[frankthetank]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ASHINGTON - The nation’s fleet of new cars and trucks will be required to achieve 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015, the Bush administration said Tuesday.

Transportation Department Secretary Mary Peters outlined the plan on Earth Day, setting a schedule that was more aggressive than initially expected by industry officials.

[Twilight]

That isn't even close to where the EU and Japan are now.

You would think when you have to drive long distances fuel efficiency would be important.

[bonehead]

Typical knee-jerk reaction by the worst president ever.Always waits for something to happen before he reacts,with the only exception being Iraq.

[Cashmere]

I despise the guy, but I think you've got Georgie Boy all wrong.

I think if you went back 10 years and asked him how he thought the years 1997-2007 would play out, he would have been shockingly accurate.



31?

Egads.

The absolute worst thing about the U.S. car market right now is the fact that the absolute BEST I could do in a reasonably priced new car would be about 35.

What a joke.

Geo Metros back in the early 90s got 45.

Worse than not having high MPG compacts and subcompacts, there aren't any fuel efficient small diesel trucks out there.

The U.S. is screwed.

By 2015?

Where the fuck are the high MPG cars TODAY?

How hard would it be for some dickwad company like ford to take their shitbox Focus frame and put something less guzzling than a 140hp 2.0 liter in it?

You figure they could put in a nice 1.3 liter, 70 horse, efficient motor in it and improve mileage from the crappy 23-25 it gets now to 35 ish.

Ug. How friggin hard is it to see that high MPG compacts are going to outsell all other models in just a few years?

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('bonehead', 'T')ypical knee-jerk reaction by the worst president ever.Always waits for something to happen before he reacts,with the only exception being Iraq.

[IanC]

Joel,

Maybe I'm just a bike-lovin' ecofreak, but I would LOVE to buy a shitcan subcompact that got high milage. It's my dreamcar, probably because I don't have the same emotional connection to automobiles that most of my countrymen seem to have. Sure, I'd love and Audi, but, Jeezus, they cost a fortune and get crap milage. I could afford the Audi (pretty much!), but I'd prefer not to spend my savings on keeping it gassed up.

My first car was a Ford Aspire, back in 1996. 42/gal. Drove like crap and I loved it. Too bad it got hit while parked and got totalled.

Anyway, there are some really cool small, efficient cars made in Europe that we never even hear about here because "PEOPLE WON'T BUY THEM". I beg to differ. People will be clamoring for them very soon.

-Ian

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joeltrout', '
')The problem is nobody wants those small compact cars in the US until the price of fuel starts to kill them.

[BigTex]

The Toyota Yaris is a VERY slick vehicle.

Lots of new technology like electric power steering, which is supposed to give you better mileage.

I think the Yaris is awesome, great mileage, looks good, lots of interior room and low price.

So there is at least ONE high mileage vehicle that you can buy for a reasonable price.

Matrix, Corolla and Honda Civic are nice too for the non-hybrid set.

[3aidlillahi]

Umm...I think the Mods deleted the wrong post. I had two, one was a copy of another. I edited one to say "accidental repost" and they deleted the other one, which had my actual post on it.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')If you look at the fastest-growing market segments in China, there are two — SUVs and luxury cars," said Joseph Y.H. Liu, GM China's vice president for sales and marketing.

Auto sales in China are booming, with analysts and automakers forecasting growth at 15-20 percent this year. But demand for the biggest vehicles is even stronger, with sales of luxury cars and SUVs expected to surge by 40-45 percent.

[frankthetank]

1.5liter 4 banger with a stick could get you over 40mpg...

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cashmere', '.')..
Where the fuck are the high MPG cars TODAY?

How hard would it be for some dickwad company like ford to take their shitbox Focus frame and put something less guzzling than a 140hp 2.0 liter in it?

You figure they could put in a nice 1.3 liter, 70 horse, efficient motor in it and improve mileage from the crappy 23-25 it gets now to 35 ish.

Ug. How friggin hard is it to see that high MPG compacts are going to outsell all other models in just a few years?

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', '[')img]http://www.tonygrahamtoyota.com/images/newmodels/yaris.jpg[/img]

1.5liter 4 banger with a stick could get you over 40mpg...

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', '[')img]http://www.tonygrahamtoyota.com/images/newmodels/yaris.jpg[/img]

1.5liter 4 banger with a stick could get you over 40mpg...

[joeltrout]

I have a friend that works at the Honda US headquarters and we were talking about the Toyota Prius verses the Honda Civic Hybrid. She said the Toyota Prius is outselling the Civic Hybrid by a large amount. So Honda did research a while back and found that people bought the Toyota Prius because you could look at the car from a mile away and see that it was a hybrid because of the funky shape. People were hesitant to buy the Honda Civic Hybrid because most people cannot tell it was a hybrid.

All this happened before gas prices got expensive. Now people are buying any hybrid or high MPG vehicle they can afford.

But it showed people wanted to be seen as green instead of actually just being green to help the world.

joeltrout

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('IanC', ' ')

Anyway, there are some really cool small, efficient cars made in Europe that we never even hear about here because "PEOPLE WON'T BUY THEM". I beg to differ. People will be clamoring for them very soon.

-Ian

[BigTex]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joeltrout', 'B')ut there are a lot of people like myself. I drive an SUV and my wife drives an SUV and won't change that until I absolutely have to. We are paying $4.02 a gallon here in Los Angeles. The big difference for me and my wife is we do not complain about high gas prices. If gas was $6.00 a gallon I would still drive my Chevy Tahoe.

joeltrout

[Cashmere]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')code]I agree...people will be buying as much MPG as they can afford in their next car purchase.

But there are a lot of people like myself. I drive an SUV and my wife drives an SUV and won't change that until I absolutely have to. We are paying $4.02 a gallon here in Los Angeles. The big difference for me and my wife is we do not complain about high gas prices. If gas was $6.00 a gallon I would still drive my Chevy Tahoe.

joeltrout[/code]

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BigTex', '
')
That surprises me a little. How long have you had them?

If you changed vehicles today what would you get?

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cashmere', '
')You were a big supporter of Cramer, so I got my shot over the bow at that point, but this is new and juicy . . .

Joel Trout, do you have any debt? How much? Do you make more than 5 figures?

Please post quickly, I can hardly stand the suspense.

[joeltrout]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joeltrout', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cashmere', '
')You were a big supporter of Cramer, so I got my shot over the bow at that point, but this is new and juicy . . .

Joel Trout, do you have any debt? How much? Do you make more than 5 figures?

Please post quickly, I can hardly stand the suspense.