Fuel Sippers Gaining on Heavyweights

[kskiska]

As Gasoline Prices Continue to Rise, Large Vehicles Lose Favor

Thursday, May 20, 2004; Page A01

Ever since gas prices started spiking last month, customers have been flocking to one side of Lustine Toyota/Dodge in Woodbridge and ignoring the other.

"The Dodge truck business is way down," General Manager Jim Giddings said, because of what he called "this gas thing." He's on track to sell just 36 Dodge trucks this month, compared with 68 during the same month last year.

Toyota sales, on the other hand, are up 38 percent so far in May. One of the big drivers is the Prius, the gas-electric hybrid that has become a phenomenon in the past year, with Giddings holding a waiting list of more than 50 customers.

As average gas prices have topped $2 a gallon this month for the first time, cracks are emerging in America's decade-long obsession with bigger and bigger vehicles. Drivers are starting to think about the cost of cruising in two tons of steel, and some are turning to a new crop of innovative -- and more economical -- smaller cars.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41132-2004May19.html

[leesa]

1. Well, the gas hog makers have conned their final fortune out of the silly

Americans. The majority of Americans are truly nitwits! Stuck with twelve mile per gallon pigs the auto industry conned them into buying and then the oil barons jack up the price of oil. SLICK!

[bahrbearian]

7. It's Patriotic to Drive an SUV and It helped the Economy after 9-11

[DemoTex]

2. Why did those fools buy those big cars and trucks?

This was inevitable. What were they thinking?

I've got a Saab wagon that gets 32 MPG and a Sube Outback wagon that gets 28 MPG, and I'm looking for better. I don't think I can do better, given my needs.

[Catch22Dem]

3. The Saab over the Sube

As far as mileage goes? I'll be damned. Wouldn't have thunk it.

[DemoTex]

5. Sube is AWD and a little boxy.

The Saab is as slick as a Porsche (and I have had two of those), or maybe slicker. At 65 on the interstate the Saab gets around 35 mpg. Great car with great acceleration (the turbo-factor).

[patriotvoice]

10. The new SAABs are quite stellar.

But I prefer Volvos. I drive an older model (1985), and it gets 28MPG highway.

Not bad for a nearly 20 year old car. See eg:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymake/Volvo1985.shtml

[goforit]

4. I'm enjoying watching them every minute.................nuttin but fools!!

Those whom have the eco-cars..........

Laughing all the way to the bank!!!!

All the power to them all!!!!!

:bounce:

[Gloria]

6. The next thing I want to see is the demise of the diesel pickups...

We're crawling with them here....big, stinky, diesels all around the suburbs....

[2cents]

8. '70's redux

The Japanese will clean up again.

[DBoon]

9. Whatever happened to the EV1?

So once again Detroit tries to blow off the regulators by a token electric vehicle that they pull from the market (after half-whitted marketing)?

It's the 1970's all over again. American car makers spend their time lobbying for breaks in regulations, Japanese car makers build cars that work. Who do you think will win?

[gbwarming]

11. Crushed by GM

http://ev1-club.power.net/archive/031219/index.htm


----------------
(I don't know this whole story, here are some clues)
http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/ev1crush.html

Are they really crushing EV1s?

YES! They are. Makes you cry doesn't it?

An earlier post by someone on the ev1-club list, later picked up on the
EVlist and EVWorld:

It seems that General Motors has recently granted permission for a number of 1999 generation 2 EV1s to be crushed sometime in the very near future. Despite having over 1000 people on waiting lists for these vehicles, GM has made it perfectly clear that NO new customers will get an EV1 and there will be NO lease assumptions. There are also hundreds of generation 1 vehicles that will be crushed because GM decided to re-lease only a few to those individuals who had their vehicles recalled last year (these vehicles have been fixed and enhanced with advanced Panasonic lead acid batteries).

[DBoon]

13. And will Toyota now crush GM?

n/t

[2cents]

14. Your right about who will win

But as far as the working bit, in '79 I bought a new Olds and it served me well for 14yrs.

Understandably, the price of gas will be the bottom line for most.

[LastDemocratInSC]

12. Every few years, like a meteorite strike, gas crises hit ...

... and separate the wise from the foolish (fuelish, I meant to say).

[arikara]

15. I have an 86 Sunbird

When I bought it new, it cost me $18 to fill when it was bone dry. The other day I filled and it took $47. I use a tank a week commuting. I'm going to put my name on the list for a Smart Car... 60 MPG in the city.

http://www.thesmart.ca/index.cfm?ID=3371&Language=English

[Kolesar]

16. Bill Ford of Ford Motor Co announced producing more small vehicles

Months ago, Bill Ford announced that high gasoline prices are here to stay, so "his" company is going to tool up for more small, fuel efficient vehicles. He predicted a shift in the market demand.

Good for Bill.

[htuttle]

17. I got 105 mpg last week!

And had a blast doing it!



For about $2,250, you can too:
http://www.bajajusa.com

[Throckmorton]

18. How is it in the snow?

I need four wheels and a roof. Honda Civic next time, to replace the mini-van.

[htuttle]

19. I live in Wisconsin

And I rode it every day this last winter except for about a week and a half's worth of days when I took taxicabs. If you get better tires (Zippy 3's would be my suggestion), it's great in the snow.

I won't ride it if it's icy, however. Mostly because I have trouble with my feet slipping at stop lights -- not because the tires slip.

Also, since this is a bike from India, you'd want to get a 'hotter' spark plug for cold weather so it doesn't foul as quickly. I did about 1/2 way through the winter, and it made for much easier starting and running in the morning.

Yes, it was often cold! I bundled up and wore a facemask when it was below 20F. But the winters have been trending toward warmer around here anyway.

:shrug:

You cannot beat spending about $1 or so per week on gas, however.



dramatization -- not me in photo


Need more space? Get a sidecar:

dramatization -- not me either, I just think the sidecar is cool!