In Response to the gas threads..gas is cheap, our cars just burn it inefficently

[UrbaneAspects]

Originally Posted by alanm96ss

100 - 400 MPG gasoline powered cars are simply not scientifically possible.

If you stop and think for a second, think about a gallon of milk. Now, realize that some cars (Honda Civic, Ford Escape Hybrid, Toyota Yaris, etc.) can travel 35 or more miles on that one gallon of gas, the same amount as one gallon of milk. That is truly amazing (at least to me) that one gallon of liquid fuel can move 3,000 lbs of weight that distance, especially at 70 MPH.

How much food and water would a horse have to consume to travel 35 miles consistently? How much does a horse weigh? 700 lbs? How long would it take a horse to travel 35 miles? Half a day?

Let’s go further, a Turbo Diesel SuperDuty Ford truck can tow a 10,000 lb trailer approx. 15 miles on 1 gallon of Diesel!! That is completely incredible. Combined weight of the truck and trailer are WELL over 15,000 lbs.

Point is this. Can you lift 100 lbs and throw it 100 yards? No, why not? You’re not strong enough. 1 gallon of gas is not strong enough to push a conventional (standard shaped car that is not shaped like a teardrop) 3,000 lb car much further than 40-45 miles. The idea of a 100 MPG gasoline car is impossible because one gallon of gasoline is simply not strong enough either.

You're right in every aspect. i know i'D need quite a few BARRELS OF WATER to make a 5 miles trip! LOL

But on the darker side, sounds like your're a sales representative of cruel (not crude) oil companies telling us "It's not bad, look at how much you get out of this $5.00 gallon of gas!" Well 1 tank of gas is almost my phone bill which lasts me 30 full days!!!

[BudinAk]

Originally Posted by UrbaneAspects

thats just my opinion. had makers treated oil like the gold it is; instead of like water...it wouldnt be a big deal. I give credit and I know the technology is improving, but still...100 or even 400 MPG is so much more effective? there must be a way to do it.

You're right: a gallon of gas is actually pretty cheap, when you think about it. The only problem is, we can't buy just one gallon and make it last all week...we have to buy maybe 15 or 20 gallons, sometimes more, at each fillup. It really adds up fast. And...if you are heating your house with fuel oil, it really puts a huge dent in your savings account.
I'm hoping they will get moving on hydrogen fuel technology...


Bud

[studedude]

Originally Posted by UrbaneAspects

You're right in every aspect. i know i'D need quite a few BARRELS OF WATER to make a 5 miles trip! LOL

But on the darker side, sounds like your're a sales representative of cruel (not crude) oil companies telling us "It's not bad, look at how much you get out of this $5.00 gallon of gas!" Well 1 tank of gas is almost my phone bill which lasts me 30 full days!!!

Let me start by saying I do not like paying $4.00 a gallon for gas, $4.00 a gal for milk, $8.00 a gal for cola, $2.00 a gal for orange juice, $7.60 a gal for water and $39.00 a gal for coffee. The fact is demand sets the price. Lest you think my pricing is off let my explain. Gas, milk and OJ we understand. Have you ever bought a 16 oz can of cola from a vending machine for $1.00, a 20 oz bottle of water for $1.19 or my personal favorite a 6.5 oz Starbucks Double Shot for $2.00. Do the math.

Supply is not setting the price. We can raise more cows, grow more orange trees, filter more water than flavor and carbonate it and brew more coffee. Coffee and cola are not cheaper because restaurants are selling sweet tea. If you make it they will come and bring their wallets with them.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by NWPAguy

Nobody in America wants to be tooling around in a tiny piece of crap like this anyway. That could be why the American Bantam had a run of only 6 model years and a total production of around 8,000.

Answer... The Bantam was a depression era automobile and civilian auto production stopped because of the WWII war effort...

The American Bantam Company was asked and delivered for testing the first "JEEP" The War Department commissioned a small, rugged 4 wheel drive and went to Bantam because of it's small car expertise... The Smithsonian has the entire jeep story...

Anyway, your right... after WWII and an end to gas rationing, Post War America was in a Horsepower/Performance Race and demand for small fuel efficient cars ceased.

[NWPAguy]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Answer... The Bantam was a depression era automobile and civilian auto production stopped because of the WWII war effort...

The American Bantam Company was asked and delivered for testing the first "JEEP" The War Department commissioned a small, rugged 4 wheel drive and went to Bantam because of it's small car expertise... The Smithsonian has the entire jeep story...

Anyway, your right... after WWII and an end to gas rationing, Post War America was in a Horsepower/Performance Race and demand for small fuel efficient cars ceased.

That'd make sense... I suppose all civilian vehicular production was on hold for three years, as you won't find a civilian car with model year 1943, 1944, or 1945.

What p*sses me off the most is how Americans handled gasoline consumption after the early 1980s. Apparently there was a huge gasoline problem in the United States between 1973 and 1982... my dad told me that he had to get rid of his baby, a 1965 Oldsmobile 442, in 1973 because it needed premium gas and by that time, when you went to a station, you were lucky to get ANY gas... much less premium. Then there's talk of the gas lines, the 10-gallon maximum every other day depending upon the last digit of your license plate, etc. Not long ago we heard that the inflation-adjusted highest price for gas ever hit (before now) was reached in 1981. As I was born in 1980, I don't recall any of this. As far back as I can remember, nobody complained about the price of gas being too high until 2001.

But, if what everyone says is true, then why exactly is it that we haven't changed our ways? Why did we forget, so quickly, what happened 30 years ago? Okay, I drive gas-guzzlers and I probably always will, at least until they make a vehicle that is as big and safe as my 1976 Thunderbird or my 1982 Dodge Ram which doesn't guzzle gas... but in the end, automotive fuel consumption is not the only reason why we use so much oil. People were driving all over the place before 1950, and America was still oil-independent in 1950... maybe there were fewer cars, but their gas mileage was a lot worse on average. If we would just erect all kinds of wind farms so that electricity generation was free from the consumption of oil, the price of gasoline would come way down as no power generation plants would burn diesel and no houses would have to use heating oil. But no, nobody wants a wind farm in their back yard. (I know this. I lived in an area where there was a huge push for wind farms which kept getting stymied by people who thought windmills were ugly. Apparently, they're uglier than high gas price signs.) If electricity generation and heat production were removed from the list of causative factors behind high oil prices, they'd come crashing down. On top of that, if electricity could be generated by wind farms and solar farms, electric cars could be much more practical. I'm in favor of electric cars, but only if they can be made such that they have a decent range, and could be charged quickly at any gas station.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by NWPAguy

Why did we forget, so quickly, what happened 30 years ago? Okay.

I think your absolutely right... maybe it's our optimistic outlook and/or short memories..

The Feds have had Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for many years... "Trucks" were exempt because they were specific use vehicles and I don't think any of the regulators envisioned just how popular the large SUV's would become. Combine that with the all of the car seat regulations and a family with several toddlers, strollers, baby bags.. could hardly fit in a "Car" anymore... The days of putting 5 kids in the back and one on your lap were over.

Perhaps the biggest reason... SUV's were money makers for Detroit and something that only Detroit could offer in the beginning... SUV's saved Detroit at the time.

Lot's of 60's muscle cars went begging in the 70's... just couldn't give them away. In my opinion it wasn't as much the price of gas as the availability.

Don't forget that many of the WWII vets back in the 1970's would never own a Japanese or German car... too many memories of the War.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Don't forget that many of the WWII vets back in the 1970's would never own a Japanese or German car... too many memories of the War.

To quote Red Foreman from That 70s Show after he gives in and buys a Toyota: "The last time I was this close to a Japanese machine, it was shooting at me."