gas guzzlers

[Jared]

nice

my 65 comet with a 289 V8 2bbl isn't really bad on gas...but it's worse than mmost newer cars

[Mushroom_Farmer]

Those pics aren't hotlinked are they? Hotlinking is bad, very bad.

Why do some current autos get no better mileage than some 30 year old cars?

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

Gas guzzlers? Take any American SUV and you have your answer

[AvHistory]

In a fuel crisis what better time to assemble the trully great ones of the past? Like the Oldsmobile Rallye 350,...& others.

Had a 1969 Pontiac 350HO Firebird for a few years & it got much worse gas mileage then my Ford Explorer V-8 4X4 & only slightly better mileage the My 1966 GTO Tri-Power 398 Ram Air

[Boeing227]

Ski-doos, outboard motors and Sea-doos are very hard on gas. Also, the new F-150 is a gasohaulic, same with the Hummer H2.

See what makes a gas guzzler is a big enginethats more than 4 or 5 cylinders. Anything 6-cyl and above is a gas chugger. I depends on the size and weight of the vehicles.

[BMan1113VR]

Anything 6-cyl and above is a gas chugger. I depends on the size and weight of the vehicles.

Thats not really true, it is more to do with the weight of the vehicle (how much "work" is needed to move the weight and get it up to speed), speed being traveled (and how much "work" is required to overcome the aerodynamic drag), and general efficiency of the engine and drive terrain of transmitting that work to the ground. Number of cylinders doesn't really matter.

[Triple_7]

Its not always the size of the vehical, but how & where its drove.  Just about any vehical can get good mileage depending on the situation.  I currently drive an 89 Ford Bronco II 4x4 2.9 V6.  Its averaging around 14 miles to the gallon.  But, living in a small town with to many stop signs I use a lot more fuel since all I do is stop and go every few feet.  Now on a highway its a different story.  I take a trip to my brother-in-law's house over in Dayton, Ohio a couple times a year.  The route I take is one mostly spent on one highway with only 1 small town you have to stop in.  Also smooth fairly strait road.  On those trips I average somewhere between 25-28 miles to the gallon.  It all comes down to how you drive.  In town I cant get up to speed before stopping again, but on a long highway I get up to speed and then barely have my foot on the pedal.  My old F-150 was the same way...about 12-14 mpg in town but 20-25 mpg on the highway.

But there are some...like the Hummers that are just expensive gas hogs and people who can afford to drive them are generaly your wealthier citizens who dont care when gas is 3 bucks a gallon [smiley=rolleyes.gif]

Anymore they advertise all these new cars that get 30 mpg...but then they highway.  So in town your probably not going to get near that :-/

[BMan1113VR]

[quote]Its not always the size of the vehical, but how & where its drove.

[expat]

But there are some...like the Hummers that are just expensive gas hogs and people who can afford to drive them are generaly your wealthier citizens who dont care when gas is 3 bucks a gallon [smiley=rolleyes.gif]

I dream of paying 3 bucks a gallon  :'(

Matt

[elite marksman]

There is a slight difference between American gas price and European gas price. In Europe, the price is so high because the government taxes the hell out of it, which they can get away with because the vast majority of the area has a public transportation system that actually works, in addition to the fact that people (adults) actually own bikes and use them for more than recreation.

The gas price difference is almost entirely due to a cultural difference, America invented the car and it is inseparable from American society, if the American government tried to tax gas as much as the Europeans did, there would be riots, and if they failed to remove the taxes, quite possibly far more severe consequences. Europeans, on the other hand, having built their cities long before it was invented, found that it was too impractical to change street layouts that have been in place for hundreds of years so as to accommodate the larger cars, instead of horse carriages. Instead, they opted to build a very effective public transportation network, encouraging people to use it, and because of the more compact nature of Europe, bicycles are also a viable alternative to cars.

[Hagar]

There is a slight difference between American gas price and European gas price. In Europe, the price is so high because the government taxes the hell out of it, which they can get away with because the vast majority of the area has a public transportation system that actually works, in addition to the fact that people (adults) actually own bikes and use them for more than recreation.

Where did you read that? It might be true for some parts of Europe but certainly not the UK which has the highest fuel taxes in Europe. LOL

The gas price difference is almost entirely due to a cultural difference, America invented the car and it is inseparable from American society, if the American government tried to tax gas as much as the Europeans did, there would be riots, and if they failed to remove the taxes, quite possibly far more severe consequences. Europeans, on the other hand, having built their cities long before it was invented, found that it was too impractical to change street layouts that have been in place for hundreds of years so as to accommodate the larger cars, instead of horse carriages.

Karl Benz invented the first true motor car in Germany. http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html

because of the more compact nature of Europe, bicycles are also a viable alternative to cars.

Maybe true in Holland - or China.

[Woodlouse2002]

America invented the car

I'm afraid there are some people who may disagree with you on that point.


Also, the average horse and carriage was far larger, and bulkier than your average car so street layouts had nothing to do with the development of the car as Europe sees it. Simply the Americans have always had a "bigger is better" policy on most things and that is why you find cars the with the size and efficiency of a tank acceptable.

Also on the point about the large tax on fuel in Europe. I'm betting there are some politicians in America who wish they'd caught on to that trick when Europe did. Because what a fancy little earner it is for the government.

[Woodlouse2002]

But there are some...like the Hummers that are just expensive gas hogs and people who can afford to drive them are generaly your wealthier citizens who dont care when gas is 3 bucks a gallon [smiley=rolleyes.gif]

They test drove a Hummer H2 on Top Gear a couple of years ago. Clarkson was quite excited that the onboard computer was telling him that he was doing 1 mile per gallon. It did 2 mpg going off road.

[elite marksman]

Karl Benz invented the first true motor car in Germany. http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html

Maybe true in Holland - or China.

To clarify, I meant that the first commercially successful car was invented here.

As for the second point: I spent two weeks in Germany over the past summer, I was able to get to anywhere I wanted with a combination of bicycle and public transportation. All I had to do was ride about 3 km to the train station, get on a train, and could be anywhere in Bremen within an hour, Bremerhaven within about 2 hours, the same was true of Berlin. Granted, it would be much more inconvenient to ride a bike in southern Germany, Switzerland, northern Italy, southeastern France, or Austria, but those areas are far less populated than the rest of Europe.

[Triple_7]

As usual you cant compare the US prices to the world.  $3 here is rediculously high.  Right now its $2.21 and thats to high.  I remember when it was 95 cents  When I started driving it was running $1.25 range.

Its more a matter of country style.  When I was in Taiwan we mostly got around by either scooter or MRT lines.  I think in the 3 weeks I only rode in a car 3 times (excluding the trip around the island)...2 of those were from and to the airport  Here in little North Manchester its a whole other story.  Little town of a whopping 3.5 square miles and a lot of that is roads or open space.  Theres only nesesities to be found here and they are usualy much higher priced.  Nearest Walmarts ect are roughly 20 miles away.  Work for me is 18 miles one way.  Unlike a big city or most other countries...the only way to really get anywhere is to drive.  And with working on farms I have to haul different things just about every day so need a truck.  Most of the US is tied to the vehical due to it being the only transportation for where you need to go.  Big vehicals are becoming more common then ever...but most people are just for style and not for practical use.  I can see a big SUV for the big family...but not for a single person who has no need for it.

Googled my town...(finally, high def for my area 8-) )  Most of my time is spent a couple miles north where its 95% fields...for those that say..."theres more than corn in Indiana"...yah...there is...but its soy beans  But...with most of our surounding area like this.  Its not that easy to get around without driving some type of vehical.  So...we have a right to b*^@# when the gas prices are high  :-/