6 New Cars Worth Waiting For

[Ron61]

Maybe some of them but I would bet they are going to cost more than expected. Meanwhile the one pictured at the top has that Green Car look to it.

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...FIEc78F;_ylv=3

Ron

[trularin]

Ford is producing a nice car ( okay...I can not remember the name of it ) that is getting 40 MPG.

I really have to think about everything before I buy a new car. Four wheel drive is a must.

[Ron61]

Tru,

I think we are going to see a lot more cars soon that will get a lot better gas mileage and maybe one day a fully electric car with enough range to make it practical. The main problem I see right now with the really high mileage cars is they are small and light and would make about the same impact on a large car or truck as a big bug if you were in an accident.

Ron

[Karl Bebout]

Ron,, "big bug....." sorta like a Cobra hitting an Explorer?

[fsstnotch]

Ron, the VW Jetta TDi is getting real world 45-55mpg all highway at 75mph and 35-40 city and it is not small. It is about the same size as the current model camry. It was a very impressive driver too! Didn't feel like a diesel, it was dead quiet, options were awesome, and the price was right at about $25k fully loaded. Most of these new gas cars boasting a great fuel economy are death traps. Any accident will deem them totalled and therefore insurance rates will be high on them also. Seem like lose lose on these tiny gas sippers that often times don't even have a radio vs. a larger diesel with leather, nav, heated seats, sunroof, free 3yr 36k service plan etc etc.

IMO of course. But I'll take the larger car anyday.

2009 Jetta sets guinness world record at 58.82mpg
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/30/v...gas-mileage-at

[Ron61]

Originally Posted by fsstnotch

Ron, the VW Jetta TDi is getting real world 45-55mpg all highway at 75mph and 35-40 city and it is not small. It is about the same size as the current model camry. It was a very impressive driver too! Didn't feel like a diesel, it was dead quiet, options were awesome, and the price was right at about $25k fully loaded. Most of these new gas cars boasting a great fuel economy are death traps. Any accident will deem them totalled and therefore insurance rates will be high on them also. Seem like lose lose on these tiny gas sippers that often times don't even have a radio vs. a larger diesel with leather, nav, heated seats, sunroof, free 3yr 36k service plan etc etc.

IMO of course. But I'll take the larger car anyday.

2009 Jetta sets guinness world record at 58.82mpg
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/30/v...gas-mileage-at

I looked at a couple of those that people here have and they seemed pretty well built. I never got a chance to ride in or drive one. There are also several of the new VW Bugs running around here lately. Some are gas and some are Diesel. That is a good price that you got there.

Karl,

Yes, kind of like a Cobra splatting against a big SUV or truck except I believe most of the Cobras would fare better.

Ron

[tcrist]

In 1988 I bought an 1989 Geo Metro. 50mpg most of the time (75MPH) and even with 190K on it if I drove it around 55MPH I would still over 50MPG. Just too darn small for me.

My ex has one of those Smart cars. She gets around 40MPG, but she has to put premium fuel in it or it will void the warrenty. Pretty good car though. She was setting at a stop light and got rearended at around 35MPH (the guy did not hit his brakes at all). Only damage was a couple of brackets, the muffler and some plastic bolt on pieces.

Supprised the heck out of me.

Terry

[fsstnotch]

Ya, those smart cars have no crumple zones. Good for a minor accident, BAD for somehting serious because your body is going to take the full force of the collision. But that is why these cars are meant for city driving. Doubt you see too many of em on the highway.

[Wes Tausend]

...

There are several larger, and therefore safer, vehicles appearing using electric drive assist and capable of higher efficiency.

Some SUV video review's:

Toyota Highlander Hybrid . . . .Chevy Tahoe Hybrid


Pick-up Crew Cab Road Test:

Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid

I think they're hard to get, and overly pricy, unlike the smaller Ford Escape, Prius and Honda insight. But it's a start. Articles and factory promotions still tend to "darn them with faint praise", like GM did to downplay the early electrics. They tend to work better for consumers than literature lets on. A little foot-dragging, I suppose, to save brand V8's and brand hydraulic trannies, the only mainstay propriety products of current manfacturers over and above every car's majority generic vendor parts.

The Silverado/Tahoe hybrid units use a combo hydraulic/electric transmission system co-developed by Chrysler/Daimler and BMW. The Toyota uses straight electric coupling, their late generation Hybrid Synergy Drive, which is the looming more efficient future. Over 250HP and 31mpg city.

I imagine it is going to get better. Much better. Imagine the fuel efficient VW Jetta TDi diesel driving a more efficient full electric tranny with full braking recovery via battery.
In other words, the diesel hybrid.

Wes

...

[fsstnotch]

My boss at the car lot accidentally bought one of those hybrid silverados. JUNK!!! The best i could get in it was about 27mpg. This was a reg cab, 2wd, longbed. I used it for about a month as my daily driver becuase I was remodeling. Put a load of sheet rock in teh bed.... 19mpg. That is pitiful IMO because you pay extra for the hybrid and it doesn't get much better mpg than a new gas f150. I was getting 21 loaded or unloaded in my lifted F250 crew 4x4 diesel. Diesel engines run a premium but if they are taken car of, they'll last!

A diesel hybrid..... that could be interesting!!! Gov't will never allow it to happen though. They would lose so much money in tax!

[Wes Tausend]

Originally Posted by fsstnotch

My boss at the car lot accidentally bought one of those hybrid silverados. JUNK!!! The best i could get in it was about 27mpg. This was a reg cab, 2wd, longbed. I used it for about a month as my daily driver becuase I was remodeling. Put a load of sheet rock in teh bed.... 19mpg. That is pitiful IMO because you pay extra for the hybrid and it doesn't get much better mpg than a new gas f150. I was getting 21 loaded or unloaded in my lifted F250 crew 4x4 diesel. Diesel engines run a premium but if they are taken car of, they'll last!

A diesel hybrid..... that could be interesting!!! Gov't will never allow it to happen though. They would lose so much money in tax!

fsstnotch

If it was a regular cab, the Silverado could have been a one-off version.
The usual configuration is the battery has to be under the back seat.

It is true that they don't do that well, about the same on the highway as the standard Silverado. In town they supposedly get about 20, still not much better. They seem like an over-priced half-hearted attempt to build a decent hybrid.

My thought was that GM was desperate to include any kind of energy-sucking hydraulic transmission, probably Marketing telling Engineering what to do. Without internal combustion engines and auto trannies, American manufacturers such as GM are toast. Everything else is generic vendor parts, including manual trannies and differentials. Well, except for the punchpress sheetmetal ...which any appliance manufacturer regards as a minor department.

The Toyota Highlander is significantly better, but still a bit small.
Kudos to Toyota for letting the engineering team do it's best, anyway.

I have a 2000 Ford Excursion that has the same 1½ ton framerails and 10½ inch rear axle as your F-250, but I have the gas-guzzler V10. The sheer weight and heavy gears makes for lower fuel economy when empty, compared to a Chevy 'Burb.

However, like you say, I've known folks that have the Powerstroke diesel and they get good enough mileage to beat many gas sedans. In our case, we don't drive the Ex much, except for towing or bad weather, so fuel economy doesn't matter percentage-wise. When towing it does as well, fuel-wise, as a much lighter duty ¾ ton Suburban, but better for stability.

If the wife drove the 7000+ pound Excursion half the time and her 2800 pound Prius half the time, she would still average 26 mpg city.

Wes

...

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by Wes Tausend

...

There are several larger, and therefore safer, vehicles appearing using electric drive assist and capable of higher efficiency.

Some SUV video review's:

Toyota Highlander Hybrid . . . .Chevy Tahoe Hybrid


Pick-up Crew Cab Road Test:

Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid

I think they're hard to get, and overly pricy, unlike the smaller Ford Escape, Prius and Honda insight. But it's a start. Articles and factory promotions still tend to "darn them with faint praise", like GM did to downplay the early electrics. They tend to work better for consumers than literature lets on. A little foot-dragging, I suppose, to save brand V8's and brand hydraulic trannies, the only mainstay propriety products of current manfacturers over and above every car's majority generic vendor parts.

The Silverado/Tahoe hybrid units use a combo hydraulic/electric transmission system co-developed by Chrysler/Daimler and BMW. The Toyota uses straight electric coupling, their late generation Hybrid Synergy Drive, which is the looming more efficient future. Over 250HP and 31mpg city.

I imagine it is going to get better. Much better. Imagine the fuel efficient VW Jetta TDi diesel driving a more efficient full electric tranny with full braking recovery via battery.
In other words, the diesel hybrid.

Wes

...

VW had a diesel hybrid prototype and then scrapped it as it would be mixing two expensive technologies, which would be too expensive overall in price.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008...d-dead-tsi.php

[fsstnotch]

Wes, ya it was a reg cab... pretty sure it was factory hybrid. It had all the hybrid emblems and junk. he bought it at the auction and didn't pay close enough attention to see that it was hybrid or he wouldn't have bought it.

I have 2 other friends with F250's. One has an 01 extended cab longbed V10. 6" lift, 35" BFG M/T's.. gets 8mpg. The other has an 06 King ranch crew 4x4 PSD 4" lift. He has no mods except a chip and he averages 21mpg city in street mode. I had 05 crew FX4 with about every mod available except a bigger turbo and I was getting around 21 city with 35" M/T's. I got 17mpg pulling a 21' trailer with 3 ton of wood pellets and 1 ton in the bed, up and down hills!

[bomelia]

Originally Posted by trularin

Ford is producing a nice car ( okay...I can not remember the name of it ) that is getting 40 MPG.

I really have to think about everything before I buy a new car. Four wheel drive is a must.

That would be the Hybrid Fusion