If you really think you can save the planet and want to save the planet then move closer to work and walk. As far as money savings, you need to look at total cost of ownership not just how many miles per gallon. Even though I don’t pay much attention to mpg 70 mpg gets my attention.
I wouldn’t own any of those cars. The benz is cool, but I’d rather have the gas version.
Cost per MPG has to come into account if you are the type that is trying to save money.
There are a ton of 2-5 year old cars on the market that get 30mpg.
Their cost versus any hybrid or diesel makes them not cost effective in my eyes.
I drive a fivespeed saturn ion, the thing gets 32mpg. I’m spending about 20 bucks per week on gas, and I own the car outright.
Going to a new Prius or Diesel anything makes zero sense to me…
Right now it doesn’t make sense, but you could have said the same exact thing when you bought your Saturn Ion (assuming you bought it brand new). You could have bought an older model car that still gave great gas mileage while spending less to buy the car. There are plenty of options for buying used cars that are just as fuel efficient or even better than some new ones.
And yes, the cost of buying the car must be taken into account with these cars mentioned in the article that aren’t available in the U.S. But let’s say these cars were sold in the U.S. Once they became 2-5 years old, perhaps even older, they would become an appealing choice because of their fuel efficiency while still being comparable in price to a new car or cheaper. I know it all depends on everyone’s driving patterns to figure out which would be the best method for saving money. The fact remains though that without having these cars available for sale in the U.S. means nobody will have the opportunity (at least for now) to ever pick these up as a fuel efficient used car alternative to a brand new fuel efficient car.
Then there’s this point, which there are plenty of people out there who don’t care about gas mileage and get by just fine. For those less fortunate though, you just try to save wherever you can. I drive a 1991 Toyota Tercel, certainly not a favorite in my book but since it’s reliable and gets excellent gas mileage, it saves me money and that’s what I need right now.
In late 2007, CAFE standards received their first overhaul in more than 30 years. On December 19, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which requires in part that automakers boost fleetwide gas mileage to 35 mpg by the year 2020. This requirement applies to all passenger automobiles, including “light trucks.”
…
Of note, how did they manage to get a car as light and small as a Smart Fortwo to get such poor fuel mileage out of a gas engine for it’s size? (Short gearing, undersized engine, bad transmission?)
It just boggles me.
Amen to that…I bought a $500 plymouth neon…
this this is so damned reliable and gets 42mpg. I really cannot complain, nor can i stress how happy I am with it for a daily driver. I save so much money driving this car its unreal
I know, Monica wants one because it is “cute” :banghead:
^ I think in New York, its more of I can park in any spot I want sort of thing
I know, I was just pointing out the “alternative” reasons that people like the smart… I’d say in most cases it isn’t fuel economy.
Nah I didn’t buy the Saturn brand new.
I bought it used at the time it was 3 years old for 6500. I paid cash and drove it home. It had 29k miles on it.
Lower the crash standards and emission laws back to 1980’s standards:
http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007/10/19/super-cheap-high-mpg-cars-1984/
so how well do all those cars do in the snow?
I always wondered about that honestly, what happens when a city in Europe gets dumped on with 2ft of snow? Do all the super compact car owners just wait for the plow? Clog the roads?
Interesting, will have to do some reading on that…
How much snow does Europe get?
Europeans always have snow tires in the snow, many countries require snow tires from November to March. Most cars sold in Europe are 5 speeds as well.
I am sure they are better than your average tauras/grand Prix with all seasons.
Can your Grand Prix go through 2 ft of snow? When was the last time you drove through 2ft of snow?
Smart cars on NBC news tonight.
bump ON NOW.
Well actually in Oswego before I went to Rochester to get my car tuned. There was some hectic snow. I was visiting a friend who goes to college there and actually rammed the car through a wall of snow that was even with the roof at the end of the student lot, I made piles as I went, reversed around the pile, made some ruts to the wall, and went for it. I was late for a date with the dyno…
Rochester it was sunny and the grass was green…got a lot of funny looks and had to get the car “washed” to get the snow off/out of all the areas it packed in as to not flood out the shop.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/2008/01/21/snow-buries-oswego-area-dpw-garage-collapses/
Christmas Eve last year I remember have a pretty big snow I had to fight through in elma area, was probably only a foot of snow though…
I do have snow tires on it actually. Plus I don’t see how a manual transmission helps in snow (ok well slowing down I could help). Having had to drive out on the 400 to the Elma/East Aurora areas I invested in some good winter rubber. Poorly plowed job site, poorly plowed road to the jobsite…and the 400 is typically a snow packed road.
The Grand Prix is not a stranger to winter weather.
Had to go for something:
Came back:
I should have been more specific. I meant the smart car style of vehicle is not going to make it through much snow, snow tires or not, not all the cars on that list. Its a small tire/ground clearance thing I would think, the lack of weight etc.
Also, there are several areas in our country, mainly more out west (Rockies), that require either chains or snow tires to proceed. When I was in Yellowstone you had to have Snow Tires or they wouldn’t let you in the park.
Lets be honest, we know Europe gets snow, and its more of a population and highway department thing that dictates the regulations you speak off, and I think they have smart cars more in the metro areas than the rural areas. Lets also remember the US does indeed lead the “top” of the list for snow accumulation in “cities”. Our ski resorts also the top the lists for yearly snow fall.
I’ve lost sight of what this debate was about but I guess anything outside of the Great Lakes and Rockies, a smart car could be ok?
Grand Prix is for sale btw