US cars and trucks hit record gas mileage in 2012

[beluga]

Originally Posted by Ryland

Look at auto magazines and TV shows, they only focus on power and looks.

Peoples first comment on VW's XL1 is that it's ugly, and whenever a vehicle is imported in to the USA it always gets the largest engine, the rest of the world does just fine with 1.2L engines in their compact cars, but for us we NEED a 2L engine.

I drove a 666cc car in Japan, often up to 70mph on their toll freeways. Doable. Not comfortable but doable. 3 cylinder car. That thing had tires as skinny as the moped I also drove there. And I once drove 8 people down the road in it.

I think 1.2-1.5L is PUHLENTY for US roads. I wish my current car was 1.5L or less instead of 2.0L, but I didn't have many (in hindsight not so affordable) used options to choose from on craigslist...

If you're maxing out at 70mph, no reason to have anything over 1.5L. And if you're on ecomodder, we're all doing around 50-65mph on freeways no?

[mcrews]

What???

[UltArc]

I'll be honest, I skipped page 2- but in the eco world, we have to pay to play. The standard is a base car, we have to pay to be fairly equipped.

If all the cars were done as well as they could be, what would be built next year? I think about planned obsolescence. The original Razor cell phones, still to the day people keep buying old ones and using them (or keeping extras) because they last for years- I know one person (an old friends mom) with a collection of ATT Razors because hers lasted forever, and she was afraid of getting something crappy when it finally died.

Why aren't all cars built with the best parts, and done as well as possible? It'd never be replaced. Why build a car with aero shutters, full underbodies, good looking rims, cars with major XL1 characteristics?

All of it costs money- good parts, and good design, and consumers really don't want to pay for it. Sat nav and chrome are more valuable :/

Edit: We all know this...it's not like it's anything new to anyone here. I kind of appreciate the lack of effort, it makes me feel like I have purpose with my vehicles.

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by beluga

I drove a 666cc car in Japan, often up to 70mph on their toll freeways. Doable. Not comfortable but doable. 3 cylinder car. That thing had tires as skinny as the moped I also drove there. And I once drove 8 people down the road in it.

I think 1.2-1.5L is PUHLENTY for US roads. I wish my current car was 1.5L or less instead of 2.0L, but I didn't have many (in hindsight not so affordable) used options to choose from on craigslist...

If you're maxing out at 70mph, no reason to have anything over 1.5L. And if you're on ecomodder, we're all doing around 50-65mph on freeways no?

I personally do 75 on the freeway, but in the city I never go over 2.8k rpm when taking off from lights (which i ease the engine extremely slow up to 2.8k rpm) and never over 3k on the freeway except when I climb the Cajon pass, and even then I just run 70 @ 3k rpm.

[Miller88]

Originally Posted by beluga

I drove a 666cc car in Japan, often up to 70mph on their toll freeways. Doable. Not comfortable but doable. 3 cylinder car. That thing had tires as skinny as the moped I also drove there. And I once drove 8 people down the road in it.

I think 1.2-1.5L is PUHLENTY for US roads. I wish my current car was 1.5L or less instead of 2.0L, but I didn't have many (in hindsight not so affordable) used options to choose from on craigslist...

If you're maxing out at 70mph, no reason to have anything over 1.5L. And if you're on ecomodder, we're all doing around 50-65mph on freeways no?

Having drove a Chevy Spark and Mitsubishi Mirage (both with <1.3L engines) there is no problem with a smaller engine and keeping up with traffic. Neither car was "fast", but neither car had a problem keeping up with traffic.

On the highway, they both got a bit buzzy. If they could get a 6 speed transmission with higher 6th gear they would be a lot better on the highway.

The most I run on the highway is 65 and that's only on the way to work. If I'm on a weekend trip or vacation trip, I usually don't go above 60. If I am not in a rush, why would I want to drive quicker? Nicer to have a relaxing drive now and then.

My Jeep ... I don't go much above 55. Not safe.