What to do?

[Convert]

:lol: Funny you should mention the carburetor bit I knew a guy in the mid 70's that had a chevy impala with a home built carb got 80 mpg GM bought the patent rights from him and it dissappeared. I agree the big companies have the capability but keep the stuff hidden the big oil companies have a lot of clout and want to keep that money rolling in.

 

[RX1 Yooper]

convert,
What evidence do you personally have that the car got 80mpg? Did you conduct a test with him? Where did you meet this person?

Modern cars run so lean, with fuel injection, the plugs almost look like the engine is going to burn down. If you lean it down any more, the engine will barely run. How could a carb in the 70's do better than that? The new hybreds, that are half the weight of an Impala, don't get 80mpg.

Come on you auto engineers. Shoot this story down.

 

[Indy]

My bothers Hybrid Honda gets between 62 to 81 mpg.

 

[Mighty]

I heard the exact same tale that convert did without the first hand knowledge. Can everyone say "urban legend" :lol:

Also take into consideration that cars in the 70's were actually made of steel and about twice as heavy as the cars of today. 4,000 pound cars getting 80 mpg's, yeah right

 

[Convert]

RX1 Yooper OK so i was young and gullable at 18 :lol: this was someone I respected and admired and I took his word for it! It was while i was in the airforce in Oklahoma City 1975, the guy was a SMSGT and my boss according to him it was what was allowing him to retire early, which he did while i was there at 38. I gotta believe that the oil companies would do whatever it took to keep something like that off the market because it would have cut into their profits big time. Maybe he was pulling my leg but then again maybe he wasn't. :ORC

 

[RX1 Yooper]

Indy,
Did you drive, and figure the mileage yourself? They just tested the hybrids in normal driving conditions, and they didn't get close to that.

Convert,
I don't know why he told you that, but it was B.S.

Why are the oil companies allowing the fuel efficient hybrids to be made? What are they doing to stop the fuel cell research. If George Bush is a pawn of the oil companies, why did he push , and fund, fuel cell research? They can even power a house, or factory.

 

[LazyBastard]

4,000 pound cars getting 80 mpg's, yeah right

As newton said, "an object will remain in a state of rest or uniform motion unless....." Means that it doesn't matter what it weighs, it'll keep going except for forces acting to slow it down; friction. Whether it be 10 pounds or 10 million, if they are the same dimensions and the only force acting on them is wind resistance, then they will get the same fuel economy on the same exactly flat stretch of exactly the same road. If they are pointing DOWN a hill, that 10 million pound car might just get BETTER fuel efficiency.

 

[Convert]

Maybe because they realize eventually we will need alternative fuels. If you had a product that made billions you also would milk it as long as possible :ORC Why settle for 20% when you can have it all!

 

[RX1 Yooper]

Lazy,
You are joking, right?

 

[Mighty]

Give me a brake LB, you smoking dope again? Forget the moving issue and focus on the amount of energy needed to get that much weight moving. Not to mention the lack of aerodynamics of a vehicle that big creating more resistance.

 

[LazyBastard]

Nobody said ANYTHING about getting it moving.

Also, you don't think that a toyota echo is any more aerodynamic than a chevy impala, do you?

 

[Mighty]

Also, you don't think that a toyota echo is any more aerodynamic than a chevy impala, do you?

Yes it is, look at how much less frontal area the echo has.

 

[LazyBastard]

Then I think that you must be the one smoking dope.

 

[Indy]

Rxyoper, yes I drove it to Birmingham and back (from Indy) avg. 68 miles per gallon, and I was running 80 to 90 the whole way. For such a small car, it flys! Right by the gas station. The hard part is getting used to the engine stopping all the time, like at stop signs, It re-starts like a golf cart. Oh, and its ugly as hell. It is the honda insight.

 

[Indy]

Also, in a similar subject, I read in Popular Science a couple of years ago that a swiss company had developed a new grass. It was very, very slow growing and very drought tolerant. Toro or Snapper bought the rights. I DID READ THIS MYSELF, NOT AN URBAN MYTH.