Posted on 07/12/2007 11:13:17 AM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
This is a fairly HIGH VOLUME ping list on some days......
Sometimes the easiest solution is the best. Diesel is the way to go.
Yeah, that deadly CO2 again.
Hey, I'm just feeding the trees, bro.
Looks like common sense might actually be making headway over the emotional left’s dream for our future....
I personally think it is because of the EPA's corrected mileage estimates. For example, the Prius goes from 61 MPG to 45 MPG. I am guessing that if a 45MPG Prius is sold next to a "61 MPG" Prius, Toyota is going to have a lot of problems.
Here in tiny MA we go by the California emmisions standards cause apparently our air pollution is just so out of control ????
The sale of Diesel cars are banned here.
I’m with you on the CO2 thing — but, I’m interested in technology that will save me money & stem the flow of money to M.E. trouble spots. (I won’t mind if the U.S. wants to continue sending money to Canada — to pay for our oil, rather than developing your own supplies locked up by “environmentalists”)
It should be mentioned that the Honda Accord Hybrid was not about fuel economy uber alles. The Accord Hybrid actually had the same V6 as the gas powered V6 model. The point was better performance first, and fuel economy second.
The Accord Hybrid had *better* performance than the gas-only V6 model - it was considerably faster to 60, for example. It’s fuel consumption was only slightly better than the 4 cylinder Accord, though - and while it was more expensive than the other models, it didn’t look notably different than the rest of the Accord lineup, so the liberals didn’t go nuts for it.
The Accord Hybrid, like the Civic Hybrid is a *car* first, and a hybrid second. Fortunately, they’re selling a lot of Civic Hybrids, at least around here.
Give the public something better and they will flock to your door.
Fact is, regardless of the screaming from the irrational kids, hybrids have delivered for the last 6 years or so.
Something better on the horizon?
Great!
“The sale of Diesel cars are banned here.”
That’s just nuts.
Even at 150 kph (94 MPH!) on the Autostrade, with A/C on, it got 9 L /100kM (26 MPG).
That's carrying four people and four large luggage bags,
He said MA, didn’t he? Actually I think that you cannot even go to a surrounding state, buy or lease and then register a “new” diesel in MA. But you can get it used.
Every car's pre-2008 EPA milage rating is based on much better than expected driving conditions.
As for the Accord hybrid: they aimed for a 6 cylinder car's power on a 4 cylinder's fuel usage. People who want a hybrid are in general looking for a 4 cylinder car's power on a 2.5 cylinder fuel usage. Honda just missed the market. A hybrid Civic would have been better.
Does a hybrid solve everything? No. But having the cabability of recovering braking power and not requiring extra engine size just for a little extra start up power is nice.
“In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of updating its fuel consumption testing for the first time in more than 40 years to include real-world conditions. “
The one thing that gets me about this is that there are cars out there that met or exceeded their EPA limits before.
My Taurus has always beaten the EPA estimates. And looking at fueleconomy.gov, I’m not alone. In fact, for every Taurus year and equipment combination back to 1986, owner reports show fuel economy exceeding EPA combined mileage. For my model year (1997), the worst owner report comes in at 23.4 mpg with an overall average of 25.9 mpgThat, on a vehicle that is supposed to get 21 mpg combined, and 26 mpg on the highway alone. Now they say under the new test it gets 16 mpg city, 24 mpg highway.
But real world reports will still show 25.9 mpg combined. The new test is therefore significantly LESS accurate for this model.
That’s my problem - not all models will respond in the same way to a change in driving habits. The old test was overly optimistic for many vehicles, but was right on for some. But testing the vehicle by giving it a more aggressive driving profile doesn’t make the test any more accurate. The only accurate test is real world conditions which will only be reflected through owner reports. And unless you know how those owners are driving, there’s no guarantee that you can’t do better or that you won’t do worse....
Although I think the new CAFE standards are just boneheaded wrong (it should be about choice, my friends) it will probably force some of the cooler engine choices that GM, Ford and Chrysler have overseas to be sold here in the States.
Plug-in hybrids would make it possible to use coal or nuclear power (or wind, or solar, etc.) to power automobiles. That would be a big advantage in the U.S. — where you have plenty of coal, but not so much oil. (We’ve got all the bases covered here in Canada — except perhaps for solar.)
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