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I read in a magazine that Europe is predominently diesel while Americans keep a healthy distance from the "green fuel". Is that true?
Does fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions matter to you?
Umm, I'd burn the remnants of the last whale to turn a low 8 in the quarter. Please don't bring GREEN BS to the boards, or I'll be forced to bring science to the boards. Let's NOT go there.
Right. We have 2 votes for Petrol already.
People don't buy diesels just for their fuel efficiency. Most modern diesels have tremendous torque and are supposed to be good for highway high speed cruising.
A little bit of science comparing the power characteristics of the two is welcome. My knowledge is limited to what auto mags say.
I drive a petrol-powered Toyota Echo - a hell of a lot cheaper than a Prius, and still very low emissions.
I've never wanted an SUV because I won't drive a car that gets such crummy gas mileage. But now - I guess I can get one if I want!
[edmunds.com...]
IMHO Toyota is the king of hybrid and i heard all other autos (including Ford,Hondo) are just licensing the technology from them!
The car I want is the new Escape Hybrid
You're right it won't have the crummy gas mileage. It'll still have the crummy, top-heavy handling, the crummy suspension, the crummy instability in cross-winds, the crummy exhorbitant bills for the huge tires (which contribute in a good part to the crummy handling), the crummy repair bills, the crummy ability to kill outright any pedestrian you accidentally hit at 5mph... But the gas mileage will be only slightly worse than for a proper vehicle. ;)
Does anyone get the impression I don't like SUVs?!
My ride:
is not top heavy
handles great
has sport suspension
is extremely stable
would maim rather than kill at 5 mph
has very expensive low-profile 18" tires (wider on the back)
other than the tires (the back ones need replacing already), I won't have major repair costs until the warranty is up at 60,000 miles
gets crummy gas mileage
is not an SUV.
How do I rate?
I simply dont get the logic most people need to bring a ton of steel along with them to commute.
Cars should be prohibited worldwide. And we need free public showers everywhere.
Do I qualify as a tree hugger?
The zero emission vehicule I commute with weights less than 15 pounds, costs less than 1 500 $.ca, requires no fuel, no parking space and doubles as a free workout at the gym.
Haha, I suspect the power source of your vehicle weighs more than the vehicle itself, requires refueling several times a day, and is definitely NOT zero emission. ;)
<added> I further suspect the power source has an elaborate shelter, is off-line 4-6 hours a night, and is hen-pecked to boot :) </added>
[edited by: lawman at 9:46 pm (utc) on Aug. 28, 2004]
definitely NOT zero emission. ;)
I'll try not to think about Macguru's emissions, thanks ;) Macguru is right, of course (apart from the fact that it is better to work from home - you don't even need the bike!).
Trouble is, I only ride my bike (which cost me $100 Canadian for a model which was 100% recycled material, apart from the brakes) in the summer. At minus 35 and a metre of snow, it is less practical as a means of transport (but probably still would handle better than an SUV!).
Sure, then I commute in a very expensive zero emission vehicule [subways.net] with a chauffeur.
But I wont comment about people's emissions in there. :)
That said, I really want a diesel car, so I can get a vegetable oil conversion kit [greasel.com] for it, and run it on used fryer oil from a local restaurant. *That* would be the ultimate tightwad tree-huggers car. ;)
I have the mega-truck because I tow a horse trailer or a travel trailer. I also have my dad's old Buick station wagon (gasoline engine) which he gave me before he died, for just running to the mail 6 miles round trip. It has 325,000 original engine-and-transmission miles, costs less than $40/year to register, and gets about 16 mpg. Has to have new tires soon - less than $300.
So I'm happy with diesel, and not looking to buy anything anytime soon. But if I NEEDED something, yes, I'd buy diesel in a heartbeat.
vkaryl, it just goes to show that diesels aren't tree-huggers' vehicles with the description of what you drive. Trouble is, there are a load of similar vehicles here, even though I live in the middle of a city, where the only chance of doing any off-roading is when you mount the kerb when parking.
But then again, I've been touting mag-strips in the interstates, and cars to utilize them, since about 1965 - the year I graduated from high school.
My truck has been down the Piute ATV trail - several times. I defy any Hummer to go there. Why? Because the Hummer's wheelbase is WIDER than even my horse trailer, which is WIDER than my truck's wheelbase by about 10 inches.
And there are many places down said ATV trail where my Ford's wheelbase width just barely makes it. A Hummer would be off the edge....
However, I DROOL over the Hummer.... the REAL thing though, mind you - NOT the "citified" H2.
I read in a magazine that Europe is predominently diesel
Does this magazine have an editor? >;->
I don't know what my next car will be powered by. I drove between the ages of 17 and 19 and have used public transport, walked and cycled ever since.
I'd like to see more pedestrianisation of city centres, with cycle paths running alongside pedestrian walkways.
Central Amsterdam is bliss compared to central London.
Then by all means, don't get one.
For me, once the gas guzzling aspect is fixed, the pros outweigh the cons.
[Edit: typos.... sheesh]
I'm too old now for undersprung jeeps....
