Wednesday, May 21, 2014

What is the most fuel efficient car on the market?




�4M�N!


Non-hybrid, non-electric.


Answer
As you are asking about a "Non-hybrid, non-electric." your question might best be asked in another section of YA like "cars and transportation - auto makes."

12,000 mpg: Your question raises issues of how "efficiency" is measured, what you consider a "car" and "the market." Smaller cars get better mileage with all things being equal. Vehicles will a low rolling and wind resistance will get better mileage. So 3 wheels, low to the ground, with an aerodynamic shell will get better mileage. This vehicle boasts 12,000 mpg: http://thinkorthwim.com/2007/09/06/the-worlds-most-fuel-efficient-car-12000-miles-per-gallon/ All someone would have to do is sell one and you could say it was "on the market."

What is a "car?" But perhaps you are looking for something that seats more than one person and 4 wheels sounds better than 3. Then you are defining what you mean by "car," and also eliminating the highest possible mileage. Also by "car" you may be looking for something manufactured by an auto company of a certain size. You may be looking for a new and not used vehicle.

Which "Market?" The European and Asian markets have smaller cars than the US. Vehicles found there will have better mileage than you can typically find on US streets. Perhaps also you would wish to define "market" as not something that is sold privately but may be found on ebay, Craig's list or your local paper. Last you may not be interested in yesterday's market or 20 years ago but something being manufactured today and is available new today.

How are you measuring "efficiency?" Engine efficiency does not directly lead to vehicle efficiency without considering rolling and wind resistance. Government agencies don't take cars out for a spin to measure their mileage.1 This is partically because the same vehicle can be driven in very different ways. There are techniques called "hyper-milling" that allow you to get sometimes far better mileage. So someone can take a stock vehicle and get fantastic mileage by driving in ways that may not be considered "normal" http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php See also pulse and glide in: http://www.metrompg.com/posts/pulse-and-glide.htm

You need to be aware that some non US mileage figures may be in km / liter and therefore appear higher for that reason. You see these cars frequently mentioned:

2000 Honda Insight? ...claims over 70 mpg (sorry about that it just slipped in.)
Tata Nano gets 51+ mpg.
Geo Metro got 53 MPG
turbo Diesel jetta

Electric Car a Farce?




GABY


The Chevy Volt cost $41,000 and Taxpayers money, but fuel economy is terrible, but the government still wants our money to support it??? WTF? Just like Solar and Wind, the government takes our hard-earned money and gives it to big companies to build projects that will not stand on their own when honestly evaluated.

From Investors.com article.

"So it's not an all-electric car, but rather a pricey $41,000 hybrid that requires a taxpayer-funded $7,500 subsidy to get car shoppers to look at it. But gee, even despite the false advertising about the powertrain, isn't a car that gets 230 miles per gallon of gas worth it?

We heard GM's then-CEO Fritz Henderson claim the Volt would get 230 miles per gallon in city conditions. Popular Mechanics found the Volt to get about 37.5 mpg in city driving, and Motor Trend reports: "Without any plugging in, (a weeklong trip to Grandma's house) should return fuel economy in the high 30s to low 40s."

Car and Driver reported that "getting on the nearest highway and commuting with the 80-mph flow of traffic â basically the worst-case scenario â yielded 26 miles; a fairly spirited backroad loop netted 31; and a carefully modulated cruise below 60 mph pushed the figure into the upper 30s."

A $16,000 Ford or Toyota will do much better than this! Why does our governrnent and our "Environmentalists" keep lieing to us??? What is the purpose?



Answer
First, you could make water sound like a terrible thing if you write about it using certain techniques. It is more in the writing than the subject. The Volt is not a pure electric car. It is not even a pure series hybrid. After about 70mph the engine is powering the wheels and by-passing the electric motor so it is kind of a "hybrid-series hybrid" or a "sometimes parallel hybrid." GM seems to have made a number of false statements about the Volt.1 If lying were a death sentence there may not be too many people, including writers, around these days.

Having 2 drive-trains naturally makes it more expensive than the pure electric Nissan Leaf by around $8000. It is not clear from your quote that the government tax credit comes off the 41,000 price and not the other way around. Is being misleading a lie?

But I would agree that many large operations would not stand on their own without government subsidies. Oil as an energy source for example: see "Might as well leave the oil in the ground!" http://planet.betterplace.com/forum/topics/electricity-vs-oil There are times when the government takes "your hard earned money" to save some from crying when they would lose even more later as society falls apart. There is sometimes a social benefit in subsidies even though we perhaps have too much and too many now.

There is a saying that "figures lie and liars figure." In truth there are several different numbers on the Volt mileage. Here are test drive results showing mileage around 90 mpg for the non-electric portion of the trips: http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2010/1010_127_mpg_chevy_volt_diaries/real_world_experience.html This is from the same people who previously helped to point out how GM lied. It seems that the "mileage will vary" subsantially depending upon the driving conditions and who is doing the testing.

At this point, it seems that every auto manufacturer is building or working on some form of electric car. Some don't like to see that happening, but it may be like trying to stop Spring and Summer from coming and it may ultimately be in our best interests. It will be interesting to see who will buy the Volt, how many will be sold, and if GM will crush them after 3 years.




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