Why you can't buy a high mpg car....

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by mcrews

The taxpayer losses came from the special treatment that President Obama bestowed on the UAW. The auto bailout was actually a UAW bailout.

Didn't the Bush administration launch the bail out ?

[harpinche]

On the original topic, is it considered illegal to purchase and import one of these cars? I mean I understand the emissions issue, but I'm curious now.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Perhaps you are confused here. The power supply rating is the maximum the power supply can provide, not what it is continuously providing.

No confusion here; you're absolutely correct, but still missing the point. A recent media PC I built has a continuous draw of 110W at idle conditions, which is much greater than my 1995 PC. My gaming PC has a continuous draw of 400W. Worthless anecdotal evidence aside, old homes often need to have the wiring updated and new breakers installed to keep up with the increased electrical demand of modern living. Efficiency has increased, and we have invented new ways to consume the resource.

To be fair, electrical use has held fairly steady in the last 3 decades. I replaced a 36" TV that consumed 200W with a 60" plasma that consumes 200W.

My overall point. A cheap resource will be rapidly consumed until it is no longer cheap. The only way fossil fuel consumption will be globally reduced is for prices to rise globally. No amount of fuel efficiency improvements will reduce consumption on a global level.

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Didn't the Bush administration launch the bail out ?

Maybe you should clink on the link so you dont look so........well, european.

This article is VERY clear and detailed and footnoted. Kinda like a fair and balanced media.....which is so non-european.

But no, your wrong.

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by mcrews

james,
You keep mentioning the mini.........ok. Show me the high demand that sucks the dealerships dry each month. Show me the 'dealer markup stickers' w/ $1-3k of markup over retail sticker? Show me the sales numbers
The big three build what their disfunctional business model allows them to build.

june 2012 june 2011 2012 2011
BMW 21,725 21,637 0% 126,504 113,705 11%
Mini 5,995 5,228 15% 32,059 29,816 8%
Rolls 32 30 7% 192 180 7%
BMW Grp 27,752 26,895 3% 158,755 143,701 11%

TOTAL 1,285,499 1,053,263 22% 7,272,096 6,333,141 15%

as a brand, mini has slower growth this yr than the bmw group and the us indusrty total

here is the link to all brands:
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...try-to-22-gain

Mini is actually a poor example as it is a 'boutique' brand or niche brand. They only want a certain market. They are not trying for mass appeal.

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by harpinche

On the original topic, is it considered illegal to purchase and import one of these cars? I mean I understand the emissions issue, but I'm curious now.

importing non-domestic models is almost a dead indusrty.
20 yrs ago you could take a 'trip' to europe and buy (from the factory)audis, vws & mercedes. that were cheaper, by just a little. but they still meet domestic standards.
There was also a 'grey market' for bring in European versions.
But the costs associated with doing it demanded that you could only justify the top of the line, loaded ero model.
my buddy, a retired navy captian says that as a military member, you cant bring back a ero model unless it is converted to all us standards.

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by jtbo

I have read that many cars are having now electrical assisted steering, which more or less is not assisted at highway speed, it is mostly parking aid. Maybe they have put in system where assist comes on when you turn wheel quickly while braking, they put clever things to cars these days.

My 2002 Civic Si has electric power steering...

[niky]

Originally Posted by mcrews

But no, your wrong.

I was going to disagree with you... looked at the link... agree... then, started wondering... the bail-outs were still announced under the Bush administration... and were supported by both candidates during the election. If the question is how the money would be spent... seeing as the previous bank bail-out money went straight into golden parachutes for bankers... I think neither option was completely satisfactory.

Originally Posted by mcrews

Mini is actually a poor example as it is a 'boutique' brand or niche brand. They only want a certain market. They are not trying for mass appeal.

I agree... Very poor. While mass market makers have to put up with building big cars with big mark-ups, MINI, thanks to premium product placement, cheap Brazilian engines and leather, gets to build small cars with a big mark-up. They wouldn't even have a market if they were trying to sell to the same people who buy Hyundai Accents and Toyota Yarii.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

On the other end of the scale, you have your notebooks (which I think may now outsell desktop units) that're nearly as capable but optimized for low power consumption. I work mostly off my notebook, booting up the desktop only for the occasional compute-intensive session (the last such was sometime in early June), and in my usual web browser & text editor mode that draws just 17 watts.

My Sandybridge notebook draws just 7W when the screen is low, 13 or so if the screen is bright. The Ivybridge processors are supposed to cut that even more.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by mcrews

You keep mentioning the mini.........ok. Show me the high demand that sucks the dealerships dry each month. Show me the 'dealer markup stickers' w/ $1-3k of markup over retail sticker? Show me the sales numbers.

I think you're missing the point. For a product to be profitable, it doesn't need to "suck the dealerships dry", it just needs to have reasonable sales over time. Someone else has kindly posted figures; beyond that, I do see Minis on the road often enough. Nor do they need to sell at markups over MSRP: they just need to sell enough that manufacturer and dealer make a profit.

The Mini's just easy to notice and remember, but there are other notable small cars out there that do sell, whether it's the Miata, those almost cubical things put out by several companies, or other models. (I'm afraid I don't really keep up with model names...) That gives the lie to any claim that Americans don't want, or don't buy, small cars. Quite obviously some of us do.