Fuel Woes...

[mystery3]

4.29  gal here

No big deal iam getting 38mpg around town

maybe it will go up more and get some of the big car's off the road

If we all drove high mpg diesel's, comsumption would be down and so would prices

These auto mfg''s build what people want and then they whine when the speculators make money
on the price of crude oil...

GB

I saw the same price here this morning. Now I need to get my truck running again so I can stop daily driving the bug.

[maxfax]

maybe it will go up more and get some of the big car's off the road

Trouble is, what are we gonna replace them with?? High MPG diesels would be the way to go, yet we don;t have them here like in other parts of the world..  

I keep hearing that it's because the American people don't want them..  If we didn't want so many small efficient cars, why is the Prius and other hybrids such a good seller? Why were diesel Jeeps on back order forever when they hit the market briefly???   Maybe it's the cost..  But wait, hybrids aren't cheap either..  Maybe it's because of what GM did 30 years ago..  

Pick up any of the automobile rags out there when they have their articles on clean and green cars..  You rarely see VW (our only small diesel car) on the list, and if you do, it's near the end.. I'm not a big one for conspiracy theories, but all these small diesel cars sure are kept under wraps...

Let's throw diesel out of the equation now..   I feel something went terribly wrong at the turn of the century..  Remember Metros, Festivas,  and the ugly old boxy Corollas as a few examples..  What happened??  Their replacements, are getting the same or less mileage..

I had to chuckle when a customer last week was bragging up how he gets 28 highway out of his Camry..  Funny, I get the same out of a horrible terrible American V8 powered Caprice 8 passenger wagon..  

Something stinks in this whole mess, and I think we all know what...

[mystery3]

I keep hearing that it's because the American people don't want them..

Pick up any of the automobile rags out there when they have their articles on clean and green cars..  You rarely see VW (our only small diesel car) on the list, and if you do, it's near the end.. I'm not a big one for conspiracy theories, but all these small diesel cars sure are kept under wraps...

Let's throw diesel out of the equation now..   I feel something went terribly wrong at the turn of the century..  Remember Metros, Festivas,  and the ugly old boxy Corollas as a few examples..  What happened??  Their replacements, are getting the same or less mileage..

I think many americans don't want little fuel efficient compact cars, they want to fill their suburbans with $1.99/gal fuel and that is no longer a reality so some may come to accept smaller more efficient vehicles.

Usually the tdi mk5.5/6 jettas are the pick of the litter when it comes "green" cars in magazine articles at least Kiplingers, which my dad gives me, and consumer reports, which I sometimes read in the lineup at the supermarket. The only real car mag I read at all is Grassroots Motorsport. R/T, motor trend etc. are just filled with garbage and praise for whatever new three-ton overstyled landyacht comes down the line.

As far as the little cars of the late 80's/90's I think once average joe became enamored with navigation systems and airbags and the "features" which americans are supposed to be sold by have made the cars so heavy that even improved fuel efficiency through motor design cannot overcome. Also I think people aren't willing to tolerate 3 cylinder 50hp pos motors as found in Geo metros?

[maxfax]

Here again, is it what the people wanted, or what they had to choose from..  I suppose there's really no way to tell for sure..  If there would have been diesel Mondeos marketed as well as an Expedition it may have been interesting.. Of course we can't get diesel Mondeos, they're too dirty...

I realize that the added comforts and especially safety equipment adds a fair amount of weight, but along with all these added creature comforts there's also been a lot of progress on materials used, aerodynamics, engine management, even engine design and emission control. Of course I suppose that would have been cost prohibitive to put all of that in one package.... Peddle the crap now, they'll figure out how much it'll really cost them later...

[Patrick]

I hate to say it, but the Americans are catching up. Go have a look at Ford's website. They're claiming 4.9l/100km highway on the fiesta....
I realize vw did it a lot sooner, but they're getting there.
 

[R.O.R-2.0]

dude, rabbits and civics were getting 50mpg back in the 80's...

why cant they now? cause they dont want to..

[Fredrikkk]

You guys come on... Here in Norway we pay around $9 for 1 gallon, or about $2.40 per liter. Stop complaining 

[8v-of-fury]

There is nothing to complain about. 5$ a gallon is nothing to go nuts over.

Do without one thing every week and voila.. cost offset.

[maxfax]

There is nothing to complain about. 5$ a gallon is nothing to go nuts over.

Exactly.. For me it's an extra 10 bucks a week on the VW or $20 if I have to run the Caprice..  Pass on a wing night, skip a few trips that aren't absolutely necessary, or buy a case of beer instead of drinking at the bar....  But it sure seems like a good diversion from other problems..  Good lord what's out congress going to pass though on us this time...  

I hate to say it, but the Americans are catching up.

We are catching up, but we should have stayed caught up the whole time..  Ford is finally introducing their European stuff to the US...

[mystery3]

I still don't see diesel transit connects. If they bring them over in manual transmission form I may damn well buy a ford?!?!