Do you notice foreign car drivers more? (small car, tailgating, motorcycle)

[OhEdo]

Hasn't the EPA recently revised its testing methodology to more accurately reflect "real world" conditions? Running the AC, I believe, was one of the changes. As a result, I think I heard that mileage figures on the same car are lower this year than last by a few percent. Having said that, it still seems that EPA figures are a bit higher than real life.
I would also agree with the hybrid observation. Plus, "true" hybrids like the Prius that can, theoretically and for brief periods, run on the battery alone actually have better EPA figures for city rather than highway. That is due to the reasons cited by iamweasel as well as the fact that Priuses (Priui?) and similar cars actually shut their engines off when stopped at a light etc., thus getting almost infinite miles to the gallon in stop and go traffic. "Partial" hybrids such as the Escape and most other hybrids out there use the electric motor to augment the traditional internal combustion engine, and the engine never shuts off in such vehicles. So, if your friends drive their Priui mostly on short trips in town, the low speeds, lack of need for quick acceleration, frequent regenerative braking and engine stoppage at lights may actually give them very good mileage figures. If, on the other hand, you spend most of your time on the highway, your Prius mileage will seem disappointing.
My favorite current technology is the relatively simple and painless conversion of diesel cars to burn used fry grease from your local diner.

[mikewu9900]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

Wouldn't you agree that it is hard to build a competitive product when your own country lets your competitors get a significant advantage over you?

Think about it people...there are thousands of people that work at Ford, GM, etc. Do you honestly believe they are that dumb and don't know how to build a car? It's not that simple....when your competitor has several billion dollars "extra" because of protectionist practices in their home market that certainly lets them do some things local companies cannot afford to do.

i believe we should be at the advantage giving the 100+ years of experience. they thought their customer base was large enough to sustain the garbage run. roger smith said this as he stepped down from general motors.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by OhEdo

Hasn't the EPA recently revised its testing methodology to more accurately reflect "real world" conditions? Running the AC, I believe, was one of the changes. As a result, I think I heard that mileage figures on the same car are lower this year than last by a few percent. Having said that, it still seems that EPA figures are a bit higher than real life.
I would also agree with the hybrid observation. Plus, "true" hybrids like the Prius that can, theoretically and for brief periods, run on the battery alone actually have better EPA figures for city rather than highway. That is due to the reasons cited by iamweasel as well as the fact that Priuses (Priui?) and similar cars actually shut their engines off when stopped at a light etc., thus getting almost infinite miles to the gallon in stop and go traffic. "Partial" hybrids such as the Escape and most other hybrids out there use the electric motor to augment the traditional internal combustion engine, and the engine never shuts off in such vehicles. So, if your friends drive their Priui mostly on short trips in town, the low speeds, lack of need for quick acceleration, frequent regenerative braking and engine stoppage at lights may actually give them very good mileage figures. If, on the other hand, you spend most of your time on the highway, your Prius mileage will seem disappointing.
My favorite current technology is the relatively simple and painless conversion of diesel cars to burn used fry grease from your local diner.

The Escape is not a partial hybrid - All Ford Motor Company hybrids are full-hybrids.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by mikewu9900

i believe we should be at the advantage giving the 100+ years of experience. they thought their customer base was large enough to sustain the garbage run. roger smith said this as he stepped down from general motors.

Well I didn't know him and if he truly believed that he's a moron. None of the thousands of people I interfaced with at any of the Big 3 felt that way.

Please don't confuse not having the money to do something to be the same as not having the ability to do it.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by CortlandGirl79

The 20k Malibu is a 4 cylinder...........the LTZ is top of the line, bigger engine, probably leather seats and all the bells and whistles.

My point being you can't call a Malibu $8K more than a Prius when the content is not equalized.

[mikewu9900]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

Well I didn't know him and if he truly believed that he's a moron. None of the thousands of people I interfaced with at any of the Big 3 felt that way.

Please don't confuse not having the money to do something to be the same as not having the ability to do it.

i really don't think money should be a problem for the big 3, been building car forever, who has been stealing from them??? maybe they would have more money then god if they didn't underestimate the intelligences of future customers. i guess they figured if the cars lasted just a little less, people would be back buying a car sooner, well that happened, most of them just bought elsewhere.
im not saying to blame anyone building these cars, its whoever thought that idea should take the blame. someone designed these cars years before they come out.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by mikewu9900

i really don't think money should be a problem for the big 3, been building car forever, who has been stealing from them??? maybe they would have more money then god if they didn't underestimate the intelligences of future customers. i guess they figured if the cars lasted just a little less, people would be back buying a car sooner, well that happened, most of them just bought elsewhere.
im not saying to blame anyone building these cars, its whoever thought that idea should take the blame. someone designed these cars years before they come out.

Money not a problem? Aside from an SUV-led profit boom in the late '90s the Big 3 have usually had negative cash flow every year since 1990. Maybe at one time they had the cash but now they are bleeding cash badly.

The other problem is most parts in a vehicle are not actually made by the big 3 anymore. They are made by suppliers and the big 3 just put the pieces together for the most part. The only parts made by the Big 3 are some sheetmetal and a few other parts like castings, blocks, etc.

It's a lot easier to clean up your own internal mess than get someone else to fix theirs. Well you may say if they aren't fixing the problem then goto another supplier. Well that has been tried but when you try to switch to a quality supplier, most of whom do not produce in this country, that is very difficult to do.

[mikewu9900]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

Money not a problem? Aside from an SUV-led profit boom in the late '90s the Big 3 have usually had negative cash flow every year since 1990. Maybe at one time they had the cash but now they are bleeding cash badly.

The other problem is most parts in a vehicle are not actually made by the big 3 anymore. They are made by suppliers and the big 3 just put the pieces together for the most part. The only parts made by the Big 3 are some sheetmetal and a few other parts like castings, blocks, etc.

It's a lot easier to clean up your own internal mess than get someone else to fix theirs. Well you may say if they aren't fixing the problem then goto another supplier. Well that has been tried but when you try to switch to a quality supplier, most of whom do not produce in this country, that is very difficult to do.

you made some good points, but i remember watching this show on discovery channel when i was younger, this guy bought a brand new Lincoln in like 1950something, it kept breaking and one day he drove it to the ford plant in Detroit and set it on fire. said he would never buy from them again. so they been having problem with cars for many years, people just didn't drive as much back then, so it seemed like they were around forever. not to mention anyone could work on those old cars, so fixing seemed like no big deal. today, 100 bucks just to have someone look at the car.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by mikewu9900

i remember watching this show on discovery channel when i was younger, this guy bought a brand new Lincoln in like 1950something, it kept breaking and one day he drove it to the ford plant in Detroit and set it on fire. .

That's what I wanted to do with Hyundai I used to have.

I will curse Hyundai and their crapboxes until the day I die.

[OhEdo]

Originally Posted by iamweasel

The Escape is not a partial hybrid - All Ford Motor Company hybrids are full-hybrids.

I guess I can't slip anything by you! Thanks for the education. So maybe I read that the Tahoe hybrid, as well as Lexus LS hybrid are partial hybrids? It is unfortunate that Toyota and its Prius get all the accolades when apparently there are perfectly good hybrids elsewhere as well.
The same could probably be said of the late and not-so-lamented GM EV1 - I think one big reason it was such a hit with Ed Bagley Jr. and his kool-aid drinkers was that it looked so much like what an electric car should. Then Bagley and the gang felt so betrayed when GM pulled the plug, so to speak, on the EV1 that they all started hugging the Prius. I don't quite understand that though, since the Honda Insight was on the market before the Prius, got better mileage than the Prius and looked even more radically alternative than the Prius. Yeah, you could argue that four doors and back seats are more practical, but wasn't the EV1 a two-seater as well?