Where are our high mileage cars?

fordy · #61 03/17/12, 09:40 AM

................Why , would anyone with any sense , purchase an UNder powered car , loaded down with several hundred pounds of expensive batteries and an electric motor requiring replacement at ~100,000 miles so they can get 45 mpg ?
...............When, there are models available exceeding 45 mpg without all the associated crap add ons costing much less ! Most of the gas only models will go to 200,000 miles with normal maintenance . A big waste of money for Homesteaders who want too conserve such .
................Just wait , UNtil JD comes out with a Tractor loaded down with 2 tons of extra batteries , and an electric motor and all the control circuitry needed too interface the electric motor with the diesel engine so the farmer can plow without any engine noise ...........WHAT a JOKE that will be ! , fordy

MushCreek · #62 03/17/12, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TedH71

The Smart car that I see people driving around town is $12k for a basic model. I liked it but had no room in the back for passengers.

It's interesting to note that the Smart car is actually worse on gas than some larger cars, due to the poor aerodynamics of the chopped-off design. I still like them, though.

JeffreyD · #63 03/17/12, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

It seems a bit ironic, but about right for Americans.

The new Chevy Volt technology, gets 36MPG (highway) worst case scenario on gasoline and uses nearly 1/3 the cost of gasoline, (average) running on electricity-charged batteries.

And all, many Americans can do, is bash the Volt, because it is too expensive, or subsidized by taxpayers, Government Motors, ugly, etc, etc.

Maybe we are the problem here.

Volt drivers going 1,000 miles between fill-ups, GM says - May. 2, 2011

The government subsidies on the volt are are around $250,000.00 per car. Pathetic! Trying to push their agenda at the taxpayers expense.

JeffreyD · #64 03/17/12, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

My bad, for forgetting to put the "E" at the end (MPGE) and making this concept of the value, of electricty and gasoline power, so difficult to understand.

Apparently, in most cases, it cost much less to drive a vehicle a mile, on an electrical charge, than on x amount of gasoline.

This is not my concept.

Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not that it matters, but the EPA rates the 2012 Volt at 93 MPGE.

The government also rated Honda Civic at something like 40mpg. Some lady here sued Honda and won because here Civic was defective and didn't get the claimed mileage. The claims of mileage on cars is pretty much a joke.

plowjockey · #65 03/17/12, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffreyD

The government subsidies on the volt are are around $250,000.00 per car. Pathetic! Trying to push their agenda at the taxpayers expense.

Same old same old. We whine about high gas prices and then whine about Govt involvement in fuel efficient cars.

What's the agenda? Higher fuel mileage cars and using less petroleum? Who wants that?

BTW, Uncle Sam wrote fat checks to Ford (yes Ford), Chrysler and many other companies, for electric car technology.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/recovery...ardee_list.pdf

Surely the Chevy battery/gasoline technolgy, will be improved and adapted to other vehicles, in the future.

Given oil's present state, gobal unrest and future viability, of the world crude oil industry and it's escalating prices, are American really that far out of touch with reality, to believe the continued use of crude oil, is the best way to go?

plowjockey · #66 03/17/12, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffreyD

The government also rated Honda Civic at something like 40mpg. Some lady here sued Honda and won because here Civic was defective and didn't get the claimed mileage. The claims of mileage on cars is pretty much a joke.

You do realize, that MPG figures are only a rating.

Where you live, what kind of gas you buy, driving habits, ambient temprature and many other factors, will effect fuel maielage.

It's likley the stupid jury members, may not have been able to fathom that reality.

They often just like to award fat checks, to stick it to "the man".

JeffreyD · #67 03/17/12, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Same old same old. We whine about high gas prices and then whine about Govt involvement in fuel efficient cars.

What's the agenda? Higher fuel mileage cars and using less petroleum? Who wants that?

BTW, Uncle Sam wrote fat checks to Ford (yes Ford), Chrysler and many other companies, for electric car technology.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/recovery...ardee_list.pdf

Surely the Chevy battery/gasoline technolgy, will be improved and adapted to other vehicles, in the future.

Given oil's present state, gobal unrest and future viability, of the world crude oil industry and it's escalating prices, are American really that far out of touch with reality, to believe the continued use of crude oil, is the best way to go?

I just think that with gm owning part of Toyota, they would have a better chance of producing a decent electric car. Personaly, the government has absolutly NO business giving subsidies to any company, let alone giving gm that much to produce a carp car. Also, I personaly don't care about mileage. My everyday driver is a GMC 4X4 longbed, crewcab with an 8.1 litre V8. My other everyday driver is a Z06 Vette. My wife drives an H2 and my son drives a Ford Raptor. I'm willing to pay more for gas and be comfortable and be able to run over a smart car if need be! I worked hard to be able to afford the things we want. I could build an electric car that would run circles around a volt, be safer and more comfortable too, for less than they sell for.

JeffreyD · #68 03/17/12, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

You do realize, that MPG figures are only a rating.

Where you live, what kind of gas you buy, driving habits, ambient temprature and many other factors, will effect fuel maielage.

It's likley the stupid jury members, may not have been able to fathom that reality.

They often just like to award fat checks, to stick it to "the man".

Yes, I do realize ymmv. This lady was going to be incuded in a class action lawsuit against Honda. If she went that route, she would have gotten at best, a few hundres bucks. Instead, she took Honda to small claims court where Honda could not bring in an army of lawyers and won. It's going to be rough for auto manufactures now cause she set a precident. She won $10,000.00 I think.

ajaxlucy · #69 03/17/12, 06:28 PM

I posted on the goodbye-chevy-volt thread, but I'll put my $.02 here too.

I'm pretty satisfied with the electric car we bought last year. It's a commuter car, not meant for long distances or heavy loads or more than 1 passenger, but it gets me to work and around town for errands for less than $12/month (averaging about 500 miles/month). When we get our tax refund back, it will have cost us around $16,000, including installation of a 220V home charger. (We did get a really good and unusual promotional deal, though).

None of my coworkers bought one at the same time, though they were eligible, but several of them say now that they wish they had. I think at the time it was just too new and weird and risky and small and ugly and different. I guess it's still all those things, but higher gas prices make it seem less unattractive. I don't know if it will have been worth the expense in the end. It will depend on how long and well it runs and where gas prices go.

I wouldn't have bought it as my one and only car. We have a 4WD with conventional gas engine we can use if we need to haul things or go further than 100 miles. We've only had to put gas in it every 2nd or 3rd month, though, mostly when my husband needs to go on out of town trips.

plowjockey · #70 03/17/12, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajaxlucy

I posted on the goodbye-chevy-volt thread, but I'll put my $.02 here too.

I'm pretty satisfied with the electric car we bought last year. It's a commuter car, not meant for long distances or heavy loads or more than 1 passenger, but it gets me to work and around town for errands for less than $12/month (averaging about 500 miles/month). When we get our tax refund back, it will have cost us around $16,000, including installation of a 220V home charger. (We did get a really good and unusual promotional deal, though).

None of my coworkers bought one at the same time, though they were eligible, but several of them say now that they wish they had. I think at the time it was just too new and weird and risky and small and ugly and different. I guess it's still all those things, but higher gas prices make it seem less unattractive. I don't know if it will have been worth the expense in the end. It will depend on how long and well it runs and where gas prices go.

I wouldn't have bought it as my one and only car. We have a 4WD with conventional gas engine we can use if we need to haul things or go further than 100 miles. We've only had to put gas in it every 2nd or 3rd month, though, mostly when my husband needs to go on out of town trips.

Just curious, what car is it?

I certainly would never state, that the Chevy Volt is the greatest car ever, but IMO the concept of a vehicle, that can run off cheaper electricity, but can also run off gasoline during cold weather, or when there is no charging electricity avaliable, for as far as you want to drive it, is a useful concept, given the state of the petroleum world.

IMO, we will never see $1.99 gasoline again, more than likely it will be $5.00 +, so maybe now is a good time, to figure out what "plan B" will be, regarding what automobile fuel is going to be used.

JeffreyD · #71 03/17/12, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Just curious, what car is it?

I certainly would never state, that the Chevy Volt is the greatest car ever, but IMO the concept of a vehicle, that can run off cheaper electricity, but can also run off gasoline during cold weather, or when there is no charging electricity avaliable, for as far as you want to drive it, is a useful concept, given the state of the petroleum world.

IMO, we will never see $1.99 gasoline again, more than likely it will be $5.00 +, so maybe now is a good time, to figure out what "plan B" will be, regarding what automobile fuel is going to be used.

Nitro-methane!

just kidding!

arabian knight · #72 03/17/12, 08:23 PM

WHAT is coming up is Natural Gas cars, as we have PLENTY of that. I just heard that the other day. electric is a boon dongle and will be for many years down the road. But "other" files are aging headway into the game. You can already get a Honda Civic that runs on Natural Gas NOW in 2012.

JeffreyD · #73 03/17/12, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arabian knight

WHAT is coming up is Natural Gas cars, as we have PLENTY of that. I just heard that the other day. electric is a boon dongle and will be for many years down the road. But "other" files are aging headway into the game. You can already get a Honda Civic that runs on Natural Gas NOW in 2012.

Yup, all the county and city vehicles, trash, buses, etc... all use ng. It is HIGHLY explosive though.

pancho · #74 03/17/12, 08:38 PM

Back in 1990 I had a car that got over 40mpg.
I sold it when it turned over 200,000 miles.
That was about 4 years ago. It is still running great.
If an electric car can match that I will buy one.

plowjockey · #75 03/17/12, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pancho

Back in 1990 I had a car that got over 40mpg.
I sold it when it turned over 200,000 miles.
That was about 4 years ago. It is still running great.
If an electric car can match that I will buy one.

Toyota hybrids, regularly hit over 200,000 miles, usually with the original batteries and traction motors. Some even have the original brakes.

No reason an all-electric vehicle, could not be designed to do the same.

plowjockey · #76 03/17/12, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arabian knight

WHAT is coming up is Natural Gas cars, as we have PLENTY of that. I just heard that the other day. electric is a boon dongle and will be for many years down the road. But "other" files are aging headway into the game. You can already get a Honda Civic that runs on Natural Gas NOW in 2012.

NG and electricity are in the same boat, when it come times to refuel. Where to get it.

Electricity may be a better option, because electricity is available everywhere, so a 220v charging station, could be relatively easy to set up..

Natural gas is not, so there would have to be an infrastructure built, of NG refuleing stations, either supplied by gas lines or tanker trucks.

Certainly is something to consider, though.

pancho · #77 03/17/12, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Toyota hybrids, regularly hit over 200,000 miles, usually with the original batteries and traction motors. Some even have the original brakes.

No reason an all-electric vehicle, could not be designed to do the same.

But at what price.
If I remember right I paid around $4000 for the car.

JeffreyD · #78 03/17/12, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Toyota hybrids, regularly hit over 200,000 miles, usually with the original batteries and traction motors. Some even have the original brakes.

No reason an all-electric vehicle, could not be designed to do the same.

They absolutely could! I'm not a hybrid fan though. I like speed and horsepower! In our family, there are 3 Piouses. 2 have had to have the battery replaced before they hit 60,000 miles. Toyota covered them of course, but still a lot of toxic material needed to be recycled. The third one has about 120,000 on it right now and going strong. 1 also had the charge controller fail. Also, if you include the transportation costs for the raw material to build a Prius, there not environmentaly friendly. Cost per mile, a Camery is much better for your pocket and the environment. If a manufacture made a car like the one most folks want, it would be the last car they would ever buy, and the manufaturer would go out of business. Some call it planned obsolesence.

JeffreyD · #79 03/17/12, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

NG and electricity are in the same boat, when it come times to refuel. Where to get it.

Electricity may be a better option, because electricity is available everywhere, so a 220v charging station, could be relatively easy to set up..

Natural gas is not, so there would have to be an infrastructure built, of NG refuleing stations, either supplied by gas lines or tanker trucks.

Certainly is something to consider, though.

The westfield mall here took out their charging stations because no one was using them and they want more up front space for handicapped parking.

plowjockey · #80 03/17/12, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pancho

But at what price.
If I remember right I paid around $4000 for the car.

That was 22 years ago.

I don't believe you can buy any new car for $4k now.

The MSRP on a Camry Hybrid is $25k.