Summer Gas-Price Outlook Fuels Car Nostalgia

ride your bike????yhea bud yuo dont have a clue what your talking about you must be a flatander, from some foo foo city or something...most of the u.s is rural,thats where the backbone of our country is how about you sleep in a cave so we dont cut down the forest that made your house..huh? you seem pretty comfortable talking about alternatives.

willy-p of CA @ Jun 15, 2008 21:38:33 PM

As time goes on...

As time goes on people become more and more reliant on gas/oil. People know this, especially those companies who produce these resources. I read above about someone saying we put a man on the moon 39 years ago so why cant we get 80mpg? The answer is very simple. Money. The green stuff that drives people to doing things they normally would. If you youtube a video on a car that runs on water you will see that alternative sources can be used... OUT OF YOUR TAP! However, the controversy behind this story is that the man who created this invention (believe his name was Stanley Meyer) was offered mass amounts of money. Billions possibly, just to keep his product off the market. His invention separated hydrogen from water. Following his decline of these offers he was MURDERED. Murdered by money and greed. If Meyer's brilliance hit the market the oil companies would soon lose the business that they loved so much. Out of greed he lost his life. This invention is still a mystery, but an answer to being able to fill your car up with an outside hose.

Kiva Gordon of @ May 28, 2008 13:34:41 PM

Importance of mass in a vehicle

momentum = mass * velocity

force = mass * acceleration

energy = 1/2 mass * (velocity)^2

I'm no physicist, but I do know that mass is part of the basic formulas describing work and motion. As a vehicle's mass (and weight) increases, the energy required to start, stop and even turn the vehicle increases. If you can maintain momentum, as on a flat stretch of highway, wind resistance becomes paramount. But in stop and go driving, or up and down hills, mass is critical to fuel economy.

Donal of MD @ May 21, 2008 14:03:44 PM

Metro and Civic

We had a Geo Metro back in the early to mid 90s that was the "high mileage" version. I recall one road trip of about 1,000 miles of highway driving where we averaged in the high 60's for MPG. My 2008 Civic commuter car does 40-42 MPG on my highway commute. Given a choice between the two I'll stick with the Civic as there is no comparison when it comes to safety. The Metro was hit several times (people claimed they didn't see it) and even at slow speeds it suffered damage that came into the passenger compartment.

I'm actually on my 2nd 2008 Civic... the first one was 6 weeks old when it was crushed by a tractor trailer that changed lanes in the middle of the curve of a two lane ramp. The car was destroyed--two wheels were broken off, one on each side--as the driver's side was smashed on the guard rail bumper to bumper while the trailer took out the passenger side bumper to bumper. I walked out of the ER after they determined I had no broken bones, no concussion and no internal injuries. The passenger compartment was intact...

I truly believe I'd be dead if I'd been in the Metro as it would have been flattened by the truck rather than thrown to the side as the trailer wheels hit the "C" pillar. Based on my survival experience, I bought the same model Civic again right down to the color.

John G of NY @ May 21, 2008 11:05:39 AM

Unattainable Mileage is a Skam

I bought a Chevy diesel Chevette in 1983 and got a consistent 45 mpg with it. How far have we come in those past 25 years? We haven't. We put a man on the Moon 39 years ago, and you tell me they still haven't figured out how to get us all 80 mpg and keep us in a safe body structured car? Come on...who do they think they're kidding? The oil shortage is a myth. 80 mpg carburetors exist. Elvis is dead though.

Craig of CA @ May 21, 2008 10:28:25 AM

Overweight Cars

One way to sell a car to a large and/or overweight person is to avoid making them unpleasantly aware of their body size when they´re getting in and out of the car. Littler cars don´t attract bigger buyers.

Submarine of IN @ May 21, 2008 10:25:01 AM

It the Greenies, Stupid

While you all can point to cars of the late 70's and early 80's that got better mileage, yes I had one too. You are forgetting the biggest reason. It is the environmentalist that is causing the biggest issue. My 1982 Olds with a 1.8 L engine and an old fashion carburetor could not meet current environmental standards. Thus more technology to make it cleaner, heavier and not as efficient.

Doc of PA @ May 21, 2008 10:23:38 AM

No real improvement since the 1970's

Six months after I got married in December of '73 we were waiting on lines for 2 to 3 hours just to get gas. Got used to siphoning and swapping plates as well. I'm celebrating my 35th anniversary this year and not much has changed. Besides the total lack of leadership coming from Washington, the American people are also to blame because if it comes cheap, we don't think about it. I bought a Honda Civic 8 years ago because I'm basically cheap, knew it got great mileage and could care less what other people think about what I drive. I really watch the way I drive, take roads that don't require speeds over 60, coast to the light and ease on out after the light. I get 40 mpg on average. The Civic is one of the best built cars on the planet. I have 211,000 miles on it and plan to keep it till the wheels fall off. Detroit has been myopic while Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen have come up from behind and surpassed anything GM or Ford can dream up.

of VA @ May 21, 2008 08:03:57 AM