GAS...in your area again!!!

[angib]

One particular advantage of diesels in US conditions/expectations is that the penalty for driving a larger vehicle is reduced. The UK consumer magazine has just done some real-world fuel economy testing on eco-cars and they confirm this size issue.

The latest BlueMotion (ie, most economical) VW Passat achieved 45mpg average in their tests - exactly the same mpg as a Prius and slightly better than a hybrid Civic (43mpg) - whereas the extreme BlueMotion (eg, no spare wheel, no air con) version of the Polo (one size smaller than a Golf) got 50mpg. So it only 'costs' 10% to go up two sizes in a diesel, which would be more like 20-30% if they were gas-powered.

Some other real-world figures are 44mpg for a diesel Mini, 41mpg for a diesel BMW 1 series (one size smaller than a 3 series) and 45mpg for a diesel Citroen about the size of a Golf.

All these mpg figures are in US gallons, but they would all be better in the US where the driving is much less stop-start than in Europe. The government test mpg figures for these cars are all about 20-25% better than these 'real world' figures.

Andrew

[caseydog]

Andrew, I believe that another Diesel advantage is that you pay a smaller penalty when towing, which is important to all of us here in the forum. Your fuel economy drop when towing a trailer is not as great with a diesel engine, as I recall.

CD

[mikeschn]

I don't think you missed any... but it'll take longer than 2 weeks. Next year at this time Chell will have about 97,000 miles on the Equinox, and at that point I think we'll start looking. My car only has 18,000 miles on it, so I am good for quite a while yet.

Mike...

I am still a little biased in favor of VW. I may get Chell the Tiguan Diesel when it's time to replace the Equinox.

I'll be waiting for the pics of your new vehicle in 2 weeks. Since coming to this site, I think you've had Blazer?, Jetta, Passat, Ponitac....am I missing any?

[Miriam C.]

One particular advantage of diesels in US conditions/expectations is that the penalty for driving a larger vehicle is reduced. The UK consumer magazine has just done some real-world fuel economy testing on eco-cars and they confirm this size issue.

The latest BlueMotion (ie, most economical) VW Passat achieved 45mpg average in their tests - exactly the same mpg as a Prius and slightly better than a hybrid Civic (43mpg) - whereas the extreme BlueMotion (eg, no spare wheel, no air con) version of the Polo (one size smaller than a Golf) got 50mpg. So it only 'costs' 10% to go up two sizes in a diesel, which would be more like 20-30% if they were gas-powered.

Some other real-world figures are 44mpg for a diesel Mini, 41mpg for a diesel BMW 1 series (one size smaller than a 3 series) and 45mpg for a diesel Citroen about the size of a Golf.

All these mpg figures are in US gallons, but they would all be better in the US where the driving is much less stop-start than in Europe. The government test mpg figures for these cars are all about 20-25% better than these 'real world' figures.

Andrew

Let me see. I am gonna pay what for a car that doesn't get any better mileage than my current OLD Nissian. I think they could do better if they wanted.

[Claw]

[
Let me see. I am gonna pay what for a car that doesn't get any better mileage than my current OLD Nissian. I think they could do better if they wanted.

C'mon no thinking allowed you are to buy based on green emotion not on a cost/benefit analysis.

[Miriam C.]

[
Let me see. I am gonna pay what for a car that doesn't get any better mileage than my current OLD Nissian. I think they could do better if they wanted.

C'mon no thinking allowed you are to buy based on green emotion not on a cost/benefit analysis.

But, I don't do greeen emotion.

[caseydog]

[
Let me see. I am gonna pay what for a car that doesn't get any better mileage than my current OLD Nissian. I think they could do better if they wanted.

C'mon no thinking allowed you are to buy based on green emotion not on a cost/benefit analysis.

But, I don't do greeen emotion.

You drive a Nissan? Does it have a V8?

Here in Texas, if you don't drive a Suburban, you are already doing "green emotion."

It is our birthright, after all, to drive the biggest, most gas hungry veee-hickle on the planet. Don't think -- consume! What are you, some kind of tree-hugging liberal?

Don't worry, John McCain is going to re-fight our loss in VietNam by winning in Iraq, and we'll be paying 75-cents a gallon before you know it. What's the point of being an American if you can't have everything you want?

Don't waste your mind on thinking -- go shopping! And, consume, baby, consume!

CD

[sonar37]

I say rally the Super-Delegates!!!!!! or better yet the Super Duper Delegates They will get me that oil free non-special interest vehicle that I so desperately need !!!!

[Miriam C.]

I say rally the Super-Delegates!!!!!! or better yet the Super Duper Delegates They will get me that oil free non-special interest vehicle that I so desperately need !!!!

What a thought.

[Elumia]

mostly oil free car. Runs on compressed air.

http://zeropollutionmotors.us/

Mark

[Claw]

Sounds pretty interesting I wonder what the initial cost is?

From their website:

High Fuel Economy
The Compressed Air Car’s revolutionary compressed air engine is expected to achieve a fuel economy of a remarkable 106 miles per gallon. When the energy used to heat compressed air entering the engine is accounted for, and average driving speeds factored, the average economy is expected to be 106 gasoline-equivalent mpg. Compare the Compressed Air Car’s fuel economy with those vehicles listed as “The Greenest Vehicles of 2007” by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (Source: www.greenercars.com).

Refueling: The Air Car can be refilled with Air at home or in your parking garage by plugging it into a normal power outlet. The compressed Air tank is also automatically refilling when driving at higher speeds.

[sonar37]

Well if it can tow a 5X8 teardrop that far its got my vote!!!!! And i'll re-fuel it at my campsite electrical hookup

[Joseph]

mostly oil free car. Runs on compressed air.

If they could build one to run on hot air, Washington could run all the cars in the country!

Joseph

[angib]

mostly oil free car. Runs on compressed air.

More accurately, it's a compressed air replacement for a battery.

The idea of this engine is extremely clever: that the same engine can be used for both compressed air running and as a fuel-burning engine - unlike a hybrid that has to carry around two power units for its two energy sources.

But like plug-in hybrids, they don't give the whole story - where does the energy come from that is used to provide the compressed air? Aside from the little matter of the noise of an air compressor in your garage charging up the car's tank when at home, you are now using electricity to power the vehicle. The 100+mpg looks very good, but how much of that economy is lost when the cost of the electricity is included?

And then there's the pollution impact which may well be worse than for a gas-powered vehicle - I don't know the data for the US, but in most countries 1kWh of electric power produces a lot more carbon than 1kWh of gasoline power, because coal is still used to generate the electricity. Of course that pollution isn't in the cities where these cars run with zero emissions, it's just displaced somewhere else.

The one exception I know of is France which has such a high proportion of its electricity generated from nuclear power that it is 'greener' to use electric power than fossil fuels - providing you consider radioactive waste isn't a pollutant! The other exception is of course anyone who has sufficient solar generating capacity at home to drive the compressor, which needs what? - an acre of photovoltaic panels?

Clearly there is a lot of money available to develop ideas that promise a 'technological fix' to either peak oil or climate change, because we all desperately want to believe that it won't be our behaviour that has to change. But....

Andrew

[sonar37]

Here's my idea!!!

Use all of the USAs road shoulders to house solar panels and place electric plug-ins at rest stops. Set up the rest stops with free compressed air and electric for charging electric and compressed air motors. and run a flat tax for using the highways. With all of the USA roads providing electric via Solar, we would no-longer need to use other methods of fuel.


Just My Fragile Eggshell Mind Working Again

Rob