Written by a safety-obsessed soccer mom, but it contains some valid points:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/26/news/economy/Chatzky_green_driving.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008063010
BTW, what kind of midsize sedan gets 23MPG!? I've heard of Crown Vics getting better than that! I'm convinced some of these things shoot the fuel out the back to propel themselves forward.
I get about 23mpg out of my 325i, with a manual trans; typical suburban driving.
My wife's TSX gets about 21-22, actually, though it has an automatic, and 5 days a week it has a very short commute, which doesn't do good things for the fuel economy.
My XC90 gets about 21+mpg on my commute and 25mpg on hwy cruising.
The Today Show did a story about down sizing; they claim for the expenses involved and the savings in gas, the break even point is six years out.
My mother in law puts a tank of gas in her Taurus every two to three weeks. She's talking about a smaller car now. So if you pay $10,000 for a car the taxes would be $800. Lets say you gain 10mpg in an econo box. How long would it take to get just the tax money and the registration fees back?
Dan
30 in the Miata. 27 in the Z3. Both are mixed driving with a decent bit of it being hilly backroads.
Duke, I managed to squeeze 23 mpg out of an automatic X3 3.0i. And 22 out of a 745Li. But this is probably all that either of these cars can give you. Driving them like a normal person, you'd see about 19 out of both of them.
22-23 in the WRX, driving like I stole it.
Another relevant article written by a soccer mom, this time on the topic of whether an eco-friendly family car is possible:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/blogBurst/motoring?type=motoringNews&w1=B7ovpm21IaDoL40ZFnNfGe&w2=B9VMtPB0vqCjBrWpf42Chsg&src=blogBurst_motoringNews&bbPostId=CzCPbrTorDeA3AbDUgkOYQIPCz2JJftUIUPkrB69XvNFciBKD&bbParentWidgetId=B9VMtPB0vqCjBrWpf42Chsg
Again they don't like minivans, isn't that funny? Also an eco-friendly family car would be a Toyota Yaris with better visibility. I bet if they used honeycombed tubing or a triangulated beam for the A, B and C pillars, they could get proper visibility with the tank-like structural strength today's legal environment requires.
DILYSI Dave wrote: 22-23 in the WRX, driving like I stole it.
Not bad at all, I get 25MPG with the AE92 on a small track. Where is the gas going!? Could this have something to do with the consumption issues of E10? Vehicles seem to be getting a bit worse recently...
Most folks bought SUV's even though what they really needed was a more efficient minivan. They didn't buy the van because the it was "uncool", or what Mom's drive. Now that the SUV is seen as being unfriendly to the planet these same folks will be dumping their SUV's and putting themselves into whatever the marketing gurus decide is upscale and desirable.
Typical Soccer Mom-----" I will never drive a station wagon, ......but what do you think about those Subaru Outback SUV's?"
There are folks that need trucks for towing, space, or heavy hauling. The vast majority of the people you see driving SUV's at the mall would be better served by a minivan.
They will sell the SUV's regardless of if it makes sense or not. It's fashion, common sense has no place in the world of fashion.
Is it possible to build a light-weight SUV? I'm not talking Isuzu Amigo sized things (although they have their place). I mean, can we make a 3,000 pound Ford Explorer, or GMC Jimmy, or whatever kids these days are driving - what with their crazy hair, Ipods, and color TVs.
Carbon fiber is so cheap these days that teenagers are replacing all the body panels on their Civics with it (I've seen the entire front end repalced on a few of them!). Why don't we eliminate the steel bodies and roof structures of our Fords and our GMCs and replace them with carbon? Or even Aluminum? BMW is building suspension components and front-end structures out of Aluminum and I'm sure others are doing the same.
New X-Prize idea: $1,000,000 to the manufacturer who builds a fashionable, 7-seater, 3,000 pound SUV.
I just don't see why it takes 6,000 pounds of metal to move 1 person 30 miles in a half-hour.
Toward the article.. Yes, it is very hard to reduce your expenses (fuel) by taking on another expense (buying a new car.)
The only solution os if you car replace your expense (sell your $8k car but replace it with just another $8k car.)
Instead, people want to sell their $8k car and buy a $20k car.
The article is right. Driving style and reduced trips will likely save you more than any other changes.
If the economy continues to tank it will soon cost $1,000,000.00 to buy a plain looking 4 seat economy car built in Yugoslavia with "shifter option"...
wife has new rav4.
with her driving it's 26mpg around town 32mpg on the highway.
seats 7.
eat it.
I drive a station wagon and my wife drives a minivan. I guess we're both uncool. 
The irony is that, even with sedate driving, neither is able to squeeze out 30mpg on the highway. Close but not there.
confuZion3 wrote: Is it possible to build a light-weight SUV?
Yes, and a good looking one at that:
http://www.leftlanenews.com/lotus-unveils-2007-lotus-apx-concept.html
But it's not cheap and I don't know if it has superduperubersafety.
Oh, also:
http://www.edmunds.com/pictures/VEHICLE/1994/Suzuki/2684/1994.suzuki.samurai.9989-396x249.jpg
Yes it's a jacked up offroading subcompact that can be reconfigured into a jacked up offroading tiny pickup, but it could fill some roles SUVs currently take. Oh wait they stopped making those, for safety.
ignorant wrote: wife has new rav4. with her driving it's 26mpg around town 32mpg on the highway. seats 7. eat it.
But would you want to ride in the third row? And how much cargo space is behind that third seat? Sorry to be a dick, but I have a thing for playing Devils Advocate.
Back to the title, no, don't sell it cause the value on those things have tanked.
Quit telling the trendy idiots they're making horrible choices. I need to buy a tow vehicle soon and the full size SUVs are just tanking in price due to everyone selling at once.
ignorant wrote: wife has new rav4. with her driving it's 26mpg around town 32mpg on the highway. seats 7. eat it.
Big deal. In Africa 7 people ride in an ox cart that uses no gas at all. We must stop wasting fuel. It's unfair that you are consuming more fuel than they can
skruffy wrote: Quit telling the trendy idiots they're making horrible choices. I need to buy a tow vehicle soon and the full size SUVs are just tanking in price due to everyone selling at once.
agreed. I caught myself looking at 4x4 diesel excursions the other day. I need the ability to tow a gooseneck trailer though, so guess I'll stick with trucks. The earlier excursions with the 7.3 powerstoke are pretty damn nice though.
Wall-e wrote: Big deal. In Africa 7 people ride in an ox cart that uses no gas at all. We must stop wasting fuel. It's unfair that you are consuming more fuel than they can
And they are stylish as well!
neon4891 wrote: And how much cargo space is behind that third seat?
enough.
so I reiterate.
eat it.
(will it tow? nope hoping to buy a cummins ram to fill that void
is it a lame cute suv.. yes
is it useful... very much so and the gas mileage is great.
2wd 2.4l did I mention it is slow...)
again eat it.
Joey48442 just built an extension on his house, a pretty big garage, with an Escort wagon and a couple Miatas.
You pansys needing extra storage room need to read his book.
Most people buy cars like they buy houses, way more than they really need. How many people really need a Suburban because they have one or two kids, that's just silly. And the fact that many want an SUV because they'd never drive a wagon, well, an SUV is nothing but a wagon with a crappy center of gravity and poor handling.
Safety wise, everyone would be better off if they disappeared in large numbers. A small car vs. small wreck is better than large vs. large anyday.
OK, so it is 2wd, that exsplains the milage. Once you ditch the 4WD in an SUV, milage jumps. The next step is areo-dynamics.
racerdave600 wrote: Safety wise, everyone would be better off if they disappeared in large numbers. A small car vs. small wreck is better than large vs. large anyday.
agree 100%
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