Prius emission test fiasco

[Brian Ellis]

And the modern Mercs are worth little more than a Chrysler: they are just as crappy, starting with the Smart, then the A-series and so on upwards.

The first Lexus used the same chassis/bodywork as Toyotas.

[Paddy]

I _BUY_ my BMW's at 10 years old. At 10 years old, a BMW will outperform and outlast any vehicle made by Toyota (bar the Supra) when it is new.

AND it'll still get 30mpg at 10 years old. And at 15 years old.

erm.. am I the only one here that doesn't think 30mpg is anything to be proud of? If I am getting less than 45mpg I know that my wife has been trashing it. I have got well into the 60+mpg on motorways... I don't drive anything special.

[Gurm]

erm.. am I the only one here that doesn't think 30mpg is anything to be proud of? If I am getting less than 45mpg I know that my wife has been trashing it. I have got well into the 60+mpg on motorways... I don't drive anything special.

There is no vehicle available in the USA that gets more than around 45MPG. (Prius, Honda Hybrids). 30mpg is "economical" in this country. And there's a big gap. There are "economical" cars that get 30, then there are hybrids that get 45+. In between there are maybe two models.

Ford doesn't make any "good" cars over here, unlike in Europe/UK.

[ZokesPro]

When you drive around Canada, you mainly see vehicles getting between 33-40mpg, which is considered to be the "economical class". (compact's, hatchbacks and 4 cylinders engines, the peasants car) Then you see the 20-30mpg's out there, which you see less of as compared to the 4cyl. ones but there are still A LOT out there. (SUV's, pickup's, sports cars and the ones with big engines like the Chrysler 300) And finally there's the odd 45pmg+ which you rarely see cause they are usually more expensive than the "economical class". (hybrids and Smart's) That's the Canadian tendancy according to me.

[gt40]

Lets not get our gallons confused. The American gallon is smaller.

[Umfriend]

So make m bigger and get more miles out of them!

[Paddy]

Lets not get our gallons confused. The American gallon is smaller.

Good point. My 45MPG becomes 37MP US G.
60+ MPG becomes 50+

That's still way above what you are quoting.
The car does 0-60 in (just) less than ten seconds with a top speed of 130MPH. Nothing fancy but gets the job done.

[Gurm]

Good point. My 45MPG becomes 37MP US G.
60+ MPG becomes 50+

That's still way above what you are quoting.
The car does 0-60 in (just) less than ten seconds with a top speed of 130MPH. Nothing fancy but gets the job done.

Top... speed? I don't know my car's top speed, I've never dared drive it that fast.

On my Bimmer the automatic speed limiter kicked in at 126, the car was nowhere near "done".

The 750iL I nearly bought ... the automatic speed limiter kicked in at 160 which made me realize that I did NOT need that much car.

[Paddy]

Just quoting specs.

In any case, I'd rather take a car that tops out at 50MPH over the speed limit and gets 50 US gallons to the mile

[Gurm]

Just quoting specs.

In any case, I'd rather take a car that tops out at 50MPH over the speed limit and gets 50 US gallons to the mile

You're confusing apples and oranges again.

80MPH speed limits?

[Brian Ellis]

Germany excepted, what modern car will not exceed the fastest speed limit with a very comfortable margin. The highest limit in this country is 100 km/h - and that is too much for many of the drivers here. I doubt if the slowest modern car will reach less than about 160 km/h, so there is ample scope for the police radars to work. I see here that we have the doubtful honour of the lowest highway limit in Europe(?), but none is higher than 130 km/h, so there is ample scope for any car.

I have a neighbour with a BMW 535d twin turbo. I rag him about when he last reached the 250 km/h artificial limit, or when he was last able to leave rubber on the road in the crowded conditions here. Not to mention that it costs a fortune to buy (luxury tax) and to run (annual road tax). I bet that he couldn't reach any part of this island, within the laws, any faster than a Toyota Yaris. In a typical fashion, he bought it to show off that he was rich (which he isn't as he is crippled with debts and his father is paying off his mortgage), but this is in the local mentality.

[Paddy]

Cheers Brian for illustrating my point. I'd rather have a cheap, economical car.

[Gurm]

Cheers Brian for illustrating my point. I'd rather have a cheap, economical car.

So would everyone else. The BMW 325is has been the cheapest car for me to own, to date. The jury is still out on my Volvo 940T, that hasn't cost me ANYTHING other than brakes - yet - but I haven't had it very long.

In the 5 years I drove the BMW, the most expensive thing I put into it was $400 for emergency repair of a leaky coolant overflow tank. Had I done the repair myself as is my wont, it would have been less than half that.

Over 5 years, I put more money into TIRES for the car than I did repairs and maintenance.

That's better than the Corolla I used to drive, or the Ford Escort, or any other vehicle I or my wife have ever owned.

I'm sure that your hybrid is relatively maintenance free, right now. I am still extremely curious to see what happens when the battery dies. Last time I checked, high-discharge batteries only last a year or two before starting to seriously degrade. And given that the battery is virtually half the cost of the vehicle, I'd be very surprised if the manufacturers can continue to turn a profit at the current pricing.

[Paddy]

I'm sure that your hybrid is relatively maintenance free, right now..

If that was aimed at me, it's a plain old diesel. If i can get that MPG out of a diesel I'd love to see what a hybrid could do...

sorry if I was off topic.

[Brian Ellis]

Well, I've had the Honda CR-V for nearly 9 years. Other than a couple of sets of tyres, the only non-liquid things replaced were a lambda whatsit, spark plugs and the battery. Still on the original brake pads and clutch plate after 130,000 km. I paid £10,500 for it in 1998 and the Honda dealer is offering me £4,950 for it, so that I'll be paying exactly £8,000 for the hybrid. (£1=$2.20 at the moment, the CYP being worth more than sterling). That is cheap motoring even at an average ~10.5 l/100 km (~23 mpUSg/27 mpUKg), which ain't bad for a SUV. Hopefully, the deal will be completed in a coupla weeks.