echo & house - burned (looking for used car capable of 45 mpg @ 65 mph)

[moonmonkey]

hey all sadly the (silver clown ) is no more. but this leads to some excitment! i am now forced to start the search for the perfect ecomodder car. it must be used. budget is 6500-8500. and be capable of 45 mpg or more at 65mph highway speeds (my echo was). and have a/c.other than that im open to suggestions.prefer 2002 or newer. as of now the prius is at the top of my list because of the kits that allow the addition of extra battery packs. but almost all of my driving is 45-65 . so dont know how much they would help.any other ideas on what would be the best car to start with? cant buy right now but soon. if it is prius what is best year to buy for modding,including the extra battery pack kits.echo made it to 198800 with only two problems,tranny at 175k and a/c blower fan at 198k,, was a great car!before my house melted it.<a href="http://s1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/marvidman/?action=view&amp;current=burnt003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1253.photobucket.com/albums/hh582/marvidman/burnt003.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[Daox]

Doh, sorry to hear about that!

To answer your question the 2nd gen (04-09) generally has the most aftermarket support as of right now.

I'd definitely take the (poorly worded) opportunity to evaluate how to rebuild the house though. Unless you travel very large distances to work and back, your house probably uses more energy daily than your vehicle. Focusing on a few inexpensive improvements in rebuilding could save you literally tons of energy usage.

[MetroMPG]

sadly the (silver clown ) is no more. but this leads to some excitment!

I'd say it looks like the excitement has already happened!

As for replacement car, if you don't need the interior volume, consider the 1st generation Insight as well (5 speed is best).

[moonmonkey]

i guess i need 4 seats sometimes as well, so the older insight is out ,,im leaning prius,,doax what energy savings are you talking about ,that home had maximised r value's everywhere i could get it. are you talking solar? im looking to rebuild it as well, im sure there are green builders down here in fla,. but its not as big as in cali and other states. but anything that can save me $$$ in the long run im for it. i have a few monthes to research it ,any sites you know of with legit info on green building , . p.s. im an ecomodder and conservationist/enviromentalist,as long as it pays back $.

[Daox]

Well, Ecomodder's sister site EcoRenovator is basically EM but for houses. The users there can help out with the entire process.

Off the top of my head though I can think of a few imporant things:
-ensure the new building meets strict levels of air sealing (beyond energy star levels), this is very important
-insulate beyond standard levels (very minimal cost for the gains and fast ROI)
-use a light colored roof, preferably one with some reflective qualities to reduce heat gain from the sun since you're primary concern is cooling
-design overhangs so you don't get direct sunlight in summer, but do in winter

There is an organization called "Passive House" that literally builds houses so they don't need heating/cooling systems (or at the most use tiny systems). You don't have to go that far, but taking a few tricks out of their playbook can really get you a long ways. I'd look for a builder experienced with passive house design to do your work. Its a different way of building that incorperates not only higher r values and superb air sealing, but also thermal brakes and some other techniques to reduce heaing/cooling energy use. You have a great chance to start over here and with passive house techniques you can come very close to eliminating heating and cooling energy usage not to mention having a very comfortable house to live in.

[beatr911]

Daox, thanks for the passive house tip. Wish I had that info when we built our house in '06. I used some of the techniques on my shop though. The passive heating and daylighting is fabulous!

[IsaacCarlson]

I built a house for a friend of mine, and the walls are two feet thick. The house is 30x60 with two floors. He uses a 1 or 2 gallon electric boiler to heat the floor and that is it. Even when it is -30 outside, it is like a warm spring day inside.
You can't hear all the noise from the outside world either. He lives about 150 feet from the tracks and you have a hard time telling when a train goes by.
I don't even remember what the R-value is....it was around 80 I think.

[euromodder]

Always a sad sight to see someone's burned down house.
But as long as it's only material stuff that goes up in flames, it's replaceable.

Good luck rebuilding your home - and with the car search.
If you can afford the extra initial expenses, passive is the way to build.

[oil pan 4]

You do a lot of highway driving get a VW diesel.

[j12piprius]

Moonmonkey, I'm sorry that happened to you and hope you've recovered and are doing much better. I see you have a 2005 Prius now. I might get one myself, as my Civic was recently stolen.