Feds: 36 mpg for cars by 2015

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Enig101
36mpg seems a little pathetic for 2015. The average mpg in places like Europe has been well over that for some time. It is not out of reach technologically. It's just that cars in the US are not designed to be efficient, but to be unnecessarily powerful and bulky.

its not really if you consider its an average. some vehicles use more, some less.

europe has different way of measuring mpg, bigger gallon, less emission requirements, and more diesel. there is no miracle there.

Their cars are not more fuel efficient because of bigger gallons. Most of Europe uses litres anyway.

Their emission requirements are stricter

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Pathetic standards that are way behind the curve.

Give me a car based on European or Asian mileage standards any day of the week. They're all at 40+ mpg.

Yeah, and they'd fail crash and emissions standards.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Citrix
a 1960 ford falcon got 30MPG. so why cant todays cars with ALL of the computers onboard, better designed engines, cleaner fuel, more advanced over all technology achieve this ??????

The 1960 Ford Falcon was also a small, light car with no power. It was 200 lbs lighter than a 2008 Honda Civic and had 50 HP less.

 

[HombrePequeno]

Couldn't they just put a higher tax on gas and the average mpg will move up anyway? That way you at least get some benefit from the higher average mpg via tax dollars.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: HombrePequeno
Couldn't they just put a higher tax on gas and the average mpg will move up anyway? That way you at least get some benefit from the higher average mpg via tax dollars.

No, they'd become addicted to the revenue just like every other tax they impose. Once they open the floodgates you'll never be able to close it. The greed, and the taxes, will increase.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: HombrePequeno
Couldn't they just put a higher tax on gas and the average mpg will move up anyway? That way you at least get some benefit from the higher average mpg via tax dollars.

Wait? What!?

Increasing tax will do nothing but take more money away from people.

 

[Coldkilla]

100 MPG.... They've already got tech reaching that.. that should be the goal..

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Their cars are not more fuel efficient because of bigger gallons. Most of Europe uses litres anyway.

Their emission requirements are stricter

Ah, thats the secret the American car manufacturers need to use.

I can just see the advertisments.



New 2009 ford explorer gets an amazing 600mpg* highway/500mpg* city mileage!


* mpg refers to miles per gas tank.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
100 MPG.... They've already got tech reaching that.. that should be the goal..

Not while meeting safety and emissions standards, and not while being affordable (affordable being the main one).

Sorry to disappoint you but Detroit is not full of miracle workers.

 

[Banzai042]

One of the fundamental problems with trying to raise MPG has already been mentioned, the inherent safety issue of a super light car. Over the years SUVs and trucks have been getting heavier and higher off the ground, creating an arms race of safety through weight. These days not only do people see large cars as stylish, but also as being safer than other cars, after all, if you're in a crash, you want to be the winner, even if it comes at the cost of the other drivers life. The sad fact is that even the econoboxes of today0 are heavier than the gas sippers of the 80s, partially due to the safety factor. I also am very annoyed with the higher = better trend. My car is pretty low to the ground (eclipse), and I always get more than a bit unnerved when I look out my window and see a bumper at the level of my window. The doors on my car are pretty thick, and probably have some good structural support for absorbing a side impact, but that does me no good if your bumper comes through my window.
Now with that said I don't think it's that difficult to produce a car with good mileage and safety features using today's tech. Of the 4 cars in my family mine
a) is the lightest
b)has the smallest/least powerful engine
c) has the best acceleration
d)Has the best cornering performance
e)Gets the best mileage

IIRC my car was rated as having a mileage of 22/28 or something similar, but my experience over the past 4 years has been far closer to 28/34 or so, and sometimes it's at or above 36mpg highway. In fact, the only time I get below 30mpg on a tank is if I have 0 highway miles.

One excellent way of increasing the mileage of the average american car would be to change driving habits. For instance, I don't get the need to accelerate like a maniac from every stop. A fair amount of the time I see somebody next to me floor it off the line we end up side by side at the next red light. This brings me to my second issue, going full speed up to the light and slamming on the brakes at the last minute. I like to coast slowly up to the light when it's red, half of the time I don't need to come to a complete stop and don't need to burn extra fuel getting back up to speed, not to mention letting the car slow down on its own wears the brakes down less. Sadly I don't see the average American driving habit changing any time soon.

 

[Coldkilla]

Originally posted by: EarthwormJim

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
100 MPG.... They've already got tech reaching that.. that should be the goal..

Not while meeting safety and emissions standards, and not while being affordable (affordable being the main one).

Sorry to disappoint you but Detroit is not full of miracle workers.

With enough companies and enough money invested by the federal government, I'm sure it could be done. This should be a movement, not some baby step process that'll just be taken for granted, leaving car companies the opportunity not to follow regulation, fall behind, not be imposed any hefty fines for not complying and thus getting us no where.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Enig101
36mpg seems a little pathetic for 2015. The average mpg in places like Europe has been well over that for some time. It is not out of reach technologically. It's just that cars in the US are not designed to be efficient, but to be unnecessarily powerful and bulky.

its not really if you consider its an average. some vehicles use more, some less.

europe has different way of measuring mpg, bigger gallon, less emission requirements, and more diesel. there is no miracle there.

Their cars are not more fuel efficient because of bigger gallons. Most of Europe uses litres anyway.

Their emission requirements are stricter

from google

1 Imperial gallon = 1.20095042 US gallons
the uk figures generally use their gallon. sure they use "liters" as well but when comparing to american mpg they tend to fail with this difference or use it to make their point😛

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi

Originally posted by: Injury
Too little, too late.

Seriously, 9 years to achieve that? Are they planning it for when gas will be $10/gallon?

Exactly. The American auto industry has been out maneuvered by foreign cars for years. They seriously need to stop this, 1 eco friendly model per year B.S. and do an overhaul of their entire lineup.

2-4 years will hopefully come out with some 35-40 mpg vehicles at least from the American auto industry.

On a side note, I hate being 6'4".

I'm 6'5" and I have no problem fitting in many fuel efficient cars here in Europe.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Enig101
36mpg seems a little pathetic for 2015. The average mpg in places like Europe has been well over that for some time. It is not out of reach technologically. It's just that cars in the US are not designed to be efficient, but to be unnecessarily powerful and bulky.

its not really if you consider its an average. some vehicles use more, some less.

europe has different way of measuring mpg, bigger gallon, less emission requirements, and more diesel. there is no miracle there.

Their cars are not more fuel efficient because of bigger gallons. Most of Europe uses litres anyway.

Their emission requirements are stricter

In the UK they measure their fuel consumption in gallons that are 20% greater than the gallons used in the US. For instance, the Vauxhaul Vectra that I'm currently renting here is stated to get 49.7MPG here in England. It actually gets around 40MPG if you go by US gallon standards. It is the 1.9CDTi (Diesel) version.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: Banzai042

IIRC my car was rated as having a mileage of 22/28 or something similar, but my experience over the past 4 years has been far closer to 28/34 or so, and sometimes it's at or above 36mpg highway. In fact, the only time I get below 30mpg on a tank is if I have 0 highway miles.

One excellent way of increasing the mileage of the average american car would be to change driving habits. For instance, I don't get the need to accelerate like a maniac from every stop. A fair amount of the time I see somebody next to me floor it off the line we end up side by side at the next red light. This brings me to my second issue, going full speed up to the light and slamming on the brakes at the last minute. I like to coast slowly up to the light when it's red, half of the time I don't need to come to a complete stop and don't need to burn extra fuel getting back up to speed, not to mention letting the car slow down on its own wears the brakes down less. Sadly I don't see the average American driving habit changing any time soon.

QFT. My Grand Cherokee has a display that shows instantaneous gas mileage, so I know exactly how much fuel I'm using when I accelerate fast. I bet if every car had one of those, industry fuel mileage would increase by a couple %.

BTW, drafting a truck on the highway is also a significant boost to mileage. I can go up to 30mpg easily.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Enig101
36mpg seems a little pathetic for 2015. The average mpg in places like Europe has been well over that for some time. It is not out of reach technologically. It's just that cars in the US are not designed to be efficient, but to be unnecessarily powerful and bulky.

its not really if you consider its an average. some vehicles use more, some less.

europe has different way of measuring mpg, bigger gallon, less emission requirements, and more diesel. there is no miracle there.

Their cars are not more fuel efficient because of bigger gallons. Most of Europe uses litres anyway.

Their emission requirements are stricter

Not true. That's part of the reason why it's such a big push to go to the "blue tec" engines that VAG & Mercedes are co-oping in. So they can pass US emissions. Many diesels from Europe fail to meet our requirements. Same for some of the turbo'd engines from other countries like Japan and Austrailia.

I would hazard to guess that cars sold in California have to meet some of the most stringent standards in the world.

 

[Sureshot324]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: Banzai042

IIRC my car was rated as having a mileage of 22/28 or something similar, but my experience over the past 4 years has been far closer to 28/34 or so, and sometimes it's at or above 36mpg highway. In fact, the only time I get below 30mpg on a tank is if I have 0 highway miles.

One excellent way of increasing the mileage of the average american car would be to change driving habits. For instance, I don't get the need to accelerate like a maniac from every stop. A fair amount of the time I see somebody next to me floor it off the line we end up side by side at the next red light. This brings me to my second issue, going full speed up to the light and slamming on the brakes at the last minute. I like to coast slowly up to the light when it's red, half of the time I don't need to come to a complete stop and don't need to burn extra fuel getting back up to speed, not to mention letting the car slow down on its own wears the brakes down less. Sadly I don't see the average American driving habit changing any time soon.

QFT. My Grand Cherokee has a display that shows instantaneous gas mileage, so I know exactly how much fuel I'm using when I accelerate fast. I bet if every car had one of those, industry fuel mileage would increase by a couple %.

BTW, drafting a truck on the highway is also a significant boost to mileage. I can go up to 30mpg easily.

It's also a good way to get rock chips on your car.

 

[Chiropteran]

Originally posted by: Banzai042

One excellent way of increasing the mileage of the average american car would be to change driving habits. For instance, I don't get the need to accelerate like a maniac from every stop. A fair amount of the time I see somebody next to me floor it off the line we end up side by side at the next red light.

Thew difference is, the drivers behind the guy who floored it also got through the light before it turned red. The drivers behind you had to sit through the red light twice because you couldn't get out of your own way fast enough.

I speed about the same as most people, ~5 mph over the limit on most roads, ~10 over on the under-rated highways, given reasonable conditions. But when I am going through a traffic light when traffic is backed-up behind me, I'm not going to lazily speed up to conserve .001 gallons of gas.