The September 2008 Car Update
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There's an interesting disconnect in the US regarding diesel. Ford has a diesel Focus that they sell all over Europe, 60something MPG. Various Volkswagens get similar mileage, yet they can't be sold here at this time. I'm not sure if it's Fed standards or California standards causing the kerfuffle, regardless, we can't get high-efficiency turbo-diesels. The problem is compounded by the dollar/Euro values, Ford would lose money if they brought that diesel Focus over here. Building a plant in Mexico would be a long payoff and not really viable. And add yet another layer of diesel fuel being more expensive than unleaded, which reduces the advantage of diesel economy, though the economy is still there.
And last week on Slashdot, a scientist has created a device that attaches to your fuel line that (sort of) pre-atomizes the fuel, improving the efficiency of the fuel injection system, and boosting fuel economy by 10-20% regardless of unleaded or diesel. It could prove to be a hoax device, but it looks like it might be solid. So there's another efficiency that we might be able to exploit.
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[font="Arial"]Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves or we know where we can find information upon it. --Samuel Johnson[/font] -
I'll definitely keep an on the tires and mileage. I don't remember the brand that was on there originally, but they never seemed to grip well.
Would we be more efficient without gadgets? I'm sure we would, but at what cost. I don't think that most of the gadgets, the nav system, the CD players, etc. add a lot of weight to the car. You're talking a few pounds. Leaving a laptop in the car when you don't need it probably adds that weight. Also, most cars recharge their batteries with an alternator as we drive, so without the gadgets, some of that power would be wasted.
Hybrids have 2 batteries. One is for normal gadgets, and that's a 12v we're used to. The other is larger and used for moving the car
If we removed safety gadgets, things would weigh less, but what do you want to remove. I think we have perhaps gone overboard, but what do you give up. Seat belts? front air bags? Side air bags? Less steel and more air bags? Not sure here.
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Let it Snow!
Last winter we drove our Prius almost every day in the snow. No snow tires but the tires in front were almost new all season radials. It drove just like my other front wheel drive cars have (list includes VW, Hyundai, Chrysler, GM, and Ford). The Prius does sit lower to the ground than some other sedans so if the snow is really deep we usually take our other car (Honda AWD CRV).
Otherwise it handled fine all winter.
do it right, or do it over and over, it's up to you
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My 1987 Corvette with an all digital dash. I drive it every day here in Phoenix, AZ and as you can see average 23.0 MPG. I can also flip a switch and see "Instant MPG", which I also like (there is also "Range" too). Right now it has 124,861 total miles on it. I love this car! More cars should have this type of mileage information available. I mean come on, obviously the technology has existed since at least 1987. 🙂
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From your article, and I quote:
Winters are relatively short here in Denver
Which Denver are you living in??? I lived in Colorado Springs for two years. It snowed over Memorial weekend, we had a freeze over 4th of July, and it snowed again *before* Labor Day. As in, it snowed in August. :blink:
So, I have to ask - which reality did this "short winters in Denver" come from again??? 😀
Steve G.
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While it can snow here anytime in Denver (surprised we haven't had any in Sept), we don't have a lot of snow here. The vast majority of the time the weather is mild, possibly cold, but not much snow here. When we get snow, it's typically gone in a day or two.
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The Springs is a bit higher, and we lived smack against the base of the mountain, but I don't think the weather patterns would be *that* different. How far out of Denver are you, and which direction, compasswise?
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I lived in Greeley, CO for several years and found the winters to be very mild there while our neighbors (Denver) got a lot of snow. So, I think we can say there are areas reasonably close (I was less than an hour away from Denver) to Denver that do have very mild winters. I wish I were there now instead of Dallas, TX.
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Heh. Small world. I lived in Lewisville and Flower Mound for four years. My wife went back through there a few years after we'd moved and the place had exploded - almost nothing was recognizable. Quiet farm roads were now 4 lane "parkways" and pastureland had been replaced with neighborhoods.
Steve G.
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I'll be curious to hear how the Prius does in the mountains. I know people who had the Honda Civic hybrid and sold it because it couldn't handle the hills between Denver and Colorado Springs. That was the only complaint they had. After the battery ran out, the small engine didn't have the power to get up the hills at more than about 40 mph.
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Bill Stutters (9/29/2008)
I'll be curious to hear how the Prius does in the mountains. I know people who had the Honda Civic hybrid and sold it because it couldn't handle the hills between Denver and Colorado Springs. That was the only complaint they had. After the battery ran out, the small engine didn't have the power to get up the hills at more than about 40 mph.We have a few mountains here in California (actually we have just about every terrain here in CA), and the worst trouble I had was trying to drive up a long, relatively steep grade in a four-cylinder Volvo. Of course, I did get the worst Volve ever manufactured.
So far, no trouble driving up grades in the Prius, although the mileage goes down (but you make it up on the return trip). It seems to me you have an advantage in the mountains with the Prius, because both engines seem to engage.
At least it's better than that gol-danged Volvo was.
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I live SE of Denver, E of Parker.
The Prius has done OK in the mountains, but I haven't tried much snow. A little nervous about it, but with the new tires, I'll give it a go in Dec. It's a tad under powered going into the mountains, plus I hate seeing my mileage get ruined, but no issues moving at 60-65 when I need to.
I'm as likely to be outside with no coat on in January as with one. My three years here, and 11 in the South Denver area, I've considered this to be a very low snow area. I lived 2 years in Syracuse, NY, which is what I'd call a high snow area
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Also, most cars recharge their batteries with an alternator as we drive, so without the gadgets, some of that power would be wasted.
Steve,
That's not strictly true. The more load you have on the electrical system the harder the engine has to work to turn the alternator. Without the gadgets that power would be going to the tires. (If you want to "see" this get a low battery and listen to the engine when you turn on the lights). Now, having said that, the amount of load from most of the non-necessary electronics can't be that much.
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JimFive
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Wayne West (9/29/2008)
.... I'm not sure if it's Fed standards or California standards causing the kerfuffle, regardless, we can't get high-efficiency turbo-diesels. The problem is compounded by the dollar/Euro values, Ford would lose money if they brought that diesel Focus over here..
Yes it is the feds. The US diesel standards have tightened up so much that quite a number of viable efficient engines are off the market 9and the ones that do make it will be made vastly more expensive because of exotic converters. All this for a small increment in emissions.
And last week on Slashdot, a scientist has created a device that attaches to your fuel line that (sort of) pre-atomizes the fuel, improving the efficiency of the fuel injection system, and boosting fuel economy by 10-20% regardless of unleaded or diesel. It could prove to be a hoax device, but it looks like it might be solid. So there's another efficiency that we might be able to exploit.
Don't believe it, classic urban legend. Fuel cannot be atomized in the fuel line --t's fully liquid and under pressure-- and if it did atomize, the engine would stall because of fuel starvation. Atomization is handled very precisely by the fuel injectors, and while changes in the injectors or computer programming MIGHT help CERTAIN vehicles, any time you see an across the board claim, it's BS.
If indeed there were 10-20% loss due to incomplete atomization, that would imply that there was 10-20% unused (unburned) fuel. Any engine that passed 10-20% unburned fuel would never pass emissions.
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-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
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The 8 year battery guarantee sounds like a long time, but it will easily land on the second owner... the potential of such a big repair bill so early into the car's life will probably affect resale value. Why buy a used car that gets a few more mpg, when you'll likely be hit for far more than you saved.
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-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
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