Notable eco-cars (old & new) spotted in the wild: post your pics!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

I'd like to go all classic and Hypermile one of these at some point

I've seen a few of these Citroën AX in Uruguay. They're a nice base for some eco projects

[California98Civic]

I like the single wiper.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I like the single wiper.

Me too. But I'd rather make it keep standing when not in use.

[Arragonis]

In the early 1990s I ran an original Mini, in fact a City E like this one :



1.0 A-"Plus" engine (stiffer block) but low compression so only 40hp. I started a job 20 motorway miles away and the old Mini wasn't much use at speed - you could slipstream cars and hear the air vents go quiet if you were close enough

Anyway it needed fixing (surprise!) so went to the dealer for a day and I got a Metro van to use :



The same engine, heavier car, longer 4th gear (18.5 mph/1000 rpm vs 17.2 for the Mini) and better aero.

That better aero was excellent and that van and me pushed BMWs out of the fast lane all that day.

So when the original AX came along (sans Diesel in the UK for a while) I pondered a 1.0, 5 sp for a while. A really base model, no radio, no wheel covers, keep fit window handles.

I didn't put my money down as the dealer wanted too much. Lucky actually as the 1.0 engine was older than god even in the early 1990s and not that long living or easy to fix.

A 1.5 Diesel would be OK, the original 1.4 had an Iron block and the later 1.5 had an alloy one which was meant to be noisier but the reverse was actually true. Both had rotary pumps so veggie oil is a must.

There was a Metro 1.4 Diesel which used the same 1.4 engine as the AX and then a Rover 115d (Metro renamed) which used the 1.5D which kinds of brings the story full circle.

A test of the Rover 1.4 Diesel here.

Top speed 86 mph, 0-60 19.4 seconds, MPG 47

The Metro / Rover car was better all round (better made, better suspension, better handling) but for some reason had really low gearing - about 19mph/1000 rpm compared to about 25 in the AX - so it was noisy at speed.

[freebeard]

...better suspension...

Rubber in torsion or something else?

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Rubber in torsion or something else?

Interconnected Hydragas.

The first version of the Metro (the one that used the A-Series engines from the Mini) had independent Hydragas units - the later version which used the K-series and Diesel engines used interconnected items.

The Hydragas suspension was finally modified to accept front to rear interconnection in the way that Alex Moulton so desperately wanted to bring the car back up to standard in terms of handling and ride quality.

Contemporary tests at the time suggested the handling was as good as if not better than a Peugeot 205 which was the standard, the Pug is better looking though

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Edit 2- Maybe thats the Eco ?

Judging by the wheel covers, lower sills (bumpers, sides) it's indeed the rare, old eco version.

That's got to be one of the first really eco OEM cars ...

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

It doesn't look really bad.

[Arragonis]

The van was quite good, better aero than a Mini but the same engine.

Which is why we pushed BMWs out of the fast lane.

[War_Wagon]

1996 Ford Festiva with I think 148k kms (91k miles), too bad it's an automatic.



And I liked this little car. 1999 Saturn SC1, 5 speed, with 192k KMs (119k miles). Really clean, even under the hood, with nearly new snow tires. I took my Civic Si to Edmonton last week (2300 km round trip, through the Rocky mountains), and while it made it fine, I don't want it to get chipped up etc. I might have to start making that trip regularly so this might be a good replacement.