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America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

bloomberg.com

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Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#371

Post by falsedan »

rsync wrote: post #80
kmm wrote: post #60

I always wondered why American cars are so inefficient. Seems such a waste of your significantly cheaper gas :) I drive an Opel Astra H 1.7 CDTI and I can get up to 50 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) on the highway, and I never dip under 40 mpg (5.8 l/100km) even when doing a lot of city driving. I understand that my car is comparatively somewhat smaller (1200 kg) and underpowered (100 hp), yet I can't imagine needing more horsep…

"What do you get in the place for this lower efficiency? Are American cars that much heavier? More comfortable? Faster?" I cannot speak for everyone, but as someone who lives in the US and also spends a lot of time in Europe, there is a very big lifestyle difference at play here. First, I have a five person family (wife and three kids) and you[1], statistically, as a European, have 1.6 children - and as a highly educ…

> we could just "drive to St. Petersburg" or "just drive to Transylvania" or whatever, and otherwise smart and interesting european friends would look at me like I was a crazy person

Well, yeah, do you know what the roads are like? There are no interstate or federal highway funding. And a train or a flight is faster…

I would compare your US story to AU; I did multiple Adelaide Nowra trips with my parents as a kid, and at uni we'd think nothing of driving 2 hours to a party (4 for a 21st).

Why? Because driving was way cheaper than flying, and way faster than trains; and because we'd still need a car at the other end to get around Nowra since the public transport there was non-existent.

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#372

Post by systemtest »

flurdy wrote: post #369
alexbeloi wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American cars are bigger (longer) and faster. When I've traveled in Europe, I'm always surprised by how small most cars are and how small the parking spots are. High mpg options exist in the US. Americans seem to prefer to trade gas savings for more power and bigger cars rather than saving some cash, at least at the current price point of gas.

Re: parking spots My family keeps growing (in numbers, age and size) and as I'm approaching midlife affordability I would love a decent large SUV, like the Volvo XC90 etc to replace my ageing Ford Focus estate. But for the life of me, I can't imagine the pain of owning such a large vehicle. Parking would be a nightmare. At home, in town, anywhere. I live in Hampshire in England and the parking spots around here are a…

Wouldn't automated reverse parking create problems for others? And leave dents and dings in your door?

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#373

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

DamnInteresting wrote: post #73

A few weeks ago I bought a Chevy Bolt EV...according to the dealer it was the first one sold in my state (Utah). I'd been on a waiting list for almost a year. Sure, ICE engines are getting better, but EVs are rapidly gaining and will soon surpass. The Bolt is a bit expensive for a car of its body type, but "gassing up" at home is amazing, the 200+ mile range is great, and the sharply reduced emissions are a weight of…

One thing to consider is that a lot of stuff works well for electric cars simply because they are not that ubiquitous. For example, many states allow them in the HOV lane unconditionally. However, if they are a higher fraction of the total cars that will stop. I have seen electric car chargers at various parking lots. If you have an EV, you are likely now to find a spot. When they are a lot, the majority of EV won't find a spot. The other issue is overnight charging. People who live in apartments will have trouble finding charging spots, when nearly everybody in their complex also has an EV. In addition, the spike in nighttime power draw on the electric grid is going to be an issue, especially in areas that are dependent on solar power.

I think a large part of the driver for EV currently is as a social status signal. When, that start going away and the inconveniences of EV with respect to ICE start affecting people, a lot of the momentum will stop.

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#374

Post by falsedan »

JauntTrooper wrote: post #181
exclusiv wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes sense - most of the infrastructure was built before the car. So it's not really feasible to accommodate large vehicles. It's not even possible for them to put the toilet anywhere other than INSIDE the shower in many places because the apartments are so small. Sometimes they even have "floor urinals". I get a laugh out of it every time but they do have some serious size constraints in many places over there.

I would think much of the infrastructure had to be rebuilt after WW2 though, no?

The roads? Rights-of-way & property boundaries didn't get bombed, and one narrowing due to right-of-way passing through historical-significant properties restricts the maximum vehicle size for the entire road/region (https://goo.gl/maps/BzJrXer8HmF2)

Consider this local intersection ('junction'): https://goo.gl/maps/UPjtR5VdSXM2. It's a favourite for the practical driving test: from the left lane, turn right into the side street. It's extremely dangerous, as you have to creep around the corner to the left to get visibility of the oncoming 30mph traffic, without getting so far pass the side street's centre line than you can't safely turn in.

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#375

Post by stupidhn »

trjordan wrote: post #20

My first car crush was in high school: the 2002 Subaru WRX. It would be fine to get some souped-up monster, and high-end BMWs are always fast, but when I first saw those silly little bug eyes and the trademark blue color? God did I want one. It was weird to figure out that it only came with a 2 liter engine. Apparently turbos help a lot. It was even weirder when the 2005 STI came out with the same engine ... and a bi…

>To me, the last 15 years have been car manufacturers figuring out that with the right kind of engineering, you can get rid of turbo lag

I own a Fiesta ST that comes with a 1.6L turbo-charged engine that produces about 200hp/210+ft-lb of torque...on 87 octane. If I drive the speed limit I can get well over 40mpg (~5L/100km). I can't recommend these cars enough (if the small stature suits you). The fit and finish isn't great, but it's a piece of machinery when it comes to performance.

http://www.caranddriver.com/ford/fiesta-st

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#376

Post by gens »

DamnInteresting wrote: post #73

A few weeks ago I bought a Chevy Bolt EV...according to the dealer it was the first one sold in my state (Utah). I'd been on a waiting list for almost a year. Sure, ICE engines are getting better, but EVs are rapidly gaining and will soon surpass. The Bolt is a bit expensive for a car of its body type, but "gassing up" at home is amazing, the 200+ mile range is great, and the sharply reduced emissions are a weight of…

Electric cars have constant torque. And it's a smaller car then all those listed. That's probably why it feels faster.

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#377

Post by falsedan »

perryh2 wrote: post #9

The chart makes me sad. My Subaru BRZ (2013-) "sports car" comes with only 200hp. Many people looking for more power install aftermarket superchargers.

> "sports car"

lol

Why'd you get a BRZ? Bonus question: uh why did Toyota/Subaru make them

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#378

Post by falsedan »

mavhc wrote: post #152

I try to drive as little as possible to stop destroying the planet, no need to travel 100s of miles, there's lots of interesting things close to you, and if you walked to them you'd live longer too

Nice intention, but have you been to suburban america? There's nothing there.

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#379

Post by chrisseaton »

reportingsjr wrote: post #298
YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>changing oil every 3,000 miles What? I mean, what? Whatever you want, I guess.

Multiple people where I work change the oil in their cars at this rate. I explained that you can go further with more modern oils, especially synthetic, to no avail. I think you'd be surprised at how much people spend on car maintenance.

In the UK people are told to change their oil once a year or 10k miles. If you do it every 3k miles in the US, which of us is doing it wrong? Either we're damaging our cars or you're wasting money and oil. They're the same cars doing the same distance, and parts of the US are similar climates.

Re: America’s Cars Are Getting Faster and More Efficient

#380

Post by davewritescode »

hvidgaard wrote: post #337
trjordan wrote: post #20

My first car crush was in high school: the 2002 Subaru WRX. It would be fine to get some souped-up monster, and high-end BMWs are always fast, but when I first saw those silly little bug eyes and the trademark blue color? God did I want one. It was weird to figure out that it only came with a 2 liter engine. Apparently turbos help a lot. It was even weirder when the 2005 STI came out with the same engine ... and a bi…

> if you don't have lag or reliability problems, turbos make everything better. Smaller, faster, more fuel-efficient. No. Mazdas SkyActiv-G do the exact opposite, because, as Mazda states it: "When you add forced induction the combustion becomes harder to control, resulting in lower efficiency". Car companies collectively research EVs and high compression Atkinson style engines, because the real world efficiency are…

Mazda has a turbocharged SkyActive-G 2.5 these days they're using on the CX-9 and it's been pretty well recieved - https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/press-release/mazdas-turboc...

It makes a ton of torque very low down low (300 ft/lbs) which makes it very suitable to push around a midsized CUV.

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