We cannot drill our way out of this oil crisis. Since 2000, oil companies working in the U.S. have doubled the number of wells drilled per year.
Although increased drilling has added new oil to the nation's supply, it has not done so fast enough to offset the terminal decline of existing fields.
We are going to have to import more of our oil. Period.
I see in a Detroit News article, "GM stresses fuel efficiency as it introduces new SUV lineup" that General Motors doesn't really get it.
Quote:
GM said the new, four-wheel-drive Tahoe can achieve an average fuel efficiency of 20.1 miles per gallon, compared to 18.2 for the 2004 Tahoe.
Whoo-hoo!
The physics behind driving a two ton machine around to carry usually one person is the big flaw in the picture.
Quote:
GM's new SUVs are about 100 pounds heavier than current models, but the company got fuel savings by installing new V-8 engines that shut off half the cylinders when the truck needs less power.
In other words, complexity follows complexity. And, just how much weight is the V8 adding to the whole physics problem to begin with?
And, even more:
Quote:
GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said drivers who want even better fuel economy will be able to get hybrid versions of the SUVs in 2007. LaNeve said the company also is considering diesel versions.
Hey, its 2005 now and GM already had diesel enignes in its light duty trucks bak in the eighties. They think this is a novel idea now?
Alas, many are not impressed:
Quote:
GM shares closed down 23 cents to $31.08 on the New York Stock Exchange.
And, those darn shares just keep going down it seems. If it could cut the weight of its vehicles at the same rate its stock price has declined over the past three years, GM would have a winning concept.
Joined: Oct 16, 2004 Posts: 1317 Location: Appalachian Foothills of Virginia
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:35 pm Post subject: Re: "Fuel efficient" SUV's - like light cigarettes
[quote="Denny"]I see in a Detroit News article, "GM stresses fuel efficiency as it introduces new SUV lineup" that General Motors doesn't really get it.
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:37 pm Post subject: Re: "Fuel efficient" SUV's - like light cigarettes
Not that anyone would actually use those fat monsters for off-roading.
I met someone who got one of those kits to put a VW 1.9 TDI engine in a Suzuki Samurai. Very nice! We idled up a rather steep incline in low-range and first gear. I had gobs of torque.
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 8:29 pm Post subject: Re: "Fuel efficient" SUV's - like light cigarettes
^^
I've only gone off roading once with my dad in the Phillippines. It was with a tiny 1.8 liter Toyota diesel engine... that got like 32 miles per gallon. And we still made it some rather steep inclines in 3rd-word tropical mountain trails.
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 9:41 pm Post subject: Re: "Fuel efficient" SUV's - like light cigarettes
The car of the future is a bicycle - Matt Savinar _________________ "The world is changed... I feel it in the water... I feel it in the earth... I smell it in the air... Much that once was, is lost..." - Galadriel
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:19 pm Post subject: Toyota's Aygo; 4.6 liters per 100 km
I was recently in movie theater watching Doom movie and before the movie begun, there was a commercial about a new car, Toyota Aygo. It looked like very small so it caught my attention. I checked it's website and there was that it consumes only 4.6 liters per 100 km. With a tank of 35 liters you can drive over 700 km with it until next fillup.
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:13 pm Post subject: Re: Toyota Aygo
wow, that thing's tiny. here in the US you'd last about 15 minutes before some idiot on a cell phone in a suburban who didn't even notice you sent you to the hospital.
Joined: Nov 21, 2004 Posts: 579 Location: ~170ft/lbs@0rpm (on my bike)
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:07 am Post subject: Re: Toyota Aygo
I'm interested in the d-4d's they have, well over twice the hp, over four times the torque, and 5.8l/100km! Now that's a car...
http://www.japanesecarfans.com/news.cfm/newsid/2051006.004
Too bad we never get the cool cars here in the U.S... _________________ "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. "
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:28 am Post subject: Re: Toyota Aygo
fossil_fuel wrote:
wow, that thing's tiny. here in the US you'd last about 15 minutes before some idiot on a cell phone in a suburban who didn't even notice you sent you to the hospital.
Sadly I think that point is true - which explains why Smart cars, the Aygo, and other similar vehicles don't penetrate that barrier of ignorance into the US.
Smart cars, the Aygo, and other similar vehicles proliferate in Europe where they share roads, including 80mph motorways, with all other vehicles from motor bikes to heavy trucks...
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 1:21 am Post subject: Re: Toyota Aygo
I've been shopping for a fuel efficient car and was entirely disappointed to learn that automakers market efficient cars overseas but keep them out of the US market. That may be changing in 2006 as a wave of smaller cars arrive in the US... If gas prices are back to 3$/gallon as predicted this spring they should be big sellers (and should help break through our bias against small cars).
I think a switch to smaller cars in the near term is completely viable... Hybrids start at 21,000$, out of reach of many consumer... However these new smaller cars start at 12,000 and can get 48mpg highway, 40 mpg average with a simple gasoline engine. That is double the fuel efficiency of the average vehicle on the roads today and costs much less than the average car on the roads today. With the low starting price and the fact that it would cut my 1000$ plus yearly gasoline bill in half I find them appealing (despite the fact that they will be marketed primarily to teens).
Some have argued that the gasoline required to convert our auto fleet isnt available or that the resources would be wasted... To me that argument doesnt make sense... It has been estimated ( http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/Research.html#anchor_72 ) that it takes 12% of the gasoline used in a car's life to manufacture the car. While construction of new cars would cause an outlay of that 12% up front (being done all the time to produce inefficient autos) it would immediately reduce the gasoline consumed by that driver by 50%. From that point of view we can't afford to NOT make this conversion. Efficiency changes like this would have the effect of reducing US gasoline demand and consumption...
Here is my dream car (48mpg highway predicted, correct me if I'm wrong), 12,000$. The toyota yaris, coming to the US in spring 2006. (Others in the running include Mini-Cooper, Volkswagen Golf TDI and Honda Fit (also coming to the US spring 2006).
If this is peak this may be the last gasoline car I buy... 10-15 years post peak electric vehicles may be easily available given progress in batteries. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05306/599379.stm
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:31 am Post subject: Re: Toyota Aygo
cornholio wrote:
I think a switch to smaller cars in the near term is completely viable... Hybrids start at 21,000$, out of reach of many consumer
I was one of them two years ago. My mind was set on a Honda Civic and I was giving consideration to purchasing the hybrid. However, when working out the finances it just didn't make financial sense (heck, you could argue that when you include resale value, amortization, tax incentives, etc., buying a Honda Civic in lieu of an SUV doesn't make much financial sense either, but I choose to push that aside or I get pissy and start hating the World, etc.).
cornholio wrote:
It has been estimated that it takes 12% of the gasoline used in a car's life to manufacture the car.
I'd like to see a breakdown of the oil inputs into manufacturing. Anyone have a reference? I followed the link from Matt's site but it just had a pie chart of the energy and toxic lifecycle breakdowns. Is this simply a materials issue (e.g. all of the plastic used in the manufacturing process)? Are suitable substitutes available for these materials (e.g. just read about a surfboard made from rubber tree instead of fiberglass)? Does it include the capital "energy costs?" If so, isn't this a form of double counting given that most of the assembly machinery can be easily retooled for hybrid/fuel cell manufacturing? I think these are important questions to ask.
cornholio wrote:
If this is peak this may be the last gasoline car I buy... 10-15 years post peak electric vehicles may be easily available given progress in batteries.
At the risk of raising the ire of some folks (not my intention at all), has anyone looked at the lifecycle costs in terms of dollar and energy input amounts for EVs using batteries vs. fuel cells (as well as vs. hybrids and vs. conventional)? I think that would be an interesting analysis. I'm curious to see if maufacturing/replacement of and maintenance on the batteries is better or worse than the inefficiencies in hydrogen generation/transportation/storage. Yes, yes, yes I am fully aware of the overall EROEI stats for hydrogen, so I'm not looking to refuel (no pun intended) the debate of whether fuel cell transportation is the most sound investment.
Joined: Aug 07, 2005 Posts: 301 Location: Columbia, MO
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2005 2:23 pm Post subject: Re: Toyota Aygo
Aedo wrote:
fossil_fuel wrote:
wow, that thing's tiny. here in the US you'd last about 15 minutes before some idiot on a cell phone in a suburban who didn't even notice you sent you to the hospital.
Sadly I think that point is true - which explains why Smart cars, the Aygo, and other similar vehicles don't penetrate that barrier of ignorance into the US.
Smart cars, the Aygo, and other similar vehicles proliferate in Europe where they share roads, including 80mph motorways, with all other vehicles from motor bikes to heavy trucks...
In the US part of the problem is legal. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has "crash standards" - crashworthiness standards that new cars have to pass before they can be sold here. It takes a lot more engineering for small cars to meet these standards than large cars, and a lot of manufacturers may not feel their potential market share in the US would justify their investment.
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