What is with car companies

[BRodri]

i don't quite get what car companies are thinking. when they make cars get almost the same gas mileage as my pickup truck. you may think that 24 miles per gallon is a good rating for a car well who gives a flying flip i can get that on a truck with a 350 small block that is a bi-fuel. (thats running on CNG not gasoline thank you so truth be told versus the price of regular gas i get almost 60 mile per gallon.) yes this wonderful GX that everyone is talking about being so good for commuters all i can say is BS if they would have put in even a four speed with a low 1st and 2nd with a medium speed rating in third and turnpike speed for 4th then they could easily get 50 MPG. i would like to buy an old suzuki swift you know the old 1.3 Liter engine in mine has got over 180,000 mile on it and it still gets over 40 miles per gallon with a 3 speed auto tranny if i had one with a 5 speed standard and larger wheels then i wouldn't have to worry about it i would easily get over 60 MPG. if there was a dealership with enough balls to change out the POS tranny they have got in the GX right now for the four speed (even from a salvaged Gasoline Civic) i would probably be one of the first in line for that thing even without a waranty.

[Ramaniac]

Re: What is with car companies

What people don't understand is the the seats in most pickups are like lounge chairs too. I have a 95 Ram that I bought new. It is so spacious and the seats are wonderful. Not wonderful is the 17.01 mpg I get.

[rogelio barcab]

Re: What is with car companies

Definitely spacious seats are comfortable.

[cowboy]

Re: What is with car companies

another thing I dont understand. a mid 70s chevy pu with a 250 six and a 4 spd granny box and a 2.73 to1 rear would get 23 mpg rode good and had a great seat. chevy did not build it the with a rear this high but I did and saved a lot of gasoline. this truck also would haul a load and still get 18 or 19 mpg. I also built a chevy mid 80s with a 549 IH diesel with a 5 spd and a transfer case turned around backwards for a 2 to 1 overdrive with a 411 to 1 rear so I ended up with a 2.55 and got 28 mpg at 80 miles per hour why cant we get that kind of mileage today as me with my 7th grade schooling can dream up and build this kind of car but all of the really smart people that work for gm an ford and mopar cant? could it be they just want us to go have sex with ourselfs and give them our hard earned money for junk?a frind of mine across the pond bought a new citron a few years ago and is bitching that it is only geting 77 mpg as his old one 83 but ordered a auto trans and the old one had a 5spd why cant we have cars like this in the states my backend hurts more everyday living here in the states

[KSneedsCNG]

Re: What is with car companies

I call it "Engineered Consumption" meaning they put together just enough "good stuff" to arrive at their desired outcome. Ford is good example as magically they pulled EcoBoost engines out of hat, and in 2 short years have drastically improved both power and mpg. Yet, there is tuner on another forum who has tuned EcoBoost gas pickup to ADD 100 HP . . . AND . . also ADD 100 Ft Lb Torque . . . AND . . . IMPROVE mpg!!

Forced increase in the CAFE standards for better mpg will bring out more rabbits from hat to improve mpg and power in USA car lineup that was either in Europe or Asia, but not offered in USA vehicles by Big Three. Same curiosity lingers for why Buick Grand National turbo V6 from 80's is not one of GM's top engines now . . instead GM ignored it. Few years back, Dodge/Plymouth had the Omni GLH (drivers called it "Goes Like He...") and it was awesome little I4 engine. I'm sure there are other examples. When will best of breed be put into USA lineup? With current short-term drop in petrol below $3/gal I'm worried Big Three will repeat same mistakes of last 30 years.

[Lakewood90712]

Re: What is with car companies

I call it "Engineered Consumption" meaning they put together just enough "good stuff" to arrive at their desired outcome........snip..................... With current short-term drop in petrol below $3/gal I'm worried Big Three will repeat same mistakes of last 30 years.

I'm afraid you are exactly right . Don't blame the car companies completely. They do know what sells. $5 +gasoline seems to be the only real game changer.

[cowboy]

Re: What is with car companies

my guess would be that exxon owns a lot of stock in the big three and they dont want good mpg.If I sold tooth paste I whould not want people to find out that it only takes a small dot of tooth paste to brush there teeth not the whole tooth brush covered like in all of there photos on the box. just like most people think that this is the best mpg this car can get .much less have the goverment pass a law that all tooth brushs must not be able use more than a small dot of tooth paste as we are wasting the tooth paste and it pollutes the water. there would be a few people like me who use just a dot of tooth paste. just like I will fool with my cars to get better mpg but most will go mindlessly on buying tooth paste till it jumps to 10 or 20 dollers a tube that they will scream forthe goverment to do something because the big bad tooth paste co is ripping them off you are right that 5 doller gas is the only game changer most of the rest of the world has been paying 5 dollers for years because of the vat taxs and they have 50 to 80 mpg cars because of the demand by the people who demanded it because there hip pockets could not stand it.

[Ron Wagner]

Re: What is with car companies

You mention Exxon owning stock in car companies. I have often thought that many large interests own stock in bouth car companies, and oil companies. They want to keep making high prices on diesel and gasoline, so they will ignore CNG and LNG and try to stop it from catching on. Once there are light duty pickups, SUVs, and sedans that burn CNG it is all over. There are lots of CNG stations now, and more to come. Convenience stores and truck stops are starting to carry it. I don't know what is keeping people from converting more vehicles. When the home filler pump comes down in price, and up in quality that will be the game changer. I have not found any stories on the progress yet. It is being worked on by Texas universities, but who knows what forces are at work to delay it. GE and Westinghouse and Eaton are also involved in designing the "$500 pump." I would be happy to pay double that plus installation. Maybe the super low price point is one way to slow the process. The average vehicle sells for over $30,000 today. People spend more than that on fuel over the life of the vehicle.

What should it really cost for manufacturers to make bifuel vehicles. I can't imagine it costing more than an additional $5,000 per individual CNG vehicle. Buying tanks and brackets in quantity would bring the cost down. What do you think?