by coffee_black 46 Replies latest jw friends
Well insane conspiracy theory ranting and raving aside, the reason is because the EPA has changed the way MPG is calculated.
Very true. I have gotten better mileage than the ratings very regularly under the new scheme.
There is a huge difference from what you 'remember' getting MPG back in 1985 when speeds were 55 MPH vs. today with much higher speeds and electronic equipment to power.
True as well.
BTS
These circumstances can occur between certain cars based on high the 4th gear is designed in the transmission
For example I own a large full size luxury car, but because the overdrive is so high I get 32 MPG. on the freeway.
Which did kind of surprised me when I found out
Coffee, I am looking at buying a Kia Rondo. Looks like it gives you what you need, a lot of room and good fuel economy:
http://www.kia.com/rondo/index.php
http://www.edmunds.com/kia/rondo/review.html
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/kia-rondo/
There really isnt anything like it on American roads. It is the size of a small car, but can be had with three-row seating.
It gets pretty good reviews. The Chevy HHR is also pretty big. The one with the 4 cyl hsa an EPA MPG of 30. If my past experience is a guide, you can probably get more than 32 out of it. I find the EPA numbers to be on the low side, but I do accelerate slowly and don't speed on the highway to save gas.
BTS
Part of the MPG dillema is caused by horsepower vs weigh.
You could have a heavy car powered by a motor that produces an efficient amount of power to move it efficiently.
You could build a light car that's a bit underpowered and would be less efficient if pushed into the high end of it's powerband.
Simply put... an underpowered car thats pushed can be as inefficient as a overpowered car that produces more power than it needs to travel at a moderate speed.
Drive gear ratios play a part in this also.
I drive a pick up that gets pretty good mileage if lightly loaded and driven at speeds that keep rpms less than 2000. That works out to about 23 MPG at 60 miles and hour. The same truck and a 5000 pound trailer gets about 14 or 15 MPG running the same speed... but the engine runs at about 2300 rpm to do that work.
Didnt Cadillac offer a system that lets the ignition computor drop a few cylinders out at highway speeds... to improve efficiency?
Most well tuned cars that are serviced correctly should get better MPG as tolerances loosen up in the engine and moving parts.. less friction -better mileage.
GM and Saturn was a revolution back in the day. GM sorta gave up and Saturn has lost it's way. Thats a shame... if GM would have brought the creative and progressive early Saturn models to the rest of it's line it would still be a front runner in sales today.
Jeff
Didnt Cadillac offer a system that lets the ignition computor drop a few cylinders out at highway speeds... to improve efficiency?
That was in the late 70's, if I recall correctly. "8 6 4"
Wait I found it, early 80's. And it was a nightmare:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658524,00.html
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1980-1989-cadillac2.htm
BTS
I thought that Northstar system lingered on into the 2000's models? But then I never look twice at Cad's, Lincons, Roll's........
If it wont pull a horse trailer I just dont notice it.......
Hill
If it wont pull a horse trailer I just dont notice it.......
Wake up!
If my Expedition can tow almost 9000 lbs, the Navigator should do about the same (same basic vehicle) as should an Escalade.
BTS
If it wont pull a horse trailer I just dont notice it.......
I hope to get a horsy once all the land is cleared and fenced. For my boy. We've got extensive trails near here.
BTS
Yeah, MPG is not a simple issue when it comes to cars, a lot of the design of the car goes into, as others have stated.
For instance, I have a 2006 GTO which is a 6.0L V8, and I now get 24mpg out of it. And I even modified it to the point that it puts out 525 rwhp using 60lb injectors. While many v6 and quite a few 4 cyclinders don't get the gas mileage I do. Go figure.
Don't believe the conspiracy theories on MPG, it's all about supply and demand, and what's making money. Gas prices have gone up faster then vehicle makers can develop new cars to handle the shift in consumer demand. Before these gas prices, Americans wanted SUV's, because we didn't care about gas mileage. For the car maker, the money wasn't in gas mileage, it was in big luxuary. Now times are changing, and it will take 3-5 years for most manufacturers to change their lines. In the meantime they are suffering dramatic profit losses. If the car manufacturers and oil companies were in bed together before, they surely aren't now, because the Oil companies are slitting car manufactuers throat.
Lots of good mpg fuel solutions out there, just look around, and don't depend on big business to be the only people with solutions.
buy a vw, something in the small range and and make it run on used oil which is free most of the time.
