Who killed the Electric Car?

Winky said:
does gas have to hit five bucks a gallon before
good mileage becomes a priority?
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Absolutely. Folks are still tooling about on the Yukons & bitching but they sure as hell haven't given them up.

$5./g gas may be a blessing in disguise. It may be the catalyst for necessities child to make an appearance.
 
Altron said:
It will take more than $5/gal for me to go anywhere below 300 cubic inches.
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How about $5/gal, 2 cars, three kids, a wife, and a mortgage? Think that would do it?
 
I'm very serious.

I've never taken a long enough highway trip to accurately measure highway mileage, but based on my observations of 50/50 city/highway, it should be in the ballpark of 24mpg.

It's all about gearing. The tall gears in my car let me go 70mpg at barely above idle.
 
That allows it to use shorter gearing so it doesn't mosey to 60 mph in 12-13 or so seconds like Altron's car, yet recover some sort of fuel economy once cruising.
 
Professur said:
Um, then why does HL's Magnum turn off cylinders on the highway to save fuel?
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My thinking is this, not sure if it's right, but it kinda makes sense to me.
His car has lower gearing for good acceleration at low speeds, with a 350. However, his gearing doesn't go up as high as mine. Now, logic will tell you that eight cylinders at 1500rpms uses the same gas as four at 3000 rpms. Once his car gets up to 75mph, let's say 8 cylinders at 3000 rpm, it can shut off half of them and as long as it stays at 3000 rpm, it's enough to keep the car going.
My car has higher gearing, poor acceleration at low speeds, with a 307. However, that gearing allows it to cruise at 75mph with all eight cylinders but at only 1500 rpm.

Both use the same amount fuel (roughly 17/25 EPA estimated) but his uses newer and more expensive technology for better acceleration. His car would blow mine away off the line.
 
Oh, and I can't see my speedo without focusing on it. There's not enough contrast. It's lit from the front with white/green light, and it's white letters and white needles on a black background. It looks cool, but it's not readable without looking at it.
 
Altron said:
Oh, and I can't see my speedo without focusing on it. There's not enough contrast. It's lit from the front with white/green light, and it's white letters and white needles on a black background. It looks cool, but it's not readable without looking at it.
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You can't read the numbers? Or you can't see the pin position?
 
Professur said:
You're not supposed to fuzzcus on the dash when you're driving in the first place. That's why they still use guages instead of digital readouts in aircraft. And why digital speedos died a quick, horrible death. Guages dead centre can be (and should be) read with nothing but the peripheral vision.
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1. I don't focus on the dash, but I like to be able to glance at my trip computer at stoplights. ;)
2. Aircraft gauges are now digital...HUD in even the C-130 J model now. The "spinners" you speak of are limited to things that won't kill you. ;)

Prof said:
That's one thing I don't like about the Mirage. The straight up on the speedo is 120km, instead of 100. That's alright for places with a 70mph speedlimit, but not here.
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That's okay. Just tell the mounties they were seeing something...:D
 
Wasn't it the Grand Prix that had an HUD in the mid-nineties. Went over like a no-holer privy as I recall.
 
chcr said:
Wasn't it the Grand Prix that had an HUD in the mid-nineties. Went over like a no-holer privy as I recall.
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I still see a few on the highway. Still think it's a bad idea.

Gato ... That's news to me. Every pilot I've ever spoken to prefers analog.
 
Professur said:
I still see a few on the highway. Still think it's a bad idea.

Gato ... That's news to me. Every pilot I've ever spoken to prefers analog.
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:shrug: The AF went to the "all glass" cockpit starting with the C-17. Even the new airliners are "all glass". What killed the digital dashboard was not the readability...it was the "Tokyo by night" look.
 
Professur said:
You can't read the numbers? Or you can't see the pin position?
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I can't do either without dropping my eyes for a second. The needle is pretty short and exactly the same color as the text, so it just blends in.
 
Altron said:
My thinking is this, not sure if it's right, but it kinda makes sense to me.
His car has lower gearing for good acceleration at low speeds, with a 350. However, his gearing doesn't go up as high as mine. Now, logic will tell you that eight cylinders at 1500rpms uses the same gas as four at 3000 rpms. Once his car gets up to 75mph, let's say 8 cylinders at 3000 rpm, it can shut off half of them and as long as it stays at 3000 rpm, it's enough to keep the car going.
My car has higher gearing, poor acceleration at low speeds, with a 307. However, that gearing allows it to cruise at 75mph with all eight cylinders but at only 1500 rpm.

Both use the same amount fuel (roughly 17/25 EPA estimated) but his uses newer and more expensive technology for better acceleration. His car would blow mine away off the line.
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Logic might say that, but physics says different.
 
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