Ideas for reducing power consumption

[Wombat]

I can tell you from experience that ONE minivan/SUV gets further on a dollar with that kind of load than the two or three cars it would take to do the same job.

Yes, and you probably use it that way a lot. My real gripe is with the people who say "I need an SUV because I car pool with my friends," then do that twice a month, while driving 40 miles to work in their behemoth 5 days a week.

Just the same, I'd rather you drove a minivan, because large SUVs are a greater danger to other cars on the road.

[DukeP]

2 seaters?

I dont even KNOW anyone that owns a 2seat vehicle (discounting motorbikes).

My old and soon to be pensioned car easily takes 6 people (8 if they are REAL good friends!).
And still, it goes ~15km/liter (thats 35mpg).

~~DukeP~~

[Sasq]

Doc and I have had this discussion over icq in the past, while Doc does use his vehicals in the way they are inteded to be used...
There are a large amount of people in oz that at least were buying 4wd's et al for the wife to do the shopping in, and drive the kids 2 blocks to school. Drastic overkill.

[DukeP]

Hey 4wd's are FUN!

And you never know when a volcano might erupt, the next iceage flows by or somesuch.

4wd4thewin!



Seriously, why CANT you make a decent, fueleconomic SUV/4WD?
I know they are somewhat heavier and has a somewhat larger crossection, windresistance wise..
But most of the 4wd around today have HUGE (and I mean HUGE) engines. Why? You dont need no huge engine to perfom well in the terrain, thats for sure!!! (All you need is good gearing).

~~DukeP~~

[Dr Mordrid]

They already do. Ford, GM and Chrysler are all coming out with (or have already come out with) hybrid SUV's that get >30 mpg and have TONS of power.

Ford already makes the Escape and a hybrid Explorer is coming next year. Jeep is coming out with a hybrid and GM even has a hybrid Hummer in the works

Oh...and FYI most street SUV's use V6 and not a huge V8. Many of GM's even use diesels.

Dr. Mordrid

[KvHagedorn]

One day we will need to use horses again.

[DukeP]

Thats good to hear, Dr.

Although over here in old Europe, a V6 is still considered a MASSIVE engine. But its a step in the right direction!!



Personally Im no big fan of Diesel engines (their pollutants are much more a healthrisk than gasoline). But its hard to fault when f.ex. WV and AUDI sells cars that goes 60+ mpg...

~~DukeP~~

[DGhost]

One day we will need to use horses again.

and use beeswax candles too, eh?

[Nowhere]

I've got an idea for Americans to prevent power consumption. instead of taking the car every damn place, take a walk! I swear in my time in America every time I would walk somewhere I would see no other pedestrians and no cyclists whatsoever! It's ludicrous!

Bicycles for medium long journeys (like the cinema), walking for small journeys (like to the local shop for groceries). Problem solved!

I remember that when my cousine was in the States, she once took a walk to a nearby forest (2-3km, but on day of so who cares about time...). When she told about that to the neighbours they gave her a blank stare

[Nowhere]

you guys arent aware of my friends.

when theres a movie to be seen, heres the people that go.


ME
ricardo
rina
john k
danielle (until johnk broke up with her 2 weeks ago)
brian
paul
henry
grace
joe
joes friend (i can never remember his name)


joe lives near the movie theatre tho, so he and his friend always come in his car.

Please elaborate more. I still can't see what's the problem with two sedans...(or roomy hatchbacks for that matter, but that would be out of question I guess...)

[VJ]

Well, there are a couple of things that puzzle me...

- SUVs/4WD for people that don't need them. Sure, they are great people carriers, but if you look around, most people are driving ALONE.
- sportive driving. Agreed, everyone likes to accellerate fast, but why spend more on the car and fuel for that thrill? You can't legally drive fast (max speed here is 120 kph - 74 mph), so why bother?

However, when you look at automotive commercials, they always focus on either the space or the speed. IMO, those are two things that the automotive industry forced on us, and now society feels a car isn't good if it doesn't fall into one of these categories.

What suprises me is that the high fuel price doesn't seem to change this behaviour: fuel here is now at around 1.2 €/l !
Just consider what we really need from a car: safety, comfort, reasonable perfomance (i.e. for highway driving) and reliability.
*SIGH*

Jörg
(drives a VW Polo)

[Nowhere]

...
However, when you look at automotive commercials, they always focus on either the space or the speed. IMO, those are two things that the automotive industry forced on us, and now society feels a car isn't good if it doesn't fall into one of these categories.
...
Just consider what we really need from a car: safety, comfort, reasonable perfomance (i.e. for highway driving) and reliability.
*SIGH*

Jörg
(drives a VW Polo)

Hmm...the country where I live must be even weirder than I thought...because auto commercialls focus exactly on that (plus space, but not the absolute one - how can you talk about that in case of Skoda Fabia for example? ). I guess it's just a simple consequence of economic situation - you want your money well spend.

[RichL]

Speaking from the viewpoint of someone in the UK, I honestly beleive high fuel prices alone won't dissaude people from using their cars or even buying more economical ones.

Fuel prices over here are currently 88-90pence per litre, which at current exchange rates and 3.78litres to the US Gallon (I think), works out at $6.25- $6.40 a gallon.
Most of that is government tax.
Although 45/50+ mpg diesels are becoming very popular, so too are SUVs and small 'lifestyle' 4x4s for the mum's school run.
Taxing alone hasnt forced us to give up our cars. We still need personal transport, and after paying £120+ a year Road Tax (so we can drive/park on a public road), £40+ MOT testing (so our car is certified safe to use in public), £hundreds in mandatory car insurance (which the government get 5% tax of too),then a bloody fortune in fuel taxes, most people figure they might as well use them to get their moneys worth.
The only thing that will force people to give up their cars is when there isnt any fuel left.

A while back Road Hauliers, fed up with the crucifying price of diesel fuel (it gets taxed MORE than gasoline, despite diesels being more economical and in general less polluting - particulates excluded) driving them out of business, blockaded most of the oil refineries and refused to let tankers out except to the emergency services. There was a national panic followed by a fuel shortage and most garages stated rationing fuel per customer.
The public were in general quiet sympathetic to the blockaders, as we're getting hit with huge tax on fuel too.

But at the time, a lot of 'unnecessary' journies were given up and everybody drove a lot slower and more carefully. The roads were half deserted.

[GNEP]

Car fuel is remarkably inelastic to price (in the economic sense) - people will moan and moan at movements in price, but will not stop using the stuff. What's interesting though is that in countries where the tax on fuel is v. high (e.g. the UK where mogas pump price is ~76% tax), the effects of an increase in the crude oil price is proportionately much less, as we are "shielded" from it due to the already high tax rate.

Oh, and another interesting tidbit: refining margins have been relatively high over the last year or so (a so-called "golden age of refining" but then, hey, it's a highly cyclical industry), mostly demand driven, although to be honest there is a strong supply side element to it - no-one has built a new refinery in decades. And with the price of steel being so high at the moment (the China effect), no-one is likely to in the near term either.

[agallag]

In canada, we're paying about $0.85/litre these days. That converts to approx. US$2.60/gallon (US gallon of course). So we're paying more than the americans, but not nearly as much as the europeans.

However, when you look at automotive commercials, they always focus on either the space or the speed. IMO, those are two things that the automotive industry forced on us, and now society feels a car isn't good if it doesn't fall into one of these categories.

I disagree. I think purchasing patterns showed the automakers that people want more power or more space. Myself, as the type that wants more power, I don't think I was forced into that opinion by anyone. I just really enjoy driving, and driving fast once in a while is a lot of fun.

My car isn't a huge gas guzzler by any means ('05 Mazda 3, 2.3L 4-cyl, 160hp, 9.9L/100KM average), but I still appreciate the increased power over my previous 2000 Protege. I can tell you that if money was no object, I WOULD be driving an Aston Martin DB9, no question...