Why isn't gas mileage improving for new vehicles?

[cyhiphopp]

What does it matter? There's no purpose for a motorcycle or a sports car either. If you want a truck.. buy a truck. It's their money

Motorcycles are generally great fuel efficient ways to transport one person. Sports cars are great for recreation, but again should probably not be used as your main commuter transportation.

There are these things called fossil fuels, and there are only so many dead dinosaurs left to use in cars for the rest of human existence. Also the more gas consumed, the more exhaust pumped into the oxygen that we'd like to keep breathing for the rest of our lives, and the lives of future generations.
It may be their money, but it's my kids ****ing planet.

 

[cyhiphopp]

Yeah we have a mini van for the family, but I bought a crew cab truck in case I needed to haul the family, especially in the winter, or when hauling or pulling a trailer, although I decided to buy an all wheel drive Toyota Sienna because of the winter and country roads.

But I always have had a "work car" usually a Honda civic 5 speed, or similar for commuting to maximize gas mileage while not spending too much up front. Because I always had long commutes. The truck could sit for months sometimes, and not get moved.

And that makes perfect sense to me.

I am just not a truck guy, so that's part of my problem. I don't need one, but I understand those that do.

It just baffles me that Sally Homemaker thinks she needs a truck to haul groceries and because she likes being in the biggest vehicle on the road.

 

[cyclone101]

Motorcycles are generally great fuel efficient ways to transport one person. Sports cars are great for recreation, but again should probably not be used as your main commuter transportation.

There are these things called fossil fuels, and there are only so many dead dinosaurs left to use in cars for the rest of human existence. Also the more gas consumed, the more exhaust pumped into the oxygen that we'd like to keep breathing for the rest of our lives, and the lives of future generations.
It may be their money, but it's my kids ****ing planet.

You must ride the Dart bus to work everyday then, huh. Fossil fuels and your kids' planet and such...

 

[cyhiphopp]

You must ride the Dart bus to work everyday then, huh. Fossil fuels and your kids' planet and such...

I'm not 100% green, but at least I get more than 12 MPG. I can get up to 60MPG on my commute. It's not everything, but it is something.

Or I could just say "**** it" and burn as much gasoline as possible.

 

[alarson]

Speaking of, I'm trying to decide if leasing makes more sense for me, as someone who's just enough of an a**hole to enjoy new, fancy cars every 2/3 years.

Problem is if/when I ever stop leasing, I've got nothing left over. Buying outright from there.

For me, having everything under warranty makes it make sense for me. I particulaly wonder, with all the increased tech in cars, how much more expensive those later years of owning a vehicle could become, as with more sensors comes more things that can fail and bring costly replacement repairs.

Plus every 3 years i get upgraded tech, and in the current environment those are huge changes. I just traded in my 16 rogue for a 19 one and the improvements were very noticeable.

 

[Jer]

Because every time we have a good president in office, they up the required EPA standards and then we get a bad president that removes the increase. Car companies aren't going to invest resources as hard on solving a problem if they don't have a reason other then consumer pressure. Mandate new standards and the car companies will have a hard reason and deadline as incentive.

Simple reality of most things these days - failure to lead creates a failure to advance.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I am all for every truck owner who actually uses their truck for its designed purpose. Haul ****, put stuff in the truck bed, and let me borrow it when I need to move something.
What grinds my gears is when Joe Schmo, who's never hauled a thing in his life, or put more than groceries in his truck bed, has to have a giant quad cab truck and get 12 MPG. It's not made to be a commuter car. You shouldn't drive ONE person to work in a giant truck. It's not economically or environmentally a good idea.

I have a mini van, because I need it to haul my kids and all their crap around. I drive a small hybrid to work, mostly because I would hate having to fill up the mini van that often. I get good enough mileage in my car that I only have to fill up once every few weeks.

Curious how much more your electric bill is charging that car? Does it still save compared to gas fill ups?

 

[cyhiphopp]

Curious how much more your electric bill is charging that car? Does it still save compared to gas fill ups?

It's a hybrid, not a full electric. It charges the battery with braking so it runs on gas some of the time, off the battery when it's charged enough. I average about 40MPG but get up to 60 when driving in optimal conditions.

 

[JY07]

Curious how much more your electric bill is charging that car? Does it still save compared to gas fill ups?

It's a hybrid, not a full electric. It charges the battery with braking so it runs on gas some of the time, off the battery when it's charged enough. I average about 40MPG but get up to 60 when driving in optimal conditions.

For reference, I have a full electric car and it averages under 250 watts / mile: given a 40 mile commute you'd use about 10kWh.

I believe midamerican is cheaper, but our coop charges $0.125 / kWh, so those 40 miles would cost $1.25

 

[FinalFourCy]

I'm not 100% green, but at least I get more than 12 MPG. I can get up to 60MPG on my commute. It's not everything, but it is something.

Or I could just say "**** it" and burn as much gasoline as possible.

It won’t be long before fully electric vehicles takeover and internal combustion cars are the flip phones of transportation imo. Better performance and the prices are already approaching of that of “nice” cars.

 

[VeloClone]

It won’t be long before fully electric vehicles takeover and internal combustion cars are the flip phones of transportation imo. Better performance and the prices are already approaching of that of “nice” cars.

Make sure you are recycling your batteries because the explosion of lithium ion batteries is going to cause a shortage of lithium. Not necessarily because the world doesn't have the resource but because it is woefully underproduced.

 

[CtownCyclone]

It won’t be long before fully electric vehicles takeover and internal combustion cars are the flip phones of transportation imo. Better performance and the prices are already approaching of that of “nice” cars.

They've got a range problem, which IC engines don't have.

 

[cyhiphopp]

They've got a range problem, which IC engines don't have.

I have a feeling that will improve as demand increases.

Just like if demand for higher MPG vehicles increased significantly, fuel economy could be increased.

So many people would rather have a car that feels more powerful than a car that gets better mileage.

If everyone starts buying full electric vehicles and it hits the bottom line of manufacturers that only produce IC vehicles, all of a sudden they'll find a way to make them more efficient.

 

[VeloClone]

They've got a range problem, which IC engines don't have.

If they are able to get the charging time problem resolved that may be overcome as well. If there becomes a way that you can recharge an electric vehicle in 10 minutes there is already a network of stations that will just need to add the technology. It would be practically no different than filling with gas. Until that point, yes, it is a real problem. Currently (no pun intended) Tesla advertised that at their public charging locations cars can be charged to 80% in 30 minutes of charging time. Progress is being made...

I'm surprised we aren't seeing vehicles with integrated solar panels in the roof/hood to help augment the range. I know it wouldn't be a huge change, but it seems wasted real estate at this point.

 

[FinalFourCy]

They've got a range problem, which IC engines don't have.

Not for long, and how often do you drive a few hundred miles without stopping for 30-45 minutes? I’ve never had much inconvenience with our EV, and soon range will be an afterthought as battery and charging technologies mature. Which will occur quickly with as much money as Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Big Auto, and Big Oil are investing.

 

[isufbcurt]

Not for long, and how often do you drive a few hundred miles without stopping for 30-45 minutes? I’ve never had much inconvenience with our EV, and soon range will be an afterthought as battery and charging technologies mature. Which will occur quickly with as much money as Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Big Auto, and Big Oil are investing.

regarding the bold - every time I drive that distance. On long drives I only really stop for fuel and a quick pee.

 

[SpokaneCY]

ha, I did 40,000 this year on my new Explorer.

I think remembering you drive for work?

 

[SpokaneCY]

I am all for every truck owner who actually uses their truck for its designed purpose. Haul ****, put stuff in the truck bed, and let me borrow it when I need to move something.
What grinds my gears is when Joe Schmo, who's never hauled a thing in his life, or put more than groceries in his truck bed, has to have a giant quad cab truck and get 12 MPG. It's not made to be a commuter car. You shouldn't drive ONE person to work in a giant truck. It's not economically or environmentally a good idea.

I have a mini van, because I need it to haul my kids and all their crap around. I drive a small hybrid to work, mostly because I would hate having to fill up the mini van that often. I get good enough mileage in my car that I only have to fill up once every few weeks.

It's America. Land of choice. People buy all kinds of things that others don't approve of. Avocado toast for one. Stretchy pants for 2. Cars that can go 140 MPH. Tattoos - the ink not the midget guy from that show.

 

[jbhtexas]

There is already better technology out there...it's called the diesel engine. The VW Golf TDI hybrid is presently pushing 70 MPG in Europe with cleaner emissions per km than the Prius. But we won't get that here in the US because of our diesel paranoia. The Feds tax pump diesel at a 25% higher rate than gasoline, and the EPA follows CARB, who continues to push unreasonable, punitive emissions standards against diesel engines (both of which are purely politically motivated). And to make matters worse, there was VW, who decided to cheat to meet the ridiculous emissions standards.

So now, the US diesel paranoia/vendetta has hit Europe. The Europeans started buying more gas-engine cars. This has contributed to CO2 emissions in Europe going up, and they are likely going to miss their CO2 emissions targets because of it.
https://www.wardsauto.com/engines/european-co2-emissions-rise-diesels-fade

Prior to the neutering, my 2015 Passat TDI got 50+ MPG @ 70 MPH, and this was commonly reported among Passat TDI owners. Afterwards, I get around 46 MPG @ 70 MPH. All because of the TDI not meeting an overbearing NOx emissions requirement in one part of its operating range. Not to mention, taking a number of cars off the road and replacing them with higher CO2 producing, less efficient ones.

 

[SpokaneCY]

Yeah, I had a 220 round trip commute every day for work for a while, doesn't take long to rack up the miles. A short commute for me is 100 mile round trip.

I've lived a sheltered life.