I know slowing down will improve my fuel economy, yet I choose to go a bit faster on the highways (when it's safe). I wouldn't have bought the car I did if I wanted to drive like grandma.
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I know slowing down will improve my fuel economy, yet I choose to go a bit faster on the highways (when it's safe). I wouldn't have bought the car I did if I wanted to drive like grandma.
You and many (most) other drivers are volunteering to pay more, which is one of the main reasons why the price of fuel is going up every day. Well at least you're not "driving like grandma." The value of your self image must be priceless.
Well, it depends on the car sometiems also. Sport cars, especially with better aerodynamics tend to get better "gas" mileage even at high speeds. Obvious, slowing down will save more, but its a signifiant improvement then the bulky SUV that get maybe 15 mpg.
I normally cruise at 75 mph, I've gotten 36-40 mpg (car is rated for 34 freeway) many times.
If people would stop buying SUVs and heavy gas guzzling cars, the demand would go down significantly. Every car should have at least 25 mpg these days. I see many drivers, who drive a very large SUV such as a Chevy Avalanche and they're the only driver in the entire truck/suv.
This is a convenient myth, which lots of people use to rationalize speeding. No matter how "aerodynamic" the car, higher speed increases the friction penalty, not only from aerodynamic friction but also from friction within the drive train. The penalty might be less for a more aerodynamic car than one which is less so, but that old devil physics simply cannot be rationalized away.
Most cars maximize their fuel efficiency at between 50 and 60 MPH. A good rule of thumb is a penalty of 10% for every 10 MPH over the peak. So if you're driving 85 instead of 65, you're effectively already paying $5.00 a gallon. If that doesn't slow you down, nothing will. Except maybe a cop.
I can cruise between 80 and 85 and get around 31 MPG on a car that's rated 29. I've found that if I do 75, my MPG increases to around 32. Since I don't drive that much, the ~1 MPG difference doesn't add up quickly enough to really impact how often I fill up and how much I spend in gas each month.
To become competitive again, the UAW will have to concede the old ways of building autos are over. Plants must be automated to survive. American labor costs are way over the top compared to Toyota, Nissam & Honda. Ford and GM have their hands tied by unions who are killing the industry in the US. That's one reason Ford has gone to Mexico to build cars. Eventually it will all go that way and there will be no jobs for Americans in the auto industry.
It may be a myth but it has shown positive results during my daily driving. My MPG is up from what the factory has rated. My acceleration is also faster then what they used to test. Either my car is the wildest streak of luck or apparently some 'myths' aren't really 'myths'.
I agree. Not every car at higher speeds will get better gas mileage since there is A LOT of things that can affect mpg, but many drivers including myself have seen higher mpg then what it is rated even at higher speeds such as 70+
Now THAT is a real car! If we only didn't have to worry about these blasted gas prices.If you say so. Now this is an old guy's Caddy.
Try slowing down to 65, and recalculating.
Apparently you've found a way to suspend the laws of physics. You must write a paper on the subject.
Im not a physics major nor have I taken physics right now. All I can say is what I've seen. If thats impossible to believe, then it is your right to believe whatever you wish to believe. To me, having the car, driving it pretty much 7 days a week, filling up only once a week of approx 11 gals +/- 0.5 gal, traveling 400-450 miles between fill ups, its clearly shows that my mpg is a lot higher then what its intended.
I drive an Acura RSX btw. Look up the rating for fuel economy. I'm not saying physics is wrong or I'm defying physics. But if you were to talk about friction, the friction at the wheels, downforce, wind speed, ambient temperature, weight , etc. there is A LOT of things that define how good your gas mileage is. Maybe my aerodynamics is screwed up pretty badly but its compensated by less friction at the tires, who knows.
The land yachts of my youth. My family couldn't afford a Cadillac Fleetwood, so we had the next best thing, a used '67 Oldsmobile 98. I learned to drive in that car. Even then its massive size was sort of a joke. It truly floated -- all over the road -- like a ship. A great date car though.
My parents had a '68 Olds 98 Holiday Hardtop, beige with a white interior. What a beautiful car! I may have to search around to see if I can find one for old time's sake.
Don't look at EPA ratings -- they are only meant for comparison with other cars. I can easily exceed EPA with my car, but much more so if I keep the speed down.
It's effectively impossible for a car owner to perform a properly controlled experiment in fuel efficiency. But the physics is what the physics is, and you cannot change it with any amount of wishful thinking or rationalization.
People like to speed, and they don't want to hear about the downside. It's a very old story.
The speed limit where I did these trials throughout the course of a couple months was 70 (middle of nowhere) and anything under 75, you'll get run over
Well, you're starting out far above the peak fuel efficiency level for your car, so consider that, and of course the fact that a lot of people speed isn't an answer.
Probably some are convinced that I'm making all of this up. I'm not. The penalties of drag and friction are not linear, they are exponential. Here's a good, brief explanation of the basis physics:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question477.htm
Who knows, maybe if I did to 65 I'd get 40 MPG. But I bought the car knowing it was a 29 MPG car, and thinking that my driving habits would mean I'd get closer to 25 or 26, which was what I was expecting when I bought it. The fact I still exceed that is just a bonus.
What a breathtaking rationalization. Don't complain about high gas prices, is all I can advise.
I am not particularly nostalgic for cars of this period, though I did grow up with two Olds 98s and a Cutlass 88, among many others. They were really awful to drive. Probably the most attractive car our family ever owned was a 1960 Ford Starliner, black with a red interior -- a variation on the Galaxie 500, possibly the best design Ford produced during this period. Sadly it was rear-ended and wrecked.
I don't deny the fact that faster speeds = lower fuel economy. But many factors into mpg, not just speed. Speed is just one of the major factors but other stuff matters too.
"In general, smaller, lighter, more aerodynamic cars will get their best mileage at higher speeds. Bigger, heavier, less aerodynamic vehicles will get their best mileage at lower speeds." - Howstuffworks
"If you drive your car in the "sweet spot" you will get the best possible mileage for that car. If you go faster or slower, the mileage will get worse, but the closer you drive to the sweet spot the better mileage you will get." - Howstuffworks
Apparently, Im driving in my sweet spot. My car is light, small, and pretty aerodynamic. Furthermore, I don't complain about gas prices (its a pain to fill up, but what am i suppose to do? Public transportation sucks here, might as well not even have public transportation here). I only complain about the causes for gas prices. Apparently, the government have some control in this and they aren't doing crap about it, instead, they're "pressuring" other countries to ramp up production for our own needs, which doesn't play well in international politics.
Speed is virtually the only one you can actually control. If you read the entire article, you will find that the "sweet spot" is going to be somewhere between 40 and 60 MPH -- on the lower end for large cars, higher for small cars, in general. Either way, it's not going to be at 70 or above. If you're not willing to slow down, or at least to drive the speed limit, then you're effectively volunteering to pay more. You should look in the mirror when you complain about the causes of high gas prices.
Can I just draft behind fast-moving semis, SUVs to acheive decent mpg and still go fast?
I want cake and something to munch on.
As to OP - I hope that GM and Chrysler take some cues from the International auto industry (even their own foreign divisions). I'd also like to see the full line of Smart Cars for sale here in the US.
I want cake and something to munch on.
As to OP - I hope that GM and Chrysler take some cues from the International auto industry (even their own foreign divisions). I'd also like to see the full line of Smart Cars for sale here in the US.
Americans are fools....keep buying foreign cars!
It amazes me how short-sighted Americans are. Everybody justifies why they drive a foreign car. GM managers are fools...the UAW protects poor workers...foreign cars are now produced in the U.S. Does anybody realize that for every point of market share the foreign automakers gain in the U.S., that we lose 18,000 jobs (i.e., auto parts producers, assembly). Does anybody realize that every manufacturing job produces at least 8 service jobs! Probably yours indirectly and you don't even know it.
The biggest problem in the economy are jobs. Keep buying foreign cars and soon nobody will have a job. Computer programmers that graduate can work for McDonalds, or Pizza Hut. Great!
Most of our steel is produced overseas, our clothes are from overseas.... Why don't we spend our $600 check from the government and spend it on a new LCD TV made from China. I'm wrong! I forgot about the $8.00 per hour the kid at Best Buy made on the sale -- that keeps the economy rolling and supports out $300K house. Keep buying foreign and keep America sinking.
Thank yourselves. Enjoy your foreclosed home. Go Honda! Go Toyota! Send the auto profits to Japan...dumb Americans. I forgot! We can buy stock in Toyota. Go tell the Best Buy worker to go buy some stock after he pays his rent and his payment for his VW bettle made in Germany. Ooops! NO money left to buy stock in Toyota....just a couple of bucks to go buy a Budweiser.
It amazes me how short-sighted Americans are. Everybody justifies why they drive a foreign car. GM managers are fools...the UAW protects poor workers...foreign cars are now produced in the U.S. Does anybody realize that for every point of market share the foreign automakers gain in the U.S., that we lose 18,000 jobs (i.e., auto parts producers, assembly). Does anybody realize that every manufacturing job produces at least 8 service jobs! Probably yours indirectly and you don't even know it.
The biggest problem in the economy are jobs. Keep buying foreign cars and soon nobody will have a job. Computer programmers that graduate can work for McDonalds, or Pizza Hut. Great!
Most of our steel is produced overseas, our clothes are from overseas.... Why don't we spend our $600 check from the government and spend it on a new LCD TV made from China. I'm wrong! I forgot about the $8.00 per hour the kid at Best Buy made on the sale -- that keeps the economy rolling and supports out $300K house. Keep buying foreign and keep America sinking.
Thank yourselves. Enjoy your foreclosed home. Go Honda! Go Toyota! Send the auto profits to Japan...dumb Americans. I forgot! We can buy stock in Toyota. Go tell the Best Buy worker to go buy some stock after he pays his rent and his payment for his VW bettle made in Germany. Ooops! NO money left to buy stock in Toyota....just a couple of bucks to go buy a Budweiser.
Yes it is unfortunate for America, but foreign cars are simply better than American cars. Also, it is dramatically cheaper to build cars in Asia than it is in America. You can't in any way blame consumers for buying non-American cars.
You seem to have very strong opinions on this topic, so I would be interested to know who you would want to be the next president and why.
Everyone thought we should transition to a service based economy. I guess we will find out how well that is going to work here in the next few years. GM and Chrysler are done. Ford might make it, but it will be touch and go. They do have some great new products coming like the new 2010 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, 2010 Euro Focus, 2010 Taurus, 2010 Fiesta.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-fusion-future.html
Here is the redesigned 2010 Fusion
The $700B Bailout has already approved a $25B earmark for the US auto industry. They're already asking for a $15B increase, and haven't yet received the money already earmarked yet, AFIAK.
BTW, the UAW isn't ruining things as much as you think. Those days have passed. Automated assembly systems are now used in the US to produce automobiles, and the quality is good. They just happen to have primarily foreign badges. The US automakers messed up by not investing anything into R&D, and are stuck playing catch up without any financial resources. They were happy building the behemoths, with recycled technology and older assembly lines. Pocket every penny, and run. Hence the $25B in Bailout money.
Yeah, the service economy has really turned out well.
Large corporations have lobbied to get what they wanted, it all screwed up, and the taxpayers get to foot the bill. W00t. //
Of course no one has yet to realize that McJob for the vast part of the population won't cut it so far as footing the bill. Real jobs that can financially support the population need to come back home.
BTW, the UAW isn't ruining things as much as you think. Those days have passed. Automated assembly systems are now used in the US to produce automobiles, and the quality is good. They just happen to have primarily foreign badges. The US automakers messed up by not investing anything into R&D, and are stuck playing catch up without any financial resources. They were happy building the behemoths, with recycled technology and older assembly lines. Pocket every penny, and run. Hence the $25B in Bailout money.
Yeah, the service economy has really turned out well.
Large corporations have lobbied to get what they wanted, it all screwed up, and the taxpayers get to foot the bill. W00t. //Of course no one has yet to realize that McJob for the vast part of the population won't cut it so far as footing the bill. Real jobs that can financially support the population need to come back home.