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Post a Comment On: Steve Sailer: iSteve

"New EPA gas mileage estimates"

13 Comments -

1 – 13 of 13
Anonymous dearieme said...

The wonderful modern diesel engines are popular across Europe and have been for a few years now. If we weren't so green - we're sticking with our 13 year old vehicle - we'd buy one.

9/20/07, 1:33 AM

Blogger Markku said...

It's amazing how great mileage a small turbodiesel can get these days. I VW Lupo with a 1.2 l TDI achieves 3.0l/100km = 79 mpg.

9/20/07, 5:16 AM

Blogger rho said...

The lesson here is, clearly, never trust Jerry Pournelle.

9/20/07, 6:29 AM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I enjoy my 400 hp Ferrari which cannot even carry two well fed Americans (load limit 400 pounds) and is epa rated at 10 mpg. Many of the other parents at my kids school enjoy an outdoor pool and heat the 10000 gallons of water to 79 degrees even though it can't take them anywhere.

I don'tsee how it is any one else's business whether I heat a pool or go for a Sunday drive.

9/20/07, 6:36 AM

Anonymous David Davenport said...

And it turns out that the EPA now has a new, less nutty methodology.

The old methodology wasn't nutty -- from the manufacturors' p.o.v. :0]

The wonderful modern diesel engines are popular across Europe and have been for a few years now.

Diesel engines may ultimately fail because they may not be able to meet really stringent emissions standards. Current emissions standards in the EU aren't all that tough.

9/20/07, 8:33 AM

Anonymous Jeff Martin said...

I own one of those VW Jetta diesels, and it returns between 36-40 mpg in suburban/urban driving. I seldom have occasion to drive on the interstates, but I've no doubt that it would achieve at least 45-47 over the highway. The best part is, that five years from now, when I still have fewer than 100,000 miles on the car, I won't have to replace battery packs at a cost of $5000-7000.

9/20/07, 8:36 AM

Anonymous rob said...

All my driving experience is in Europe; I can't understand the problem America has with diesels--is it environmental laws? According to Autocar magazine, an equivalent turbodiesel car would match a Toyota Prius for both economy and effect on the environment.
I'm suspicious of all claims made for hybrids; I suspect nobody would buy them but for the financial inducements that are available in almost every country for driving them.For instance, they are exempt from the five-pound congestion charge to be paid every time you drive into central London.
Let's face it, regenerative braking and coasting are'nt going to provide all that much extra power, especially when you offset it against the weight of that massive battery and the generator.
The Audi A8 diesel will do 0-60 in 5 seconds; the BMW 530d will do it in 6.5. Cheaper makes of diesels are fast catching up with these figures.

9/20/07, 12:12 PM

Anonymous Justin said...

>>4) Ford and GM have come a long way on quality. Granted, Toyota still has a lead. But their lead isn't so big as it used to be.<<

I would say the notion that GM and Ford are anywhere near to Toyota is wide of the mark.

As a victim of Ford's overtly racist anti-"just worked my butt off to become supremely qualified white guy" hiring practices, and a past close observer of the auto industry, I can attest that Ford is possibly doomed. Quite simply Ford and GM are not looking for talent in the general management and strategy ranks. Instead they are filling these crucial incubator positions with easy finds (read: unispiring yet somewhat ambitious individuals) from good schools along with whatever best qualified AA candidates they can find. The result of their narrow and easy to execute hiring strategy is a safe and steady short and middle-term, but a difficult future, because very few of their hires has "greatness within." As such, it is no surprise that Ford's current offerings are close to Toyota's: for current success is coming at the expense of future models. While Ford and GM are able to match Toyota on existing models, they have little hope on future models. Companies like Toyota have already maximized efficiencies on existing technologies and their "best and brightest" are working on future models and processes. It is not a proud moment for GM and Ford to match what Toyota has already mastered and laid level. In fact, it's pathetic.

Toyota can command the very best talent in homogenous Japan, but Ford and GM cannot claim the same in the USA. To watch those two American icons suffer under the guise of multiculturalism and laws like Sarbanes Oxley that push financiers into management positions, hits me in the heart everyday. For anyone that has ever worked in or near the auto industry, or for anyone that has locomotion within his/her heart, Ford and GM symbolize what the rest of the readers of this blog and VDare see on the national level: the slow decline and destruction of everything that there ever was to love about America.

Justin
Proud Expedition Owner

9/20/07, 6:39 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ford and GM have come a long way on quality. Granted, Toyota still has a lead. But their lead isn't so big as it used to be.

In what universe is this happening?

My 2002 Ford Focus is the worst car I have ever driven, and by a wide margin. With less than 70,000 miles on it, the brake *rotors* have failed three times, despite bringing it in as soon as the telltale noises appear. That's several hundred dollars a pop, which Ford refuses to cover under their warranty. No, it's not the way I drive; I've never once had this happen on any other car, even clunkers with 150K miles on them. Ford apparently made the brake surface area larger in later model Foci, but those of us with the 2002 model can just pay out the nose as far as they're concerned.

Worse, the air conditioner routinely leaks water into the passenger compartment. This is apparently due to an evaporator case, which the Ford dealerships conveniently didn't discover until after the warranty on those parts had expired. They want $1,600 to fix it; I doubt the car itself is worth that. Of course, Ford, as always, refuses to stand by the product, even though this issue is documented in their TSBs (along with the brake issue).

I've heard of other Focus owners with even worse horror stories: cars bursting into flame, transmissions breaking down every year, you name it.

Never again will I purchase a Ford. My next vehicle is going to be a Honda Civic hybrid.

9/20/07, 7:33 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Search after gas milage if you want. I lived in New Haven during the last gas crunch and the professors were paying one thousand dollars over list for VW diesel rabbits, while lecturing we unwashed that hydocarbons were a limited resource and we would never pay less for gas than we paid that day.

In a year their diesel Rabbit was worth less than a gas one and petrol was cheap - I have been through all this before. I press on the gas of my Ferrari and the gas tank goes down one eighth as quick as I write this. Its great.

9/20/07, 8:24 PM

Blogger Tscottme said...

Rather than becoming more dependent on info from the feds, why not drive in a more reasonable manner? I routinely get MPG at or above EPA levels by driving Carefully. Sure, I don't win the temporary admiration of some teenager one lane over, but I manage to survive anyway.

9/21/07, 1:52 AM

Anonymous David Davenport said...

FoMoCo is responsible for turning Dearborn into the most Muslim city in the US.

... The revenge of his limo lieberal descendents on Henry I.

.... Agaim, re diesels: they may not meet tough 21st century emissions standards. Too many particulates, casuing cancer the same way inhaling asbestos does.
Big trucks and buses have had a big loophole on this.

9/21/07, 8:50 AM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

David Davenport said...
FoMoCo is responsible for turning Dearborn into the most Muslim city in the US.

I am confused about this. Is the Ford Motor Company the same as the Ford Foundation - assuming this is what you're talking about?

9/22/07, 12:05 AM

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