about 45 MPG. We traded it off for a 1963 Ford T'Bird convertible with a 390 CI engine that got less than 15 MPG.

 

[el_walto]

Honestly. I think it mostly has to do with safety regulations. I doubt your 58mpg car had air bags etc.

 

[deronmoped]

Peoples cars are like their second homes. No one wants to spend a tenth of their lives in some econ box.

Also it's not entirely the peoples or manufacture's fault. Look at what government has done to kill gas mileage.

1) Stop signs on every corner.
2) Added weight to the cars from requirements.
3) Can not purchase (state restrictions) some economy cars because of laws.
4) Can not import some economy cars because of laws.
5) Gridlock, because road construction has not kept up with increased traffic.

Deron.

 

[knightmb]

Honestly. I think it mostly has to do with safety regulations. I doubt your 58mpg car had air bags etc.

Weight is what kills gas mileage, along with aerodynamics of the vehicle.

I have a 1994 volvo 850 that is a large station wagon basically. It has a 5 cycl engine that puts out 158 HP and still gets 32 MPG highway. It has all the air-bags, safety stuff that I need and weighs a lot to boot, plus just being old engine. Today I see vehicles that are smaller, have nearly the same HP and yet still get sub 25 MPG highway for reason? :?

You think my old Volvo as a modern car would get 50 MPG by now if all that was changed was the engine technology.

 

[needWheels]

Ford has a 65 mpg non-hybrid car it sells in europe but they refuse to sell here. It's a good looking car too.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_37/b4099060491065.htm

If I had the money, I'd love to own that car.

Over here people want cars that are like tanks and can survive the horrible driving habits we have have.

 

[dogman dan]

25 years ago the speed limit was 55 for one. Highway mpg is now done at 75. There's a good 5 mpg right there on lots of cars. Most small cars now have 2000 cc engines and many have 2500cc. That suzuki most likely had a 1600 cc engine. I had a honda with a 1800 in it, but it was a dog to merge in the freeway with. Not as bad as the old volkswagon van 1800 was, but pretty close. The highest mileage car I ever had was a ford festiva. Great mileage, but it handled like a dog with 12 inch tires. Allways felt like a big pothole would swallow the whole car, and any gravel on the road and wheels spun like it was a go cart. It was just so light and small that it wasn't nice for anything but around town. Long trips in it were real uncomfortable. Upgrading from that to a minivan, we felt like we had died and gone to car comfort heaven.

So it sorta boils down to, a heavier car rides more comfortable than one that is extreme on the light side, and a more powerfull car is less scary to drive in traffic. If people feel they can afford it, they opt for both. The weight and the power adds up to a 25 mpg car. The compromise can be ok. I really like my 25 mpg subaru forester. It's a bit heavy to convert to electric, but as a gasser with a 2500 cc engine and 4 wheel drive its a good suv without getting 18 mpg. It does badass 4x4 roads, yet feels safe and fast on the highway. Carries almost as much as the minivans, but gets 8 more mpg than the ones I had with 3 or 4 liter engines. It's too small for towing though, unless your boat is super small like just one jetski. My truck is an ecological nigtmare, but when I need to haul 2 tons of cement mix or gravel, it can hack it.

 

[joco]

i do no weight will kill that mpg..

but i see car now that i dont think is a lot more heavyer then then.

there still real small car made..yaris the small model etc in that size.

and sher we did not had any air bag..but airr bag dont do mutch a deference in car mpg or weight.

and hybrid..why pay like 5000 to 10 000 more$ to have a hybrid to save mabe 10$ a week will take you like 20 years to get back into your monney..there some good mpg car right now that do better then some hybrid.

but i am sher 75 to m100 mpg would be very easy to do. ans i am sher they have the info to do it.

joco

 

[joco]

here i am taking like this and got a ram truck here wit the hemi in it..

but the wife as a jeep compass and love it a lot and we take her casr all the time now.

i am so tired off gas price and the size off my truck...its nice and powerfull..but.....


looking for small reliable truck now to carry trailer and the kayaks on it etc...so cant go for those mini car but i like to talk about..mabe will just sell the trialer and jump in a mini car. just the $$ save on gas pay for the car. actualy.

here right now..canada/ont.......i go wit my truck........90$ for 400 km....that is not mutch off mpg.


joco

 

[TPA]

The VW Polo is available in Europe and gets 70mpg. It is a diesel, and is NOT a hybrid.
Diesel is more efficient than regular gasoline because of compression ratio.

Liquid fuel has two types of energy, heat and thermal expansion. An ICE basically uses only the mechanical energy. Some experiments are being done to recapture some of the heat energy, and even the energy of pressurized exhaust.

 

[dogman dan]

Wierd how cars got light 20 years ago, and then got heavy again recently. It has to to with a trend towards larger tires for a better ride, and stuff that makes even the smaller cars more crashworthy. The air bags don't weigh much, but the structure around the front end, etc does weigh more, and the bigger tires need a bigger hub, better brakes have a bigger rotor and on an on. My wifes focus looks real light, but actually weighs more than my subaru forester! I was amazed by that one. If you look at the newer cars, I bet not many have a 13 inch wheel. Back in the 80's a lot of models used a 13 inch wheel, and they were lighter. Hell that festiva, you could carry two tires and rims in each hand and walk around with all four tires. Golf carts have a heavier tire than that festiva. But it rode like a kids toy unless the road was perfect.

 

[needWheels]

I think that weight and huge wheels is another thing they are under the illusion that people want.
Somehow automakers complain every year that if they build so-and-so that Americans wont buy them.
Now they are all bankrupt or darn near it. So I guess those focus groups they must have been talking about weren't so accurate eh?

I just read they are supposedly going to build that 65mph Festiva with a gas engine in Mexico. So maybe they will offer that at 50+ mpg with a gas engine. Unless they make it 50% heavier of course.

 

[TylerDurden]

So I guess those focus groups they must have been talking about weren't so accurate eh?

Research tends to find what it's looking for.

Consumers will rarely sacrifice power, comfort & convenience: Take away A/C, power-steering, power brakes, power locks, power windows, ABS, sound-insulation and sheer size... you get a more efficient car that sells poorly.

I helped a guy buy a 2002 WV Golf diesel this week (52mpg highway, tested). It had a full-size spare-tire, but manual windows. Cost $7K usd.

 

[dogman dan]

Buy a festiva, drive it 90,000 miles, then buy a car with 15 inch wheels and then tell me it's an illusion that the 15 inch wheels handle better. 12 inch tires are not for highway cars in my opinion. I do wish though, we'd kept it, so I could convert it to electric now and drive it only at low speeds. But on a highway full of people driving 75 mph speed limit, the festiva was a bit small, and really felt every crack in the pavement. It got about 42 mpg, by the way. My brothers rabbit had 13 inch wheels, got 38 mpg or so, and felt a bit better than the festiva, but still sucked for a long trip.

 

[vanilla ice]

A light-weight turbo diesel hybrid compact, I could see one doing close to 100mpg in mixed city/hwy. Even still being a useable car. I've read about some prototypes that have done it. But like was said in all the previous posts, sacrifices will have to be made to get there. "Mobile living rooms," like DS says, wont get it done.

 

[dogman dan]

Mobile Living room, good description of my one ton, double cab pickup that chased our balloon when we were flying. It only cost $1.50 per mile to own and drive so far. Might be cheaper to put wheels on the real living room, but when we do drive it, it sure is comfy. Nowdays it only rolls if I need to carry a ton of something.

 

[vanilla ice]

Speaking of hauling a ton of cargo, check this hauler out.. "epa" 30mpg hwy and its not exactly light or aero. 26 city aint too bad either for something with a 5000 pound curb weight.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/7_passenger_family_haulers/dodge_sprinter_2500_road_test

These have been available in the USA since around 2000..