How do we educate our own ...

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

At $109,000 a pop, I don't think so.

OK, then the Honda Insight I bought used for about $8500, and have averaged 70+ mpg over the 5 years I've had it, by not driving particularly slow. Or the CRX I had before that, that would do better than 40 mpg. Or even my long-gone Austin-Healey Sprite.

The point is that there's a lot more to be gained by changing the cars so they're more efficient, than from forcing everyone to drive slowly. And it's likely to be easier: you just spend some advertising money selling the idea of small, nimble, fun cars instead of oversized penis substitutes, instead of hiring bunches of traffic cops, with all the support apparatus.

And how much gas would be wasted by having all those extra traffic cops driving around in their Crown Vics all day?

[wagonman76]

Many here think Im an old fart for driving the speed limit and taking it easy. My friends, my coworkers, even my wife. I dont care.

Many here also take positive notice of my ecomods and how I am getting the mpg I am getting. They think it is cool. I explained how they could save gas money, especially some the long distance drivers. But it just doesnt matter enough to them to try it for themselves. Their loss I guess. Its hard to change when the EPA gods say that a certain vehicle is supposed to get a certain mpg and those are the people who pay someone else to do every service for them. A bumper sticker Ive been thinking of is "Ecomodder.com - Your mpg is up to you".

I see it here all the time, people would rather build ginormous kamms, change their wheels, gut their interiors and block their grilles before slowing down, it simply makes no sense.

I dont know about that for sure. I know at least me, I joined here because I was interested in saving fuel. And I had been interested in saving fuel long before I found the site. So before joining here I already had done the things I knew I could do, and slowing down was #1 on the list. Might as well start with what can be done for free and without work. The mods were for seeking further improvement.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

OK, then the Honda Insight I bought used for about $8500, and have averaged 70+ mpg over the 5 years I've had it, by not driving particularly slow. Or the CRX I had before that, that would do better than 40 mpg. Or even my long-gone Austin-Healey Sprite.

The point is that there's a lot more to be gained by changing the cars so they're more efficient, than from forcing everyone to drive slowly. And it's likely to be easier: you just spend some advertising money selling the idea of small, nimble, fun cars instead of oversized penis substitutes, instead of hiring bunches of traffic cops, with all the support apparatus.

And how much gas would be wasted by having all those extra traffic cops driving around in their Crown Vics all day?

Yes I totally agree with you there. Put all those Super Doodie drivin' leadfoots into Metros and they can keep their bad behavior- at least the damage will be less.

[Christ]

If only the police drove Metros... they'd be easier to out run...

Or, 4 guys could move their car to another parking space while they're in getting donuts... lmao.

Ah, dreams are fun.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

I see it here all the time, people would rather build ginormous kamms, change their wheels, gut their interiors and block their grilles before slowing down, it simply makes no sense.

I like to split the difference.

If I can improve my car's efficiency through mods, I will likely spend some of the "efficiency dividend" on slightly higher speeds (highway cruising, I'm talking about).

So my average speed (which is already WELL below average, where I'm not impeding traffic) goes up, but so does my fuel efficiency, compared to pre-mod. Win - win!

I mean, sure I could probably pulse and glide to my destination at an average speed of 15 mph and get 130-150 mpg (US). But does that make sense?

[Christ]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I mean, sure I could probably pulse and glide to my destination at an average speed of 15 mph and get 130-150 mpg (US). But does that make sense?

In the event that everything is a 20 minute drive to the other side of a country town where there is no legal speed limit and no paved roads, yes.

I used to love messing around on dirt roads.

[wyatt]

Originally Posted by Christ

If only the police drove Metros... they'd be easier to out run...

Or, 4 guys could move their car to another parking space while they're in getting donuts... lmao.

Ah, dreams are fun.

I used to own a Chevy Sprint... a two door hatch back with a 0.9L 3cyl engine... that thing was LIGHT, and it still took 6 people (granted not the biggest high schoolers) to lift it and move it in between two huge trucks... Not to say it couldn't be done with 4 big guys...

[Christ]

I'm not big, but me and another guy equal to my size can lift the whole front of my car off the ground.

I weigh about 150lbs, 5'8", no muscle tone at all... in fact, I appear quite the opposite of a stereo-typical "strong" person my age (23).

When I put the engine in my 4th gen Honda, I lifted the old one out with a strap around my neck... it's about 300lbs with the transmission and accessories, still full of fluids.

I didn't put the new one in that way though, I used the help of my roommate at the time.

It took four of us to move my friend's old VW beetle 50 feet (school science teacher thing) And I would venture to say that none of us was much bigger than I am now.

Point is, it's not so much how stong you look or how big you are, it's knowing how to use the strength you have to your advantage.

This applies everywhere, all the time, including non-physical strengths.

[blueflame]

A lot of adrenaline or PCP can help with strength....

RE the speeding masses:

People do things without thinking. Life is a series of habits and only conscious thought will reveal them to the robotic do'er.

When a pick pocket meets a holy man, he will only see his pockets.

If everyone in the world meditated all at the same time, just once, for only 15minutes, on the benefits of slowing down, sitting cross legged on the bonnet of their car, we would see emergency departments emptier, domestic violence down, crime down...

But alas if everyone took twice as long to get somewhere there would be twice as many cars on the road????

Or if everyone travelled twice as fast there would be half as many cars on the road, less congestion, reduced vehicle accident probabilities (not including speed related), less waiting at lights.....

Oh I'm so confused

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Christ

In the event that everything is a 20 minute drive to the other side of a country town where there is no legal speed limit and no paved roads, yes.

Except that describes the conditions where I'm going to ride my bike instead of drive.