Ford's 65 MPG Vehicle

[Gigabitch]

With the price of gas fallen it's not really that big of a deal anyways.

WRONG. The price of gas is not the only reason to buy an efficient car.

[Junket]

I was afraid people would become complacent just because prices have fallen recently.

Then summer will come around and people will be up in arms because they just bought another V8.

[Only-virgins]

WRONG. The price of gas is not the only reason to buy an efficient car.

what are they? Being that hybrids are actually expensive I think anyone who buys one of those is a complete idiot. The money you paid for the hybrid technology would buy you gas for the next 5 years. It is 30+k for one of those stupid goofy looking prius electric cars. Buy a homo dodge neon for 14k and and you have 16k for gas for the next 5+ years. Some people are stupid as ****. I however am willing to pay a little more for my gas for the entertainment value my car gives me and envy it causes in others

[1averagejoe]

what are they? Being that hybrids are actually expensive I think anyone who buys one of those is a complete idiot. The money you paid for the hybrid technology would buy you gas for the next 5 years. It is 30+k for one of those stupid goofy looking prius electric cars. Buy a homo dodge neon for 14k and and you have 16k for gas for the next 5+ years. Some people are stupid as ****. I however am willing to pay a little more for my gas for the entertainment value my car gives me and envy it causes in others

What he said...

+1 to paying a little more for the entertainment value. (aka, fast car)

Anyone that says that hybrids are better for the environment doesn't know a thing about what they do to the environment. The amount of damage those batteries do to the environment is immense. Also there are plug in kits, well guess where that power comes from. Coal burning plants. Drive the freeway all the time? It doesn't run off of electricity at higher speeds, it uses the gas engine. You want to be environmentally friendly, ride a bicycle, a motorcycle, or at the least get a tiny car.

Fras remember where you are, you're in NO where a hurricane hit and the economy in that general area is much different than the rest of the US. Every other place in the world has had gas prices drop. Including Europe. Will they go up anytime soon? I doubt it, especially with this crazy recession going on. Also your gas prices went up $0.70 a gallon, that's nothing. I wouldn't even consider that an increase. It's only $2, look at the kind of drop we've had here in California. Europe was even bigger...their gas was ridiculously expensive for some time.

[Junket]

Yes, we had a drop this past year, a huge one.

But unless I'm wrong (in this case I'd like to be), I suspect they'll shoot back up this summer back in to at least the 4 dollar range.

Gas mileage has always been important to me.

I've been researching cars for the past year, and the more research I do the more I realize is out there.

Diesel is appealing because it's that much more efficient, and less people run to diesel pumps during evacuations. I know there are less of them around, but if I can travel farther on less, while having to compete with a smaller population of people, the better off I would be in the even of another evac.

[Only-virgins]

It is stupid because we could all go electric now. Just the gas companies and the government doesn't want to. Lots of money is in this now, jobs, and economy. Electric cars are easy. Have charge stations replace the gas stations and there are perfectly good electric cars. A company converts VWs already into completely electric and they run equivalent to a 160hp car for 300+ miles on a 2 hour charge.

[1averagejoe]

It is stupid because we could all go electric now. Just the gas companies and the government doesn't want to. Lots of money is in this now, jobs, and economy. Electric cars are easy. Have charge stations replace the gas stations and there are perfectly good electric cars. A company converts VWs already into completely electric and they run equivalent to a 160hp car for 300+ miles on a 2 hour charge.

The disadvantage of something like this is when you want to go further than 300+ miles...recharging takes quite a bit of time. IMHO the best alternative fuel would be Hydrogen for a number of reasons. The byproduct of hydrogen is water, and it's made by water. The way it's made is by running a DC current through it and basically you capture the Hydrogen and store it by compressing it into tanks.

Basically the only thing you need to make this is electricity and water. Water is rather abundant, and electricity can be harassed from solar cells. My idea is that everyone has a at home hydrogen making machine. Basically you add water or have it hooked up to your home's water piping, it's powered either through the electricity from the house or through solar cells, or a combination of both. Refueling is cheap, quicker than electric cars, easy, and doesn't damage the environment because the only byproduct is water.

The only disadvantage of hydrogen cars is their efficiency...they don't get as good mpg as gasoline or diesel.

[Only-virgins]

The disadvantage of something like this is when you want to go further than 300+ miles

Recharge time would drop insanely as soon as the competition for it began between the corporate auto giants. They just don't want it. Hydrogen is just another nuisance, people are such idiots. The electric toy car was invented in the 70's, you would think since than someone would freaking get the idea.

[vashti]

I like my Camry Hybrid, and it is fine for long distances. I drove it to my sister's house in No. California with one tank of gas.

It was pretty expensive (although to replace it with another 4runner would have been about the same price, I think), but I saved a LOT when gas prices were around $5/gallon. It's really quiet, and drives like any other car I've owned, except that when it is on battery mode (which it is for much of my driving), you can't hear that it is on.

My next car will be a 2-seater, though. I don't really care if it's a hybrid.