Hyundai to instruct on FE driving

[user removed]

I would be glad if they wanted to tell me how to get better mileage (yeah right!) if they would let me tell them how to build a better car.

regards
Mech

[renault_megane_dci]

Cars are built to whitstand mis-use (to a point), to be compliant with process assembly (again to save money), to be compliant with rules, either crash test or emissions and to suit the average joe's taste (wich might not be yours) and all in all : to allow the car maker to get big money out of them.

Now if you think you can beat them to this compromise, you're awaited in the arena ...

Anyway, I assume you think about domestic car being very improveable and I do agree : japanese or european cars are built to break through in a much more demanding market, technologically speaking

[bschloop]

hyundai was well on the way to meeting this goal in the 90's. that is before they started making their cars heavier. My wifes 2000 accent gets 45mpg highway/35 mpg city(disclaimer, I think the EPA says something like 28/36), and it has 225,000 miles on it. whatever happened to 85hp being enough for an economy car?

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by bschloop

whatever happened to 85hp being enough for an economy car?

That thing got a Hemi?

By definition, the economy market isn't big on spending money while car companies are big on spending as little as possible and targeting big spenders. Car dealers aren't fans of economy, either: it takes a dealership as much time and effort to sell a $12,000 car as it takes to sell a $30,000 car. Guess which one they make more money on, and guess which customer they expect to spend more on accessories and service? Nobody's going to target the economy market except as a long term way to make money on the next car those folks buy- when they have more money.

In the US market a small, efficient car is what people buy when they can't afford a real car because the guys who build the market don't make money on small, efficient cars.

[bschloop]

it takes a dealership as much time and effort to sell a $12,000 car as it takes to sell a $30,000 car.

The last time I walked into a Ford dealer and asked if they had a base model fiesta I was told they couldn't keep them in the lot, and that they wished that ford would send more because they sell themselves. in contrast they had an auto trans/ power everything version that had been sitting for 5 months, because it cost $3000 more. dealers almost never have to mark down or give special offers on economy cars.

[user removed]

I don't remember the source but I heard today that the public thinks the point of action on fuel cost is $5.30 a gallon. While I may not agree with that statement, I understand the point being that the public has been brainwashed into complacence on energy costs.
I guess it's time for action when you are tossing 50 cents a mile out the window in your FSP at 10 MPG.

I guess when I was getting 45 MPG in 1984 I was just an idiot driving around in a tiny death trap. I wonder how much money I have today compared to what I would have if I had driven something that got 10 MPG for the last 28 years and probably 500k miles.

Maybe they don't understand that regardless of the price, that is 50,000 gallons of fuel.
At today's prices that is pushing $200,000. That amount in your pocket today would place you in probably the top 15% of the US in personal net worth, to say nothing about the money you could have earned on that much if you had saved it. Maybe half a million.

regards
mech

[renault_megane_dci]

All in all, I think there is a fair effort of education to be made to the public because fuel efficiency is not only about moving around for a price, it is about equilibrium between human and nature ...

[mja1]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

That thing got a Hemi?

new dodge vehicles branded 'hemi' are more similar to a pent-roof style combustion chamber, found on many 85 hp economy cars... so in some stretch of the terminology yes.

[night9]

I know that the Elantra is more than capable of meeting its EPA rating because I own one. Just the weekend I was getting 46mpg on a small trip around town. Its just hard for people doing well over 70 on the Highway and racing to stop signs and stop lights to get good fuel economy. People are just unrealistic about being able to get good fuel economy while still driving like its a race to the finish. The Elantra was getting 22mpg over an entire tank before I found ecomodder.com and learned to change my bad driving habits. Now I'm just doing my best to spread the word to the people I know. My fuel economy has improved but isn't as good as the EPA numbers because of all the waiting in the schools car pool line (which I avoid at all costs) and driving up and down massive hills to and from work that kills my fuel economy. It always seams that the hills kill my mileage no matter how easy I take it. I've tried driving with load with no avail. Just my $.02 on the matter.

[dirtha]

This topic is old, I know, but I just wanted to second night9's experience to any one cursing their "low MPG" Elantra who stumbles upon this thread.
I've gotten 45.5 mpg driving hilly interstate, keeping to the 65 mph speed limit with a light foot on the accelerator. My daughter achieved tanks of 39.2 and 38.8 mpg on an 800 mile trip, with 2 passengers and a week's worth of luggage. These figures were NOT determined by the Elantra's slightly suspect dashboard computer, and this is highway mileage, not around town.
A Scangauge II really helped us find the sweet spot with the throttle, but the technique just requires the using the lightest pressure on the pedal to maintain speed.
Additionally, I found the Elantra coasts in 6th gear almost as if it were in neutral. The Shiftronic transmission can also be used to coast in 6th much longer before downshift than in regular automatic mode. Take your foot of the gas going downhill! (And before anybody cries about having to use weird techniques to get to Hyundai's EPA number, the above mileages were achieved before I discovered the Elantra's gliding prowess.)