how to tackle the 'new car' issue? How can we change manufacturers minds?

[320touring]

cfg83- excellent comment re the kei cars!

its interesting that the kei car is also influential in public infrastructure development in japanese cities-car parking spaces etc are designed to take them.

Also..most if not all the kei cars are powered by small petrol turbo lumps-an ecomodder's dream

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Here in the US, Ford, GM, and Honda offer improved MPG options packs for selected models. They just don?t advertise them much.

i'd be interested to see examples of this please? I'm fairly au fait with the EU ones, not too hot on the US..

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Yeah, I think you need to build incentives into owning economy cars, aka (or a-KEI-a?) Japan :CarloSW2

Sure wish our regs allowed, much less promoted, kei cars.

I was thinking of including a fourth factor, fuel prices, but when gas was $4/gallon here I swear everybody and their brother here ran out and got new Silverados.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Sure wish our regs allowed, much less promoted, kei cars.

I was thinking of including a fourth factor, fuel prices, but when gas was $4/gallon here I swear everybody and their brother here ran out and got new Silverados.

$4 a gallon is not a lot..i'm paying about $7 per US gallon here- with my daily commute (50 mile round trip-fairly long for the uk) its xosting me approx $50 per week just to get to work.

However, i'm in a catch 22 scenario.. There are no direct public transport services to my workplace.and the variations available would take it up to a 6hr commute, not to mention be more expensive!

once the girl i work with is back off of maternity leave, we'll car-share, keeping our costs down.

So is fuel pricing effective when there is no transport infrastructure available as an alternative? Or is it just a way to make more revenue without reinvesting?

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I was thinking of including a fourth factor, fuel prices, but when gas was $4/gallon here I swear everybody and their brother here ran out and got new Silverados.

That's because the new ones were so much more fuel efficient.

[Frank Lee]

If fuel prices remain elevated LONG enough we see a miniscule trend away from guzzlers. As long as people think it's just a price spike, they keep guzzling, but they'll whine a little bit to any nearby reporters.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by 320touring

Regarding the mods you suggest should be stock-i've never understood why fwd cars have such huge 'transmission tunnels'..

That's what you get when platforms are modular and used by various manufacturers.
If one wants to add an AWD option, the platform and every car built upon it will get a transmission tunnel.

i also question re the the 'hdi' point whether there is an inverse relationship between exernal controls (like ecu's etc) and the gains recouped once additional servicing and manufacturing is considered?

If you drive enough, it is more economic.

But many people here are buying diesels because of the 15% government rebate that makes them more attractive to buy, regardless of wether it's the right option for them in the long run.
For many buyers, it simply isn't economical to buy a rather complex current diesel.

[CigaR007]

Having ecomods as an option is good and all, but the true savings will only come to reality if those same ecomods are complemented with better driving habits.

The average joe will not see substantial gains from those mods alone.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

1. What sells. F150 has been the #1 selling vehicle in N.A. for decades, not Metros. All the mfgs are going to try to build F150s then.

But of course that means that all of us who don't want an F-150 or clone are left out in the cold. It's essentially the same thinking that lost the US auto industry 50% of the US market: because their big cars sold well, they thought they could go on making only big cars, leaving a market niche where the VW Beetle and all its followers could penetrate.

It's this kind of thinking that persuades me that the thread title is the problem: we can't change the automakers' minds because they don't HAVE minds.

[Odin]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Here in the US, Ford, GM, and Honda offer improved MPG options packs for selected models. They just don’t advertise them much.

all these company's make diesel an option in Europe but none stay in the US except massive trucks. If they wanted a real MPG option we'd be getting the fiesta tdci here