Do new cars really get better mileage?

[Bill in Houston]

No, knowing "people" it would make people hurl themselves to the side any time they got close to a wreck, causing far MORE wrecks. :-)

[DrivenByNothing]

OK, you guys have a point, carbs aren't nearly as dynamic as EFI.

IMO, hybrids are a patch. You've got the same inefficient engine, yet you've added a bunch of weight and more parts that will fail. SVOboy, you're always bringing up the environment aspect. Hybrids burn gasoline the same way other otto cycles do, they just do it slightly less often.

I'd be just fine with it if they improved the ICE first.

On a note related to the 'airbag' thing, I've been looking at insurance quotes and it ticks me off that I'd get a discount if my truck had ABS. Whatever happened to knowing how to drive? How come bad drivers get discounts for owning a vehicle that has to help them not suck?

[SVOboy]

Originally Posted by DrivenByNothing

IMO, hybrids are a patch. You've got the same inefficient engine, yet you've added a bunch of weight and more parts that will fail. SVOboy, you're always bringing up the environment aspect. Hybrids burn gasoline the same way other otto cycles do, they just do it slightly less often.

I'd be just fine with it if they improved the ICE first.

On a note related to the 'airbag' thing, I've been looking at insurance quotes and it ticks me off that I'd get a discount if my truck had ABS. Whatever happened to knowing how to drive? How come bad drivers get discounts for owning a vehicle that has to help them not suck?

Hybrids do burn gasoline, but they're a step away from gas and toward electric, which is why I like them. So I'd call them a partial replacement or something, but I don't think the term really matters. What improvements would you like done to the ICE? I'm not much into engineering, so I don't know that side of things.

Does your insurance company not have good driving discounts? I was told that if I ever got a speeding ticket it would add about 200 bucks a year to my premium, , but I'm on state farm...Iono how others do it.

[rvanengen]

Originally Posted by DrivenByNothing

On a note related to the 'airbag' thing, I've been looking at insurance quotes and it ticks me off that I'd get a discount if my truck had ABS. Whatever happened to knowing how to drive? How come bad drivers get discounts for owning a vehicle that has to help them not suck?

(begin of rant)

Oh...I just *love* the new stupid a$$ Volvo commercials...showing three idiots in various situations that the car *saves* them from their incompetence.

1st one I saw...a couple are going out on a nighttime speed across town...for ice cream...and the guy is too busy chatting with the woman to notice a large truck in his path...almost the only vehicle in the road...so the car beeps at him and he immediately swerves to the LEFT to avoid the truck. Gee thanks! Glad nobody was coming!!!

2nd one: a guy is absently mindely driving on the interstate, instead of paying attention to all the vehicles around him, and is saved at the last moment by the mirror beeping/blinking to indicate a vehicle/motorcycle to his right rear.

3rd one: a woman is driving to work, and notices that her papers are sliding off the passenger seat...so (of course) she bends over and below the dashboard to retrieve the precious papers (that could have easily stayed there until she got to work) and is saved at the last moment by the car (I guess not wanting to die for her lack of a brain) beeps and blinks at her and she just applies the brakes for a safe and relieved stop.

ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! (end of rant)

[VetteOwner]

sigh i know! cars shouldnt be smarter than the people who drive them!

and the guy with the volvo whos been rear ended, thats because back then we had steel bumpers to cause no damage at 5-10 mph impacts!(anyone remmber the dodge omni or plymoth horizon that had the spring loaded bumpers? BRING THOSE BACK) nowadays a HUGE plastic bumper that paint chips off, gets cracked and the cheap flimsey metal part behind it gets mangled to hell, and is all held together by cheapo plastic clips that break the clips or mounitng holes every little nudge. not to mention all the foam support!

id rather have my steel bumpered steel body pannel car and truck anyday of the week than a plastic bubble mobile that if a guy nudges me in a parking lot causes $1000 in damage!

and insurance if your under 25 and male your essentially paying for somehting that you MIGHT do. yet if your a woman its instantly cheaper cuz women are such great drivers and never get into accdents....

and yea its a pita to get a carb tuned for optimum emmisions/mpg... i have to change mine 4 times a year...

[paid4]

Originally Posted by rvanengen

I can't remember the name of the comedian...but he had a worthy suggestion to make the roads a bit safer:

1) Remove all driver airbags,
2) Install a spear that shoots from the center of the steering wheel in the event of a frontal impact.

This would tend to make people a BIT more concerned about what is going on in front of them, and perhaps even make the slow down.

I can't remember the comedian either, I want to say it was George Carlin but I'm not sure.
A less evil solution would be to fill the airbag with feces. A warning on the steering wheel could read: Warning: This vehicle is equipped with a DSCB (Driver's Side Crap Bag). So, pay attention a$$hole.

[rvanengen]

Originally Posted by paid4

I can't remember the comedian either, I want to say it was George Carlin but I'm not sure.
A less evil solution would be to fill the airbag with feces. A warning on the steering wheel could read: Warning: This vehicle is equipped with a DSCB (Driver's Side Crap Bag). So, pay attention a$$hole.

I like that! :-)

[cfg83]

VetteOwner -

Originally Posted by VetteOwner

duh the dodge with viper engine cant tow or haul worth a crap. (my s-10 could out tow and haul it prolly)

but yea emissions improvements have been HUGE over the last 30 years. when my chevette is running and the wind is just right it will blow the exhaust into the window and ill get lightheaded in a matter of minutes. now one time in my auto mech class we started a newer car and wafted the exhaust and it didnt smell at all! smelled like steam...

The one thing I remember is that in the 1970's, when we had smog alerts in LA, your lungs would burn (this was near the beach). Today, I never have that experience, even though I live inland and there are way more cars today. You can't know how much emissions standards have helped unless you lived in LA in the old days.

but the reason why cars are heavier nowadays is all this safety BS. they have to stand up to front side rear cornner impacts otherwise thier conisdered not up to USA's standards. instead of spending a tiny bit of money to require a more rigerous driving test and higher fees to get your license (in germany its near $200usd just to get a license, here its $20) thats why alot of small cars arent imported from europe cuz they dont match up to our standards, but europe has alot stricter/tougher/costlier tests and requirements to drive.

And remove the requirement for US cars to be crash safe at 35 MPH WITHOUT a seat belt. No seat belt, no safety!

yea front impacts your supposed to try to avoid but being in dee dee dee america with all these retarded drivers they would swerve at you instead of away...

if any of you do find yourself in a situation where a head on crash looks imminant swerve off the damn road if it looks somewhat safe, a cracked headlight/bumper/fender is alot easier to fix than a cracked skull. ive had to go off a ditch into someones front yard to avoid hitting a drunk driver head on. no damage to either party and obviously im here today, wish i woulda got the license plate of the guy...

That makes sense. Don't copy the idiots in the movies who run away from a train by running ON THE TRAIN TRACKS.

CarloSW2

[DrivenByNothing]

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Hybrids do burn gasoline, but they're a step away from gas and toward electric, which is why I like them. So I'd call them a partial replacement or something, but I don't think the term really matters. What improvements would you like done to the ICE? I'm not much into engineering, so I don't know that side of things.

Does your insurance company not have good driving discounts? I was told that if I ever got a speeding ticket it would add about 200 bucks a year to my premium, , but I'm on state farm...Iono how others do it.

I'd like to see ICE's produce more work per given amount of fuel. So much fuel goes to cooling the cylinder rather than power. Also, the exhaust valves open before much of the mixture has had time to burn. That's where a good portion of your pollution comes from. That's assuming we continue with the Otto cycle. Why not implement the Bourke engine and have tons of torque at low rpm while sipping fuel. Plus, a good Bourke engine will run on just about any fuel you put in it.

I've never had a speeding ticket, and up until February of this year I hadn't ever received a ticket. That changed when I was turning around on a residential road and got hit by a woman who wasn't paying attention. The woman officer didn't really ask many questions when she showed up 45min later, but was kind enough to give me a ticket. Within the next couple days, I was on my way back from picking up parts to fix the front of my truck when I got pulled over. The accident had broken the header panel that all of the lights bolt to on the front end. Since it was 3pm, skies were clear, and I had the replacement parts sitting next to me, I figured he'd understand why I didn't have headlights. Nope, he didn't care. 2 tickets in less than a week.

Matt

[rvanengen]

Originally Posted by DrivenByNothing

Within the next couple days, I was on my way back from picking up parts to fix the front of my truck when I got pulled over. The accident had broken the header panel that all of the lights bolt to on the front end. Since it was 3pm, skies were clear, and I had the replacement parts sitting next to me, I figured he'd understand why I didn't have headlights. Nope, he didn't care. 2 tickets in less than a week.

Matt

Dang...and I thought I lived in a backwards state (NC)...but here headlights are not even required unless it is 1 hour before sunrise, 1 hour after sunset, or you have your wipers running (rain). I know I would fight that one tooth and nail!