The 65 mpg car from Ford the U.S. Can't Have

[..]

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_37/b4099060491065.htm

[Sludge]

I understand Ford's thinking, but I have never understood why diesel hasnt been used more here in the states.  I own a couple gas burners aside from my chainsaw and weedeater.  My motorcycles and my wife's Toyota.  All my trucks, pickup trucks, tractors, lawn mowers... all diesel and a diesel car would be welcome to the stable if only someone would make one worthy of having in a rural farm environment.

[R J]

Ya mingle in politics, (taxes) and you are up sheet creek without a paddle.

The Government tells the auto makers to make cars with high MPG figures.
They do and then they won't lower their tax to make it profitable.   Those A'holes know where their bread and butter is for the cities, counties and etc.   Just a round robin kind of deal.

Many years back the auto makers played with different types or carbs.   Ford at one time had a carb that let a flat head Ford get horrendous mileage.   One happened to get into my Uncle's Ford garage inventory.   Ford tracked the car down, told my Uncle they wanted the carb off of it.    He told them NO, it was his demo.    He came out one morning to go to the shop and the carb was gone.    Ford said, no we didn't steal it.    One of the friendly NOSY neighbors, who knew everything in town and everybody's business, got the license plate # off of the car at the time 2 guys were screwing around under the hood in the driveway.  The sheriff run the plate and it came back to FoMoCo.

The oil companies came down on the auto makers like a ton of bricks to keep them off the market.   They wanted to sell gas.   Hell, they still do.

[alph]

YEP, Once again, our government is our worst enemy.

[Bobbo]

Ya mingle in politics, (taxes) and you are up sheet creek without a paddle.

The Government tells the auto makers to make cars with high MPG figures.
They do and then they won't lower their tax to make it profitable.   Those A'holes know where their bread and butter is for the cities, counties and etc.   Just a round robin kind of deal.

Many years back the auto makers played with different types or carbs.   Ford at one time had a carb that let a flat head Ford get horrendous mileage.   One happened to get into my Uncle's Ford garage inventory.   Ford tracked the car down, told my Uncle they wanted the carb off of it.    He told them NO, it was his demo.    He came out one morning to go to the shop and the carb was gone.    Ford said, no we didn't steal it.    One of the friendly NOSY neighbors, who knew everything in town and everybody's business, got the license plate # off of the car at the time 2 guys were screwing around under the hood in the driveway.  The sheriff run the plate and it came back to FoMoCo.

The oil companies came down on the auto makers like a ton of bricks to keep them off the market.   They wanted to sell gas.   Hell, they still do.

Isn't this that age old story of the "secret magic" carburetor that got 100+ MPG that some engineer developed, only to have been killed (by big oil) and the "secret" buried on a vault somewhere?  I've heard this story since the late '60s.  It's too bad only one engineer was smart enough to design this special carburetor.

[bentwrench]

BS, there is a finite amount of enegy in a gallon of gas.A carb is such an imprecise fuel metering device when compared to the computerized F.I. we have today.no one ever made a carb that can move one of yesteryears lumbering behemoths more than 30 miles.
BW

[Bobbo]

BS there is a finite amount of enegy in a gallon of gas.A carb is such an imprecise fuel metering device when compared to the computerized F.I. we have today.no one ever made a carb that can move one of yesteryears lumbering behemoths more than 30 miles.
BW

Also, a reciprocating piston engine can only utilize a portion of that energy, since a lot of the energy in the form of heat is shot out of the exhaust.

[fudgie]

They stopped making Ford 450 in dis last year. 

[old2soon]

I'm a g m guy all the way. That being said-if that 65mpg diesel burning ride WAS available here-and gm had nuthin comparable-wanna guess what would be in MY driveway. Hint fomoco. RIDE SAFE.

[MP]

My VW Jetta is a bigger car, diesel, and it is rated at 42 mpg.  If you go 60, it will get 50mpg.  Also, pulling an enclosed trailer, with my Valkyrie in the trailer, it got 28mpg last winter going to FL and back.  Pretty darn good.

the new ones in the lot, list at $25,000 ready to go out the door.  Less any dickering you can do. 

VW sells a lot of them, do not know why Ford doesn't think it can, other than their car is quite a bit smaller.

MP

[Sludge]

Ive always wanted a little ford ranger pickup with a diesel in it.  I think that would be a great little farm truck. 

Think of what mpg it could get.  My 06' 3500 mega cab can get just over 21 under the right conditions. 

[highcountry]

My last four pickups have been diesels and I would definitely be a candidate for a diesel car when Honda or Toyota decides to import one.  My Dodge Cummins has awesome power and gets 20-21 mpg, even when pulling small trailers.  A really killer car would a diesel hybrid.

[rainman]

Ya mingle in politics, (taxes) and you are up sheet creek without a paddle.

The Government tells the auto makers to make cars with high MPG figures.
They do and then they won't lower their tax to make it profitable.   Those A'holes know where their bread and butter is for the cities, counties and etc.   Just a round robin kind of deal.

Many years back the auto makers played with different types or carbs.   Ford at one time had a carb that let a flat head Ford get horrendous mileage.   One happened to get into my Uncle's Ford garage inventory.   Ford tracked the car down, told my Uncle they wanted the carb off of it.    He told them NO, it was his demo.    He came out one morning to go to the shop and the carb was gone.    Ford said, no we didn't steal it.    One of the friendly NOSY neighbors, who knew everything in town and everybody's business, got the license plate # off of the car at the time 2 guys were screwing around under the hood in the driveway.  The sheriff run the plate and it came back to FoMoCo.

The oil companies came down on the auto makers like a ton of bricks to keep them off the market.   They wanted to sell gas.   Hell, they still do.

[ArmyValker]

I'd be willing to bet that if gasoline is comparably priced to diesel for any length of time, you'll see some of those diesel's make their way over here. I think it has to do more with the recent price disparity between diesel and gasoline than anything else. Not to mention the fact that you ain't buying a diesel  Ranger for under 20k, and you can buy a stripped down work truck in the mid-low teens...

The technology exists, the consumer base needs to exist and we'll see those products make their way over here. If you stick a small diesel hybrid in a Honda Civic, I bet you'd get some good mileage!

[Brad]

The article was written September 4, 2008.  Interesting enough, Ford was going to build those engines in its Mexico plant but they changed their mind because it would make the cars too expensive to sell in Europe.  They did not want to spend the money to ship the engines to Europe.  They are also building an awesome new Ranger pickup with a diesel engine to be sold everywhere except the US.

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=34215

http://polizeros.com/2011/01/09/not-for-america-ford-ranger-diesel-tows-160-ton-train/

[Brad]

If you live in an area that has compressed natural gas fueling stations the Honda Civic GX looks like a winner (if they could get the price down it would be better).  In some areas the CNG is selling for $1.25 per gallon.


http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-gx/

[alph]

i don't know how any of this might work, but, why couldn't a person buy one of these vehicles and ship it over to america??? 

[Reb]

Ya mingle in politics, (taxes) and you are up sheet creek without a paddle.

The Government tells the auto makers to make cars with high MPG figures.
They do and then they won't lower their tax to make it profitable.   Those A'holes know where their bread and butter is for the cities, counties and etc.   Just a round robin kind of deal.

Many years back the auto makers played with different types or carbs.   Ford at one time had a carb that let a flat head Ford get horrendous mileage.   One happened to get into my Uncle's Ford garage inventory.   Ford tracked the car down, told my Uncle they wanted the carb off of it.    He told them NO, it was his demo.    He came out one morning to go to the shop and the carb was gone.    Ford said, no we didn't steal it.    One of the friendly NOSY neighbors, who knew everything in town and everybody's business, got the license plate # off of the car at the time 2 guys were screwing around under the hood in the driveway.  The sheriff run the plate and it came back to FoMoCo.

The oil companies came down on the auto makers like a ton of bricks to keep them off the market.   They wanted to sell gas.   Hell, they still do.

Isn't this that age old story of the "secret magic" carburetor that got 100+ MPG that some engineer developed, only to have been killed (by big oil) and the "secret" buried on a vault somewhere?  I've heard this story since the late '60s.  It's too bad only one engineer was smart enough to design this special carburetor.

How bout the story of Stan Meyer's and his H20 (hydrogen) powered dune buggy, that he claimed could travel from N.Y. to L.A. on 22 gallons of water. After his design was patent, he died at a local restaurant from food poisoning.
http://waterpoweredcar.com/stanmeyer.html

[3fan4life]

Yamaha developed a 1000cc 2 cycle diesel that meets the emission standards as well.

The linked article is newer than the one I read some years back, that article estimated that in a compact car it would average 80mpg.

This article talks about making a diesel hybrid but doesn't mention mpg's.


http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/news/1999/03/23/super-diesel.html  


The technology is out there, but with Billions of $$$$$$ in profits every quarter big oil has more than enough money to hold it back.

[Bobbo]

Ya mingle in politics, (taxes) and you are up sheet creek without a paddle.

The Government tells the auto makers to make cars with high MPG figures.
They do and then they won't lower their tax to make it profitable.   Those A'holes know where their bread and butter is for the cities, counties and etc.   Just a round robin kind of deal.

Many years back the auto makers played with different types or carbs.   Ford at one time had a carb that let a flat head Ford get horrendous mileage.   One happened to get into my Uncle's Ford garage inventory.   Ford tracked the car down, told my Uncle they wanted the carb off of it.    He told them NO, it was his demo.    He came out one morning to go to the shop and the carb was gone.    Ford said, no we didn't steal it.    One of the friendly NOSY neighbors, who knew everything in town and everybody's business, got the license plate # off of the car at the time 2 guys were screwing around under the hood in the driveway.  The sheriff run the plate and it came back to FoMoCo.

The oil companies came down on the auto makers like a ton of bricks to keep them off the market.   They wanted to sell gas.   Hell, they still do.

Isn't this that age old story of the "secret magic" carburetor that got 100+ MPG that some engineer developed, only to have been killed (by big oil) and the "secret" buried on a vault somewhere?  I've heard this story since the late '60s.  It's too bad only one engineer was smart enough to design this special carburetor.

How bout the story of Stan Meyer's and his H20 (hydrogen) powered dune buggy, that he claimed could travel from N.Y. to L.A. on 22 gallons of water. After his design was patent, he died at a local restaurant from food poisoning.
http://waterpoweredcar.com/stanmeyer.html

Thanks for the laugh!

[MNBill]

A friend of mine had a little diesel Ranger about 20 years ago. He commuted about 30 miles to work everyday. He loved the little truck. There are rumors of GM putting a diesel in the 1/2 tons soon too, I think a 4.8 liter. My Dmax gets about 15 in town - 18 on the road- empty. Drops to about 9-10 with the 5th wheel and the bike or boat behind that. It will do better at aound 60 mph but when going fishing or riding I just want to get there. My old 2500 gas did 13 with a tail wind and 8-9 pulling. For the difference in price the diesel is well worth it and diesel goes down in the summer compared to gas, about a 15 cent difference here now. A guy around here put a combine diesel in a F250, got great milaege but would hardly pull itself.

[valkmc]

I worked with a lady (engineer) at our school district that spent two summers working with Toyota on a hydrogen car. She did a presentation that I attended and showed the car off. She also spent several weeks driving the car from state to state to take some of our politicians for a ride. The fuel was in a fuel cell, you removed it from the tank much like a battery and replaced it with another. There were lots of problems mainly the price. She told us the car cost several hundred thousand to build. One of the by products was driving it in a air polluted area like LA it actually cleaned the air it used. The last time I spoke with her about the car she said Toyota and the feds had pulled the funding and nothing was being done with it at the time.

[Jess Tolbirt]

o had a friend once that had a datsun pickup diesel,,that little thing would run forever on a tank of fuel...

[Bobbo]

How bout the story of Stan Meyer's and his H20 (hydrogen) powered dune buggy, that he claimed could travel from N.Y. to L.A. on 22 gallons of water. After his design was patent, he died at a local restaurant from food poisoning.
http://waterpoweredcar.com/stanmeyer.html

Some interesting info on this "Free Energy" engine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Meyer%27s_water_fuel_cell

[Stude]

I'm a g m guy all the way. That being said-if that 65mpg diesel burning ride WAS available here-and gm had nuthin comparable-wanna guess what would be in MY driveway. Hint fomoco. RIDE SAFE.

You want mpg check this out? Watch the video after the ad, sorry don't know how to cut out the ad
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/chevy-volt-review-and-test-drive/f2079b5ca905ce329a39f2079b5ca905ce329a39-881990763545?q=chevy+volt&FROM=LKVR5&GT1=LKVR5&FORM=LKVR

[YoungPUP]

A mechanic friend of mine put a 4BT cummins in an old 80 something S10 with a 700R4 trans. Looks like hell twice reheated but the damn thing gets something close to 35mpg. He claims he got bored cleaning his garage one day, was tired of tripping over the motor , and the rest is history.  Sounds like rocks in a can, but with the power that thing has left to burn and that fuel mileage. I'd drive it.

[ArmyValker]

Yeah.. the hydrogen cars used compressed hydrogen as fuel.. NOT to be confused with the "hydrogen generators" which aren't worth a hoot. There is a working compressed hydrogen Chevy Equinox in the research department at my school, and it works well, it's just a minor (major) explosion risk.

Diesel hybrids have been around for years,  and have the most potential.

[ArmyValker]

Ya mingle in politics, (taxes) and you are up sheet creek without a paddle.

The Government tells the auto makers to make cars with high MPG figures.
They do and then they won't lower their tax to make it profitable.   Those A'holes know where their bread and butter is for the cities, counties and etc.   Just a round robin kind of deal.

Many years back the auto makers played with different types or carbs.   Ford at one time had a carb that let a flat head Ford get horrendous mileage.   One happened to get into my Uncle's Ford garage inventory.   Ford tracked the car down, told my Uncle they wanted the carb off of it.    He told them NO, it was his demo.    He came out one morning to go to the shop and the carb was gone.    Ford said, no we didn't steal it.    One of the friendly NOSY neighbors, who knew everything in town and everybody's business, got the license plate # off of the car at the time 2 guys were screwing around under the hood in the driveway.  The sheriff run the plate and it came back to FoMoCo.

The oil companies came down on the auto makers like a ton of bricks to keep them off the market.   They wanted to sell gas.   Hell, they still do.

Isn't this that age old story of the "secret magic" carburetor that got 100+ MPG that some engineer developed, only to have been killed (by big oil) and the "secret" buried on a vault somewhere?  I've heard this story since the late '60s.  It's too bad only one engineer was smart enough to design this special carburetor.

How bout the story of Stan Meyer's and his H20 (hydrogen) powered dune buggy, that he claimed could travel from N.Y. to L.A. on 22 gallons of water. After his design was patent, he died at a local restaurant from food poisoning.
http://waterpoweredcar.com/stanmeyer.html

This is a bunch of pseduo-science. Small hydrogen generators don't produce enough hydrogen to have any discernible effect on combustion, and certainly not enough to act as a fuel on their own. Even today's hydrogen generators are only designed to "enhance combustion". There are some majorly big hydrogen generators in production now, and even then, I've not seen any data that confirms that they affect gas mileage in any real way.