Cars in Japan avg 45mpg?! HOW?

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JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,456
854
126
Originally posted by: spidey07
Small people + small cars + small engines = high MPG.

Come on, a 250lb guy and a 130lb guy aren't going to get measurably different fuel economy out of pretty much any car in current production, all other things being equal.
 

prism

Senior member
Oct 23, 2004
995
0
0
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: Allanv
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Allanv
90% of cars in europe are petrol not diesel. But i do drive a 320D BMW and i get 700 miles per tank thats 49.9mpg

but thats motorway driving / freeway to you and i weigh less than you lot so i save gas that way and i dont need a 300lb lunch box for my dinner so take that out of the weight

:confused:

:roll:

oh its ok to post about british teeth but not about fat americans talk about one sided

Don't blame our heaviness solely on big bellies. I'm 6' (don't know how many meters that is to you metric folks :D) and when I took a vacation to England, I was towering over 90% of the populace. Thus, we burly Americans need cars that we can drive without being forced into the fetal position.

90%??? I don't think so. Americans are no bigger than average. You want big boys? Try Netherlands or Denmark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

I'm sorry, I think I was the one who took the vacation to London, not you. My experience there was that I was taller than the overwhelming majority of people I saw there. And who says I'm not Danish? You do realize that besides Native Americans, America's population is made up of old-world immigrants, don't you?
 

StinkyPinky

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2002
6,761
777
126
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: Allanv
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Allanv
90% of cars in europe are petrol not diesel. But i do drive a 320D BMW and i get 700 miles per tank thats 49.9mpg

but thats motorway driving / freeway to you and i weigh less than you lot so i save gas that way and i dont need a 300lb lunch box for my dinner so take that out of the weight

:confused:

:roll:

oh its ok to post about british teeth but not about fat americans talk about one sided

Don't blame our heaviness solely on big bellies. I'm 6' (don't know how many meters that is to you metric folks :D) and when I took a vacation to England, I was towering over 90% of the populace. Thus, we burly Americans need cars that we can drive without being forced into the fetal position.

90%??? I don't think so. Americans are no bigger than average. You want big boys? Try Netherlands or Denmark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

I'm sorry, I think I was the one who took the vacation to London, not you. My experience there was that I was taller than the overwhelming majority of people I saw there. And who says I'm not Danish? You do realize that besides Native Americans, America's population is made up of old-world immigrants, don't you?

Oh I'm sorry, I just fly to London for work a few times a year and 6' would not put you 90% taller than anyone else, as that link proves.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: BouZouki
Even if that number is inaccurate, Japan and other 1st world countries have a much superior mass transit than us.

And we have a much superior freight transit system.

We use our rail system to move freight more than people and I prefer it that way. I enjoy the freedom of being able to go where I want, when I want and not have to base it off train/bus schedules and what I can carry with my two arms.

 

prism

Senior member
Oct 23, 2004
995
0
0
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: Allanv
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Allanv
90% of cars in europe are petrol not diesel. But i do drive a 320D BMW and i get 700 miles per tank thats 49.9mpg

but thats motorway driving / freeway to you and i weigh less than you lot so i save gas that way and i dont need a 300lb lunch box for my dinner so take that out of the weight

:confused:

:roll:

oh its ok to post about british teeth but not about fat americans talk about one sided

Don't blame our heaviness solely on big bellies. I'm 6' (don't know how many meters that is to you metric folks :D) and when I took a vacation to England, I was towering over 90% of the populace. Thus, we burly Americans need cars that we can drive without being forced into the fetal position.

90%??? I don't think so. Americans are no bigger than average. You want big boys? Try Netherlands or Denmark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

I'm sorry, I think I was the one who took the vacation to London, not you. My experience there was that I was taller than the overwhelming majority of people I saw there. And who says I'm not Danish? You do realize that besides Native Americans, America's population is made up of old-world immigrants, don't you?

Oh I'm sorry, I just fly to London for work a few times a year and 6' would not put you 90% taller than anyone else, as that link proves.

You're right, in my week-long experience there I measured a stratified sample of Londoners and found figures exactly matching your wikipedia article. I'm a dirty, dirty liar.
 

Toonces

Golden Member
Feb 5, 2000
1,690
0
71
Here's my 2007 Suzuki WagonR in all it's 660cc/62hp glory :) (56K warning)

WagonR 1
WagonR 2
WagonR 3
WagonR 4
WagonR 5

I haven't gone through and calculated my exact mileage, but with only city driving (this car has not seen a road with a speed limit over 50km/h) I average about 360km on a 23L fill-up.
 

TTM77

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2002
1,321
0
0
What i understand is they shave off a lot of weight. Almost the entire car is made out of plastic and the little metal in it is aluminum. Very unsafe when driving with lots of heavy vehicle around.

Anyway, seem like most American careless about fuel. I see a lot more SUV and 6 wheels Pickups on the road then a few years ago. And seem like most driver keep their foot on the gas even when they see the light already turn red ahead and of cause they have to slam on the break when they reach the already red light.
 

ed21x

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 2001
5,410
6
81
some key factors not mentioned here:

Motorcycles/scooters/mopeds are far more prevalent in Japan (as well as the rest of asia) than the United States. This alone could probably account for a 10 mpg difference.

Gas starts at 91 octanes and makes it way to 94, so theoretically the engines have a greater powerstroke.

The hybrid revolution began much earlier in Japan than here.

all other factors (smaller, more efficient cars, a non-lardass population, etc) have already been mentioned.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
31,493
9,824
136
Originally posted by: ballmode
They drive slower, have smaller engines, and have more efficient engines.

and are typically significantly smaller countries with higher population densities.

japan has 130million people living in the area of california. western europe is the most densely populated region of the world, IIRC.

thus, there is a necessity for efficient mass transit and small, efficient vehicles.
 

OokiiNeko

Senior member
Jun 14, 2003
508
0
0
Couple of points:

Will check but believe yellow plate is now less than 1000cc.

Diesel cars and personal trucks are no longer sold in Japan. Thought they were not allowed about 2005 or so.

Comments right on about scooters. For personal choice this is the most popular sccoter I see.

For business, still the Honda Super Cub.

Japanese drive a little differently. Its true they rarely have a place to do over 55 mph. And the traffic gridlock motivates a lot of people to use the train.
They don`t "run to" here and "just go down to" there three or four times a day either. Once the family car is fired up, they like to knock out all errands at once, usually Saturday.

 

PimpJuice

Platinum Member
Feb 14, 2005
2,051
1
76
Originally posted by: Allanv
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Allanv
90% of cars in europe are petrol not diesel. But i do drive a 320D BMW and i get 700 miles per tank thats 49.9mpg

but thats motorway driving / freeway to you and i weigh less than you lot so i save gas that way and i dont need a 300lb lunch box for my dinner so take that out of the weight

:confused:

:roll:

oh its ok to post about british teeth but not about fat americans talk about one sided

hahaha, you have bad teeth!!!
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,683
14,935
126
Originally posted by: KarmaPolice
I don't think that this statistic is fair. US is a big country and people have to drive much farther than they do in Japan. A lot of cars in Japan are not really meant to be cars for long road trips and such, so hence they can be made smaller, lighter, and more efficient. Also realize that most things in Japan are just made compact because there is just no space.

Not saying that we couldn't do a better job here...its just they have different circumstances.

? if anything, driving shorter distance huts average mpg no? And you can't say they don't have traffic :)
 

Chryso

Diamond Member
Nov 23, 2004
4,040
13
81
The government mandates how good the gas mileage has to be. Since the US government is for sale they have kept the mileage requirements low.
 

Engraver

Senior member
Jun 5, 2007
812
0
0
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: Allanv
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Allanv
90% of cars in europe are petrol not diesel. But i do drive a 320D BMW and i get 700 miles per tank thats 49.9mpg

but thats motorway driving / freeway to you and i weigh less than you lot so i save gas that way and i dont need a 300lb lunch box for my dinner so take that out of the weight

:confused:

:roll:

oh its ok to post about british teeth but not about fat americans talk about one sided

Don't blame our heaviness solely on big bellies. I'm 6' (don't know how many meters that is to you metric folks :D) and when I took a vacation to England, I was towering over 90% of the populace. Thus, we burly Americans need cars that we can drive without being forced into the fetal position.

90%??? I don't think so. Americans are no bigger than average. You want big boys? Try Netherlands or Denmark.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

I'm sorry, I think I was the one who took the vacation to London, not you. My experience there was that I was taller than the overwhelming majority of people I saw there. And who says I'm not Danish? You do realize that besides Native Americans, America's population is made up of old-world immigrants, don't you?

Oh I'm sorry, I just fly to London for work a few times a year and 6' would not put you 90% taller than anyone else, as that link proves.

Because Wikipedia is an infallible source of information. :roll:

 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
94,683
14,935
126
Originally posted by: BouZouki
Even if that number is inaccurate, Japan and other 1st world countries have a much superior mass transit than us.

Well, that is because of high density living. With that in place, mass transit becomes viable, may even be the only solution. North America in general is sparsely populated.
 

rivan

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2003
9,677
3
81
Originally posted by: ADDAvenger
Originally posted by: Prism
Originally posted by: Allanv
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: Allanv
90% of cars in europe are petrol not diesel. But i do drive a 320D BMW and i get 700 miles per tank thats 49.9mpg

but thats motorway driving / freeway to you and i weigh less than you lot so i save gas that way and i dont need a 300lb lunch box for my dinner so take that out of the weight

:confused:

:roll:

oh its ok to post about british teeth but not about fat americans talk about one sided

Don't blame our heaviness solely on big bellies. I'm 6' (don't know how many meters that is to you metric folks :D) and when I took a vacation to England, I was towering over 90% of the populace. Thus, we burly Americans need cars that we can drive without being forced into the fetal position.

Yes we do, dangit :| It seems like every car today is made with "big" people in mind, short fat people that is. I'm 6' 4" and sick of having to lean my seat back in everything I drive; I can't ever see stoplights because the roof is in the way, and the rearview mirror is often at exactly eye level, so I can't see anything to the front-right of me without leaning back or hunching over.

This is exactly the reason I drive an SUV - not because I love getting ~14 mpg. I'm 6'5" and have the same exact problems. When I bought my last car, I went to the Toyota dealership intent on buying a Highlander Hybrid. I got in, and with the seat fully lowered, I was still almost brushing my head on the roof. The roofline would have made forward visibility quite poor as well. I got into a Sequoia, felt like the car was big enough for me, found my only other choice in a Toy was a Land Cruiser (out of my budget) and here I am, driving the gas guzzler 3+ years later.

I'd much rather be driving a 30+ mpg car, but being large (I'm also 290 lbs - about 30 lbs overweight) and needing to get two kids into and out of car seats, I don't exactly have a lot of attractive options.
 

skace

Lifer
Jan 23, 2001
14,488
7
81
Originally posted by: rivan
This is exactly the reason I drive an SUV - not because I love getting ~14 mpg. I'm 6'5" and have the same exact problems. When I bought my last car, I went to the Toyota dealership intent on buying a Highlander Hybrid. I got in, and with the seat fully lowered, I was still almost brushing my head on the roof. The roofline would have made forward visibility quite poor as well. I got into a Sequoia, felt like the car was big enough for me, found my only other choice in a Toy was a Land Cruiser (out of my budget) and here I am, driving the gas guzzler 3+ years later.

I'd much rather be driving a 30+ mpg car, but being large (I'm also 290 lbs - about 30 lbs overweight) and needing to get two kids into and out of car seats, I don't exactly have a lot of attractive options.

I'm 6'6 and I drive a Subaru Legacy. I mean, I see your point, but meh. Er, I weigh a 100lbs less.