Meet the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, a mid-size car that gets 8 mpg better fuel economy than a "Smart" car.
There is hope then and the goal set doesn't seem so far off now, does it?
So how much will Obama's 35mpg diktat actually cost?
- Thread starter jimpeel
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There is hope then and the goal set doesn't seem so far off now, does it?
I wonder how many euroncap stars are the US safety standard.
*searching for an american car at the site.....
Ok, not a 1 ton car, but a car that most likely meets US safety standards. The chrysler PT cruiser achieved 3 stars in the euroncap test. http://www.euroncap.com/tests/chrysler_pt_cruiser_2002/138.aspx
The Chrysler Voyager, got 1 and a half stars *ouch* http://www.euroncap.com/tests/chrysler_voyager_2007/277.aspx
And to be fair, the dodge caliber got 4 stars
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/chrysler_voyager_2007/277.aspx
So it seems that the lowest I found was 1.5 stars, probably that being the equivalent of US safety standard in euroncap scale.
Sharky
New Member
It isn't as bad as the media makes it seem.
Heh, one of my neighbors survived a head-on collision in his PT Cruiser, and bought a Caliber to replace it.
Euro NCAP didn't test my car, but NHTSA did. It received a 5 star rating in every category except side driver impact, but the test car wasn't equipped with the optional side air bags, which my car has. But it's a huge car that only gets 25 mpg avg.
Anyway, back to fuel economy, check this out: 4 of the top 10 EPA fuel economy rated vehicles are American. 2 Fords and 2 Mercurys. And they are all SUVs.
EPA Green Vehicle Guide, sorted by fuel economy.
[Edit: the sort didn't survive linking, you'll have to initiate a sort to see the results.]
That's a friggin 911.
Dave
Well-Known Member
I've been drooling over the G's since they came out in '04.
Unfortunately, I find the cockpit a bit too cramped.
The new convertible though....
2minkey
bootlicker
06 SE-R w/6 speed. added nismo cold air intake, and it actually made a bit of a difference. it's still really controllable for fwd with too much horsepower.
yeah inky i was thinking about a few different things, but i couldn't find anything that fit me better than what i have or that i got really excited about, other than the lotus elise, but there's no fuckin' room in that thing to even do a weekend roadtrip with my girly. there's two seats and about enough storage space for a laptop. ideal as a second car, but i can't really rationalize a $55k toy at this point. perhaps in a couple years.
jimpeel
Well-Known Member
It would appear that a second grader knows more about economics than you do.
Wrong. Again, you fail to address the economics.
As demand for gas goes down the government will start to feel the pinch. They will raise gas taxes to try to recoup their "losses". This will further drive down demand and increase the supply. Remember the "Luxury Tax" and the effect it had on the aircraft and boating industries? People change their habits when prices go up, especially if they go up due to tax increases.
Remember when all of those tankers were just sitting offshore with their holds filled with oil and gas with nowhere to offload it?
There is only so much space available to store oil and gas. Where do you think most of the gasoline in America is stored? Take a guess. I'd love to see the answer. I could use a good laugh.
I would be willing to bet that a second grader would know the answer.
I see a lot of new cars on the road as the buying public takes advantage of lower prices caused by the government takeovers of the auto industry. Chrysler and GM are the best buys out there for new cars.
As for yuor contention that people can't afford to buy cars because they are losing their homes -- again you fail second grade economics.
Any second grader can count to 100 and doo simple math. They know that 100 - 5 = 95. Why are those numbers significant? Five is the percentage of mortgages which have defaulted. Ninety-five is the percentage of mortgages still being paid on time.
You want to believe that 5% is a major number when juxtaposed against the whole. ooh! Ooh! Five percent of mortgages are in default so the other 95% can't afford a new car.
Trust me. It won't. If there were a viable alternative fuel available to run this nation it would already be being sold to us -- by Texaco, Chevron, Shell, BP, Conoco, Phillips, Exxon, Sinclair, et al.
These "Power Merchants" and oil men did not get rich by jumping off of bandwagons. If they had it, they would already be selling it to dupes like you.
Altron
Well-Known Member
That's pretty awesome - I like the SE-R.
The Maxima has gone all luxury-boat... the redesign in '04 made it look so bloated, then removing the 6MT in '07 and making it CVT-only sealed the deal. The '09 looks nice, but it's sooooo expensive - I could buy a G37 for almost the same price, and get 3 pedals.
The '02-'03 was the sweet spot - when they had the VQ35 and 6MT together.
I've realized my '97 Maxima is the size of an '09 Sentra... it's crazy how they keep making everything bigger.
If anything, the Altima (and the SE-R especially) come a lot closer to the "4DSC" of the 89-03 Maximas than the 04+ Maximas do. Comfortable (but not luxury-boaty), with a fast V6 and a manual transmission.
2minkey
bootlicker
yeah my dad had the 4dsc type maxima for a year. in fact he may have had two of them. he's mostly stuck to various infiniti models for the past few years.
i am also a huge fan of the manual tranny. i have to rent and drive lots of cars when i travel for work, and they're always automatics. i feel like granny slug pants driving those things.
i am also a huge fan of the manual tranny. i have to rent and drive lots of cars when i travel for work, and they're always automatics. i feel like granny slug pants driving those things.
Altron
Well-Known Member
yeah especially the 4AT they stuck in the Maxima for over a decade... did you know '05 was the first time they had a 5AT? The first few 6th generations were still 4AT! Even though they have had 5MTs since forever, and went to a 6MT in '02.
I've driven my 5MT 30DE '97, and my friend's 4AT 30DE-K AE '01 (same block but variable intake for 227hp instead of 190hp) and they both feel just as quick, even though his is more powerful, the transmission is lame.
I've driven my 5MT 30DE '97, and my friend's 4AT 30DE-K AE '01 (same block but variable intake for 227hp instead of 190hp) and they both feel just as quick, even though his is more powerful, the transmission is lame.
2minkey
bootlicker
30de is a great engine. 20de too.
i think i read somewhere that the gt-r is faster in an automatic. that's just wrong.
