New MPG standards
Drifting
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 1,837
Likes: 0
From: Washington Township OH
Cruise-In I Veteran
Cruise-In II Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
1) Govt MPG standards are an avg for the whole line. They can keep the Vette and add a motorcycle based car.
2) Govt MGP standards are a joke. When MPG increases, so does driving! NO CHANGE in overall fuel usage and emissions. The Gubment needs to EDUCATE the American regarding the importance of a lifestyle change that is more environmentaly friendly.
Move closer to work, ride a bike, invest in "green tech," etc.
We don't need to change the auto industry. Let capitalism handle it. We, as a country, need to change the way we live. We do a lot more to pollute than drive....
2) Govt MGP standards are a joke. When MPG increases, so does driving! NO CHANGE in overall fuel usage and emissions. The Gubment needs to EDUCATE the American regarding the importance of a lifestyle change that is more environmentaly friendly.
Move closer to work, ride a bike, invest in "green tech," etc.
We don't need to change the auto industry. Let capitalism handle it. We, as a country, need to change the way we live. We do a lot more to pollute than drive....
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 4,030
Likes: 6
From: Maryland
Thanks for a rational response on this. I'm with you on most of it, except for the "Let capitalism handle it" part. Capitalism is what got us where we are now, the largest consumers of energy on the planet and the least concerned about it. We can either drone along until gas goes up to the $8 a gallon it is in Europe, or we can get ahead of the curve and do some proactive things to get our "addiction to oil" under control. The 35 mpg CAFE average is a step in the right direction, although allowing the Big 2.5 to slide until 2020 is way too lenient IMO.
1. Gov't needs to encourge the populace to drive less not just have more efficient autos. Suburbia needs to be re-vamped with more bike paths or traffic laws need to change to allow bikes on local roads and limit auto traffic there.
2. Capitalism is too slow and won't fix it. The 35mpg CAFE is a step in the right direction, although I think certain low production vehicles including sports cars should be excluded from the calculations as they are irrelevant to the big picture. I want GM to build for me a 50 mpg highway car for commuting; they have not been responding.
3. There should be limits on SUVs. The disparity in vehicle size is a problem that needs to be regulated. I can tell you it's not fun being run over by a mirauding SUV in your vette.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 10,961
Likes: 2,643
From: Texas Hill Country
I should clarify my capitalism comment. What I am referring to is supply and demand, of course.
We have direct control over demand. The first step is not waiting for GM to build you a 50 mpg highway car. The first step is to stop buying the 10 MPG highway boat..... Just STOP it!
However, that won't happen until people are properly educated and CARE.....
And I don't expect the govt will be any faster than natural demand.....
I mean, come on, guys. REALLY.
We have direct control over demand. The first step is not waiting for GM to build you a 50 mpg highway car. The first step is to stop buying the 10 MPG highway boat..... Just STOP it!
However, that won't happen until people are properly educated and CARE.....
And I don't expect the govt will be any faster than natural demand.....
I mean, come on, guys. REALLY.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,251
Likes: 16
From: Phoenix Arizona
I actually took two thermodynamic courses in college, and I never said that you can take a Z right now and mod it to get 35 mpg. what I said was that we add headers, and the x-pipe, and a diffeent cam, and heads, all to N/A a car and free up the horsepower that is confined by backpressure and allow the car to breath as much as possible.
I said that with knowing that, I do not doubt that they will make a car with 400+hp and still get 35mpg in the future. People need to read threads and understand what is being said instead of making assumptions.
I said that with knowing that, I do not doubt that they will make a car with 400+hp and still get 35mpg in the future. People need to read threads and understand what is being said instead of making assumptions.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,251
Likes: 16
From: Phoenix Arizona
Not soon after I bought the Z, I read a story (I think it was Popular Science) about cars of the future, fuel cell technology, etc. It made me realize that our cars will be some of the last breed of high performance gas burners before fossil fuels go bye-bye in favor of greener alternatives. Those of us that were brought up on dino oil will end up paying a hefty premium at the pump someday just to take that weekend cruise. And we will. 
Enjoy these cars (and internal combustion) for as long as you can. Their days are truly numbered and I truly believe that I will see in my life time (God willing) that internal combustion based cars/trucks will require a special registration (and the tax to go with it). The traditional "fuel pump" will become more difficult to find by 2025.
-Deano
Enjoy these cars (and internal combustion) for as long as you can. Their days are truly numbered and I truly believe that I will see in my life time (God willing) that internal combustion based cars/trucks will require a special registration (and the tax to go with it). The traditional "fuel pump" will become more difficult to find by 2025.
-Deano
if you get enough traction 
will make our cars look like volkswagons!
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 17,786
Likes: 5
From: Florida
Life has a funny way of ultimately imitating art.
Read the lyrics from my favorite Rush song, Red Barchetta, for a clue to the future. I'm slowly becoming the "white haired uncle" and I already have the "brilliant Red Barchetta from a better, vanished time." I just hope and pray that the "motor law" never happens.
Rustyguns is correct about battery technology and electric motors. Everyone will be running drag radials full time.
Read the lyrics from my favorite Rush song, Red Barchetta, for a clue to the future. I'm slowly becoming the "white haired uncle" and I already have the "brilliant Red Barchetta from a better, vanished time." I just hope and pray that the "motor law" never happens.
Rustyguns is correct about battery technology and electric motors. Everyone will be running drag radials full time.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,158
Likes: 1
From: St. Peters MO
This is just another pipe dream to tell the public they are doing something. This will be no different in what they tried to do with the efficiency ratings in the HVAC industry forcing manufactures to go to a "new" less efficient refrigerant that is "ozone safe" but yet has just as bad of properties for "green house" affect, and then telling them they need to increase from 10SEER to 13SEER buy a given time period.....only to end up having to give one extension after another because the tech. was not there yet.
Honda has just now come out with their Hydrogen fuel cell car and are claiming to put the hydrogen fueling station right there in your house.
Getting better battery tech. and having a generator in the car operating off of hydrogen and you will see some incredable 1/4 mile times out of an electric car............So for now things will remain political as the efficiency war will be between hydrogen fuel cell cars and small cubic inch engines running on bio-diesel with huge amounts of boost make the HP we all crave............you have to remember it's not just sports cars that have big HP #'s now days.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,030
Likes: 1
From: Douglasville Ga
At least we all agree that something has to be done. It will just take someone with deep enough pockets and big enough ***** (or whatever you have) to front the money to get an infrastructure built to support the new distribution once the technology is mainstream.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 1,837
Likes: 0
From: Washington Township OH
Cruise-In I Veteran
Cruise-In II Veteran
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10
The avatar on the left is our (on order) 2008 smart car; already meets the 2020 35 mpg CAFE average. Giving up an 02 WRX wagon to get it which breaks my heart, but as Higgs said we all need to do something.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,848
Likes: 1
From: Central Florida
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,848
Likes: 1
From: Central Florida
Funny how you never have anything good to say in any of your posts. Either way none of us know what the future holds. The one thing I do know is poor you if you know where to put that smart car, I didn't think it fit, but I'll take your word for it.. 
See it this way, now you can take a crap while standing.
See it this way, now you can take a crap while standing.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,300
Likes: 6
From: San Antonio Texas
Yeah, they must think we're stupid. They're trying to tell us they just saved the average driver $700 per year in fuel cost. They think we don't realize that the cars will cost more and we will have to pay a "luxary tax" if we want to drive a car with any kind of power.
LOL
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,300
Likes: 6
From: San Antonio Texas
Interesting discussion re 'whether that smart car will fit up...." May need to lub it just prior to placement; cuss a little; grunt a lot; lube it again; twist it a few times. etc. I suspect that when two forum members want to fit something up someone's ...., one of them will figure out a way to make it fit.
Kind of like the old Bobby Kennedy book, where a treasure man was admitted to a hosp with 2 things. First was a cucumber that the drs found in the guy's colon. Second was a note indicating that next time it would be a watermelon. As a high school or college student, we all found that hilarious.
(And my mother thought that I never learned anything in school.) I keep telling her that I ain't near as dumb as I look.
Kind of like the old Bobby Kennedy book, where a treasure man was admitted to a hosp with 2 things. First was a cucumber that the drs found in the guy's colon. Second was a note indicating that next time it would be a watermelon. As a high school or college student, we all found that hilarious.
(And my mother thought that I never learned anything in school.) I keep telling her that I ain't near as dumb as I look.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 240
Likes: 0
From: Lewistown MT
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,007
Likes: 1,488
From: Ashland, OH
Pro
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 640
Likes: 0
From: Orange County CA
Thanks for the guarantee and spelling lesson. Now, can you make the same guarantee regarding a "luxury tax"? I wonder if the ZR1 is going to be subject to a luxury tax?
MarkT