Re: I saw the future today.

Paul Ciszek <nospam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> In article <6gmab5xenj.ln2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> Nate Edel <archmage@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> On Mar 20, 2:29?am, "Martha Adams" <mh...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> > Is anybody still making those monster
> >> > Humvees now?
> >
> >Sadly, yes. The H3 is still a fairly recently introduced car, although
I'm
> >not sure if they still make the "civilianized military" Hummer or just
the
> >H2 and H3 which are just really ugly versions of conventional SUVs.
> >
> >wolfette <jette.goldie@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> Was it a "Smart" car?  They get great milage and you can park them in
> >> the tiniest spaces.
> >
> >The European market ones have a diesel engine and get great mileage
> >(60-70mpg published); the US-market ones have a gasoline engine that
makes
> >mileage which is better than other subcompact non-hybrids, but worse
than
> >hybrids are getting.
> >
> >2008 EPA mileage estimate for the Smart ForTwo: 31 city/43 highway
> >2008 EPA mileage estimate for the Toyota Yaris: 29 city/36 highway

> My 2000 Honda Civic hatchback beats the Yaris, and is probably
comparable
> to the Smart.  (I get 37mpg in the mountains, with the AC going full
blast,
> with the car full of vacation stuff and 600lbs of passengers.  I would
need
> to test it on the flat, no AC, to get a fair comparison.)  Fuel
efficiency
> just isn't allowed in the US.

As an aside, is that the regular hatchback (LX?) or the special high
mileage
one (HX)?

ISTR that one of the changes to the 2008 EPA estimates is to now include
AC
use in the mix.

I'm not sure that a 2000 counts as an "older" Civic, but the current
models
are getting downright porky by comparison to models of old, just as the
new
Accord has entered "large car" internal volume. The Honda Fit is a much
fairer comparison to older Civics.

> >It will be interesting to see if the small diesels which do so well in
> >Europe ever make it over here, and if so how they'll fare via the EPA
> >mileage estimates.
>
> For one year, the Geo Metro was one such.  It supposedly got around
58mpg.
> They made sure *that* would never happen again.

The base model Chevy Sprint and Geo Metro were gasoline engines - just a
very tiny one: 1 liter, 3 cyl, if memory serves... roughly the same size
as
the tiny engine in the more recent efficiency champ (the Honda Insight,
which made something like 67mpg highway with a small 3cyl plus Honda's
hybrid system)

The Sprint/Metro made 58mpg highway for several model years (1988 through
something like 1992, IIRC) although that was using the older EPA
methodology.  For that matter, my recollection was that it was a shared
platform with one of the Japanese companies (Suzuki Swift, maybe?) and the
Japanese model model made in the 50s as well.

-- 
Nate Edel                               http://www.cubiclehermit.com/
 preferred email  | 
 is "nate" at the | "I do have a cause, though. It is obscenity.
 posting domain   |  I'm for it." - prologue to "Smut" by Tom Lehrer