What car makers *should* be doing! - Page 6 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

NeilBlanchard · 02-24-2009, 12:51 PM

Hi,

Good point -- the Aptera (and the upcoming Prius III) use the solar panels to run the interior ventilation fans; which can save a lot of work for the A/C. It would also lighten the load on the electrical system.

shovel · 02-26-2009, 01:11 PM

I've owned three cars that got 40+ mpg no matter how hard I flogged them (and believe me, I drove the b0jeebus outta them) ... '81 ford escort 1.6l, '80 plymouth champ (had 4x2 speed transaxle), and '85 ford escort 1.9l . Car companies knew how to get 40+ mpg from a driveable, cheap to build, conventional/simple... frickin carbureted gas engine car 30 years ago. Oh and all 3 of those vehicles had square edges and steel bumpers.

but these days what consumer is going to buy a car with manual windows, power nothing, no airbags, a manual transmission, a 2 speaker stereo and no sound insulation with 13" wheels and 155mm wide tires?

NeilBlanchard · 02-27-2009, 12:07 PM

Hi,

Two more items for the list, that should fall roughly in the easy to do and relatively cheap end of things:

* Efficient lights such as LED's and HID, that use a little power as possible while functioning as well (or better) than incandescent lights.

* Lower consumption electronics, such as A/C, fans and audio systems.

jamesqf · 02-27-2009, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shovel

but these days what consumer is going to buy a car with manual windows, power nothing, no airbags, a manual transmission, a 2 speaker stereo and no sound insulation with 13" wheels and 155mm wide tires?

Me? Especially if you made it look/perform like say a Lotus Europa. Or maybe one of these: Kinetic Vehicles

MetroMPG · 02-27-2009, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shovel

but these days what consumer is going to buy a car with manual windows, power nothing, no airbags, a manual transmission, a 2 speaker stereo and no sound insulation with 13" wheels and 155mm wide tires?

Sounds like something I'd buy! Oh wait, mine has airbags - it's overqualified.

shovel · 02-27-2009, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Sounds like something I'd buy! Oh wait, mine has airbags - it's overqualified.

Sweet, we're up to 2 buyers!

Seriously though, for some reason even though it's completely legal to make, sell, and drive a 2 wheeled deathmobile (as it should be! ) with no safety features whatsoever....

It's not legal to sell a production vehicle with four wheels that doesn't have 500 lbs (and $5000 worth) of safety equipment that a car 30 years ago didn't have.

Here's an example that I just have to laugh at.. my sister spent "forever and a day" shopping for her most recent car purchase, poring over the safety statistics of every car sold and insisting that safety was paramount. She disqualified all sorts of cars based on their relative "safety ratings"

Then she bought a '70 mustang because a good deal came up and she wanted it.

Not that the '70 mustang is an unsafe car... but it's certainly nowhere near as protective of its occupants as any modern equivalent. It barely has shoulder belts, and only in front.

We SHOULD have the option of buying/selling brand new, bare necessities cars. VW SHOULD be able to sell brand new, old style VW beetles - with smog updates of course - why not? I just think it's bones-down retarded that it's legal to sell motorcycles but not legal to sell a car that isn't bloated full of superfluous fat and blubber.

Frank Lee · 02-27-2009, 10:37 PM

Yah, the decision making "process" people use for selecting vehicles is... ugh.... well, not very logical.

NeilBlanchard · 04-03-2009, 11:47 AM

Hi,

Another item to add to the list:

Use very low friction wheel bearings, such as ceramic bearings; along with low viscosity lubrication, to reduce rolling resistance. The VW 1L car uses these.

rkcarguy · 04-03-2009, 01:29 PM

I totally agree with more transmission speeds and better ratios. My wifes automatic 98 Civic gets about 30mpg because the engine zings at 3500RPM + on the freeway. We get closer to 40mpg on our county's 50mph roads. I enjoy driving and would snap up a 7sp manual in a heartbeat.
The more you look the more you will understand that excessive safety regs and requirements keep alot of these changes from happening. The 24" minimum headlight height is a big problem for those trying to make an aero type car for example, and all this safety stuff add's weight. 500#'s is sadly pretty close. What used to be a 2300# Civic sedan is now pushing 3000#'s....no thanks.
I WAS in the market for a newer vehicle, but found only bigger, heavier, expensive, slower, all kinds of power crap I don't need that will all break in 5 years, and worse mpg than what I have now, so my 93 Civic is getting new paint and that's that.