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Think about how quickly we wouldn't need the Persian Gulf Oil.
No more Blood for Oil ?
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Note: I drive a Jeep - this is not a commercial endorsement. The price of these vehicles is dropping and their efficiency is increasing. I've driven them as rental cars - they exceeded my expectations in many ways.
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UPDATE MARCH 15, 2010 At the 3:04 mark in this video you will see no Toyotas
I drive a good, old fashioned, stick shift. I get 48 mpg to the highway and not much less than that in the city. I save a lot of money on gas and repairs (no automatic transmission). It's a Honda, and everything about it except the windows is manual. It's 12 years old and still runs like the day I got it. So for all those out there who are just too lazy for a clutch....y'all need to get a clue.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, more of us should drive a car like yours! Kudos.
ReplyDeleteEven my full-size stick shift car is amazing, if not also unique. It seems to be the only full-size Mercedes-Benz there is with a stick-shift. It is a 27 year old 300SD with 262K miles, (nearly twice the weight of your Honda) and it still gets 34 mpg on the highway! That is better than a new Camry or Accord; both smaller, lighter cars. Why are older cars more fuel efficient than newer ones?
Neither car comes anywhere close to Prius-type technology for gas mileage - nowhere even close.
ReplyDeleteThe attack on Toyota is to send Japan a message about not liquidating worthless US Debt, such as China is beginning to do.
ReplyDeleteToyota is the largest of the US Japanese car makers by 3:1
Everyone knows it bogus and that they make sound, reliable cars and always will.
I should clarify - I'm talking about fuel use specifically. Oil.
ReplyDeleteI'm not talking about environment, clutch repairs or any other costs which may add up to more in one category or another -
The point about debt , in my opinion is valid, possibly another factor. It seems there is never ONE reason for anything.
ReplyDeleteUmmm... JACK RABBIT: You said"Neither car comes anywhere close to Prius-type technology for gas mileage - nowhere even close."
ReplyDeleteThe Prius gets 51 city, 48 highway. The first poster said they get 48 highway. That's exactly the SAME!
Yeah well have you driven one? I did. And it burned so little gas the numbers didn't seem right. It was astounding for city driving in the Seattle area.
ReplyDeleteAnybody can throw gas mileage numbers around - but my experience with the Prius was beyond my expectations by far.
I am not selling "green" technology or Toyotas - like I said I drive a Jeep. But there is no mistaking the very very low consumption of a Prius. That was my experience.
I'm sure the first poster gets 51 mpg city too right? Maybe rental cars oughta' start renting out old Mercs and Hondas with stickshifts. There goes a clutch a month.
ReplyDeleteMercedes guy again.... Ideally we would all drive Prius's. Their technology is indeed wonderful. However, many of us still cannot afford financing a new Prius. The point I'm making is there are still sensible choices in the used market that get very respectable fuel economy for a tiny fraction of buying a new car. My first car, a diesel Volkswagen, from 30 years ago, actually delivered up to 57 on the highway/ 44 city. I agree these attacks on Toyota seem totally bogus, and they always have built a quality product.
ReplyDeleteThe reason nobody can afford a Prius is because we are paying to have our armies in over hundreds of bases over the world, with large bases, insane costs - and NO product as an output - to build oil pipelines so in the end we can pay insane prices for gas.
ReplyDeleteWatch the price at the pump - it is springtime again with summer on the way - I predict the price to rise steadily until you start to scream.
Toyota is a technoloogy leader in this field - maybe THE leader - don't know - but as a business person - every time I could get a Prius rental I'd take it because my fuel costs for that trip would drop to affordable levels. Almost all city driving - some highway back and forth to the airport.
I have been driving a Prius for 5 years and it is a great car, saves alot of money on gas! Had a 2001 F-150 5 speed manual before that and it got decent gas mileage for a truck. These new ones at 23k are an awesome deal! 10 gallons = 350 (winter tires) - 425 miles (normal tires)
ReplyDeleteAmerica has been pulling off this same thing with china goods-Lead in toys/blinds,Gyproc. I suggest China forget about shipping cars into USA--the crazies here will find that the stick shift knob has traces of lead and hazardous to a childs health.
ReplyDeleteReason Toyota has been picked--USA owns GM/Chry and likes to have us drive Edsils and Pintos instead.
Notice this all came about,when Japan wants USA's navy out--like soon.not never :^/
This is all BS. I'd rather drive the worse car ever produced by Toyota than anything ever made by Ford or GM.
ReplyDeleteHere's a clue.
ReplyDeleteOf the 24 "runaway" Toyota's The youngest driver was 60 years old. The oldest 89, median age 72.
Why does Toyota discriminate against young people?
I have an old Porsche and a Mercedes 190E both with low miles. Neither is fuel efficient. A few weeks ago I fitted an electric motor to my daughter's 30 year old bicycle for an all up cost of about $800.00 and I get 20 Miles for about $0.03 Cents of Electricity. For another $200,00 I could get a Solar Panel Kit designed for this conversion and it costs nothing! Sure it's not for everyone, but if your trips are short and mainly local this is the answer.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, That is great, what you've done with the bicycle. A friend of mine is pioneering a new retail store of electric bicycles in Philadelphia. Many innovative brands from around the world grace his showroom. Sales are picking up. I'm saving up for one. http://www.phillyew.com/ They're great!
ReplyDelete-Anonymous Mercedes Guy
Median age 72 - hmmm... why does everything about the Toyota thing seem out of the ordinary? I wonder if the pedal was stuck on Al Gore's kid's Prius when they nailed him for speeding? ha ha
ReplyDeleteTOYOTA IS BEING ATTACKED BY THE US GOVERNMENT BECAUSE JAPAN WON'T BUY ANY MORE US DEBT. POINT IN FACT JAPAN CHINA S.KOREA ARE FORMING THEIR OWN ECONOMICAL MILITARY PACT. FREEZING OUT THE US. THIS IS JUST FORCING THE US TO USE STRONG ARM TACTICS AGAINST SAID COUNTRIES. IE TOYOTA IS BURNED AND TAIWAN GETS NEW SHINY KILLING MACHINES.
ReplyDeleteTHE ILLUMINITI CONTROLLED COUNTRIES ARE JUST JOSTLING FOR DOMINANCE WITHIN THEIR RANKS.
ReplyDeleteAnybody that says buy a Prius doesn't wrench on their car - I will not buy your 5-9 year old prius for more than $1000. The best high mileage, high efficiency car, commuter car out their right now in the USA are TDI or even IDI based. I'd love to be able to get a Lupo based commuter (73-83 mpg). My TDI gets 48 stock freeway and that's loaded at 80 with the ac on high. I could mod and hypermile to get into the 60's. The turbo is about as close as you could come to an expense extra part as opposed to a bunch of high dollar electronic parts and electric motor - regenerative breaks means a simple wear part is potentially a much more complicated ordeal. BTW my 2000 Jetta is a drive by wire and there is the potential for a runaway due to the turbo and diesel! Any decent mechanic can work on a diesel, I'd pass on a Prius as the time to learn the new systems would make the experience unprofitable. However if I need to move 6000 pounds my NA 7.3 liter diesel pickup is far more efficient than the minimum 3 trips it would take the TDI. A 15 passenger van near 20 mpg would be a third more efficient than the prius. Can you fit 3 car seats in the back of a prius - it took a sawzall to make 'em fit in the jetta..... The EPA is what's making cars less efficient and more expensive.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't a secret, in order to get a good mileage/gallon you don't need necessarily a hybrid car.
ReplyDeleteDiesel and modern gasoline engines with small engine size such as 1.2-1.6 liter and up to 200 horse power and 250nm of torque to a good job.
In American driving conditions it isn't necessary to shrink the cars, but shrink the engine and get better fuel efficiency with the same pattern on driving habits.
So long.
I work on electronic systems and am not intimidated by Prius technology. I am also not intimidated by gasoline or diesel automotive technology.
ReplyDeleteA Prius is still a car.
Nobody said you must have a hybrid to eliminate huge demand for Persian Gulf oil.
More Prius technology - especially if used widely - and stepped up to include trucks - would reduce demand for oil in a big way.
I like the lectures on these various gasoline engines - I had a BMW with a 240 hp engine and it got 28 on the highway - not so good in the city - overall it could not touch the Prius in fuel efficiency.
My Jeep - going downhill yesterday displayed 89 mpg instantaneous gas mileage - Wow! But alas overall it is really about 19 mpg overall - 20 if you drive like grandma.
Wife has 3.0 liter Euro car - modern - 20 mpg. Drives conservatively - never speeds ever.
I had a 3.0 liter Euro vehicle - all wheel drive - got 20.1 highway less in the city.
I can go on and on and on but nothing I've ever had came anywhere near the Prius in fuel efficiency - nothing.
Anon above says:
ReplyDelete"- I will not buy your 5-9 year old prius for more than $1000."
JR says:
You are right since you won't find one at that price that isn't wrecked in the boneyard.
I won't buy your brand new gold crappy Rolex for a dollar either. So there.
:)
Anonymous above said:
ReplyDelete"Anybody that says buy a Prius doesn't wrench on their car"
JR says: I think we are in agreement - my experience with Toyota has been that there is usually no reason to wrench on Toyotas due to their reputation for reliability.
I have owned 5 Toyota trucks and never had a mechanical problem. My next vehicle will be a plug in electric that will not have an internal combustion engine. Mercedes and Tesla have combined in their efforts to bring these to market. I will use solar panels to charge this vehicle. When these companies start to incorporate highly efficient solar panels into the exterior design, it will be game over, especially in the long distance trucking industry where the roof of a 53' trailer can hold more than enough panels to power the trucks 24/7.
ReplyDeleteLook also at Guy Nevres Air car
ReplyDeleteCompressed air, 150 km on one " tank " if you need to drive longer there is an small efficient onboard compressor to help out.
Think free
Buy one used for a thousand?? Soon it will cost you thousands just to get rid of one as they are an environmental nitemare, cadnium, lead, mercury, and other highly toxic heavy metals. Wait til you see the new legislation soon to be introduced. You will regret ownership, thats for certain.
ReplyDeleteUnderstand that thru Jevon's Paradox these cars have the result of using far more oil than a Hummer. Aside from the fact that you could build 2.3 Hummers for the energy cost of a Prius, energy not made up for in savings in mileage, you have Jevon staring you down...
It goes like this:
You buy one of these environmental nitemares. You save fuel. Or so you think you did as I alluded earlier. But you do have lower operating costs. You save money. What are ya gonna do with the savings??
Lets say you buy a computer. Oops, have you considered how much oil is in that?? Point is if you buy ANYTHING with your "savings" you probably ultimately consumed as much oil as you would have with a conventional car.
Now for the real kicker. Lets say you are frugal and banked the money you "saved". The bank loans out over 2 orders of magnitude MORE money than you deposited thru the wonder of fractional reserve banking.
Think the borrowers arent gonna buy something that consumes oil somewhere in its production??
Congratulations, you just made the world burn MORE oil!! Maybe by a multiplier of over a hundred. Aint life grand?? We are sooo dooomed...
But the truth is simple, and has already been posted here. Japan will ramp up buying our debt, or Toyota is toast. Honda is next. Your social security and unemployment check depends on it and helping Detroit get on its feet isnt a bad idea either.
Its a sad state of affairs... I really wish it were different...
Commenter above says:
ReplyDelete"Congratulations, you just made the world burn MORE oil!! Maybe by a multiplier of over a hundred. Aint life grand?? We are sooo dooomed..."
JR says:
"I can't possibly be that important - but the point is that is our oil consumption is reduced dramatically our dependence on oil drops.
the point of this post was to mention the recent media attacks on Toyota - the recent Prius problem can't be reproduced -
One more time - I am not selling green tech or Toyotas so please don't misrepresent my point.
Oh: I wouldn't give you a nickel for your brand-new Gold Rolex blah blah blah
ReplyDeleteAnything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I learned that from my parents selling antiques at the flea market - so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
The media attacks are to force Japan to buy more debt, nothing more, nothing less.
ReplyDeleteNothing wrong with a Toyota, which itself is a problem given the status of US car manufacturers.
It has nothing to do with oil consumption, and if anyone cared the Prius would die faster than you could say "electric car".
They will die anyway, and those that own them will pay pay pay to clean up the toxins associated with their toxic "green" boondoggles.
Reality sucks...