John Stone wrote:
> On 7/5/08 3:21 AM, in article HaGbk.652$Ae3.208@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"James Sweet"
> <jamessweet1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> I haven't driven a smart car, however I have a hard time understanding
>> the hype over the Prius. My dad had a Topaz Diesel in 1984 that got 60
>> mpg and wasn't a half bad car, he still raves about how well it drove
>> and would probably still have the thing if it didn't get totalled by a
>> driver who blacked out. VW Golf TDI gets 50 mpg which beats the Prius,
>> and it's cheaper and a lot less complicated.
>
> Consider the fact that diesel fuel is now pu****ng $5 a gallon, way more
than
> even premium gasoline. Also, the high mileage rating for the Prius is
for
> city driving. Talk to people who own them and know how to extract the
best
> mileage out of them. It's very impressive. Not putting down the TDI, but
I
> doubt it will beat a Prius for overall economy. It's a much heavier,
less
> aerodynamic car. BTW, it doesn't look like VW will be offering diesel in
the
> Golf (rabbit). Looks like you will have to buy a Jetta. They're
> transitioning to their "clean diesel" engine for next year.
>
Rumor has it that VW has a two-seater in the production pipeline for
2010 or 2011 that gets somwhere around 150-225 MPG. Its design is
basically a super-streamlined update of the old messersmidt (sp?)
car-one front seat and one rear seat. Would US buyers accept such a car?
I think they would now, with gas prices doubling every three years.
You'll know that gas prices getting really bad when they build a
separate bike line on the shoulders of the interstates and people start
using them.
As for the Prius, It has one feature that I think should be mandatory on
all new cars-A computer which tells the driver how many miles per gallon
he is getting based on current driving habits. Most drivers have no clue
at all how dramatic the difference in gas consumption can be between 55
MPH and 65 MPH because they have never tried to drive at those speeds
and pay attention to gas mileage at the same time. I have, on several
cars over the years and the difference in MPG is rather shocking.
One other thing: Home heating oil and automotive diesel are essentially
the same thing (the auto diesel has a couple of additives to retard
shrinkage of rubber and is taxed differently, but is otherwise
interchangable with the home fuel). If people would actually insulate
and weather-strip their homes to meet contem****ary energy efficiency
standards, it would reduce consumption of the stuff by millions and
millions of gallons annually, and prices would probably go down below
that of gasoline, as has historically been the case until recently.
This winter, those who haven't done that are probably going to crap in
their pants when they get the bill for their first heating oil delivery,
and people are going to spend a lot more time under their electric
blankets during the upcoming cold season.
Oh, the pain......
-Scott
-Scott
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