Summer Gas-Price Outlook Fuels Car Nostalgia

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This reporter hasn't done her homework at all. She states that 50 mpg can be achieved only in "expensive" hybrids and only in "electric mode." That's patently false.
My new 2008 Prius got nearly 50 mpg on 2 recent road trips (Grand Rapids, Michigan to Saint Louis & Chicago). We did the speed limit, which was 65-70 most of the way, and had the A/C on, and still averaged 49 mpg.
Is the Prius "expensive"? Without a lot of options, you could buy a new 2008 for $23,000. Mine cost $26,000 nicely loaded. The 2009 model, arriving in dealerships Sept & Oct 2008, will cost little more than the 2008.
What's prohibitively expensive is guzzling $5-per-gallon gas in a non-hybrid car that gets only 25-35 mpg.
Moreover, gas is heading for $6 per gallon fairly soon -- VERY soon if Israel attacks Iran. That statement about the Prius being "expensive" will look even more foolish then.

AmericaForever of MI 10:41AM July 07, 2008

ride your bike????yhea bud yuo dont have a clue what your talking about you must be a flatander, from some foo foo city or something...most of the u.s is rural,thats where the backbone of our country is how about you sleep in a cave so we dont cut down the forest that made your house..huh? you seem pretty comfortable talking about alternatives.

willy-p of CA 9:38PM June 15, 2008

As time goes on people become more and more reliant on gas/oil. People know this, especially those companies who produce these resources. I read above about someone saying we put a man on the moon 39 years ago so why cant we get 80mpg? The answer is very simple. Money. The green stuff that drives people to doing things they normally would. If you youtube a video on a car that runs on water you will see that alternative sources can be used... OUT OF YOUR TAP! However, the controversy behind this story is that the man who created this invention (believe his name was Stanley Meyer) was offered mass amounts of money. Billions possibly, just to keep his product off the market. His invention separated hydrogen from water. Following his decline of these offers he was MURDERED. Murdered by money and greed. If Meyer's brilliance hit the market the oil companies would soon lose the business that they loved so much. Out of greed he lost his life. This invention is still a mystery, but an answer to being able to fill your car up with an outside hose.

Kiva Gordon of 1:34PM May 28, 2008

momentum = mass * velocity
force = mass * acceleration
energy = 1/2 mass * (velocity)^2
I'm no physicist, but I do know that mass is part of the basic formulas describing work and motion. As a vehicle's mass (and weight) increases, the energy required to start, stop and even turn the vehicle increases. If you can maintain momentum, as on a flat stretch of highway, wind resistance becomes paramount. But in stop and go driving, or up and down hills, mass is critical to fuel economy.

Donal of MD 2:03PM May 21, 2008

We had a Geo Metro back in the early to mid 90s that was the "high mileage" version. I recall one road trip of about 1,000 miles of highway driving where we averaged in the high 60's for MPG. My 2008 Civic commuter car does 40-42 MPG on my highway commute. Given a choice between the two I'll stick with the Civic as there is no comparison when it comes to safety. The Metro was hit several times (people claimed they didn't see it) and even at slow speeds it suffered damage that came into the passenger compartment.
I'm actually on my 2nd 2008 Civic... the first one was 6 weeks old when it was crushed by a tractor trailer that changed lanes in the middle of the curve of a two lane ramp. The car was destroyed--two wheels were broken off, one on each side--as the driver's side was smashed on the guard rail bumper to bumper while the trailer took out the passenger side bumper to bumper. I walked out of the ER after they determined I had no broken bones, no concussion and no internal injuries. The passenger compartment was intact...
I truly believe I'd be dead if I'd been in the Metro as it would have been flattened by the truck rather than thrown to the side as the trailer wheels hit the "C" pillar. Based on my survival experience, I bought the same model Civic again right down to the color.

John G of NY 11:05AM May 21, 2008

I bought a Chevy diesel Chevette in 1983 and got a consistent 45 mpg with it. How far have we come in those past 25 years? We haven't. We put a man on the Moon 39 years ago, and you tell me they still haven't figured out how to get us all 80 mpg and keep us in a safe body structured car? Come on...who do they think they're kidding? The oil shortage is a myth. 80 mpg carburetors exist. Elvis is dead though.

Craig of CA 10:28AM May 21, 2008

One way to sell a car to a large and/or overweight person is to avoid making them unpleasantly aware of their body size when they´re getting in and out of the car. Littler cars don´t attract bigger buyers.

Submarine of IN 10:25AM May 21, 2008

While you all can point to cars of the late 70's and early 80's that got better mileage, yes I had one too. You are forgetting the biggest reason. It is the environmentalist that is causing the biggest issue. My 1982 Olds with a 1.8 L engine and an old fashion carburetor could not meet current environmental standards. Thus more technology to make it cleaner, heavier and not as efficient.

Doc of PA 10:23AM May 21, 2008

Six months after I got married in December of '73 we were waiting on lines for 2 to 3 hours just to get gas. Got used to siphoning and swapping plates as well. I'm celebrating my 35th anniversary this year and not much has changed. Besides the total lack of leadership coming from Washington, the American people are also to blame because if it comes cheap, we don't think about it. I bought a Honda Civic 8 years ago because I'm basically cheap, knew it got great mileage and could care less what other people think about what I drive. I really watch the way I drive, take roads that don't require speeds over 60, coast to the light and ease on out after the light. I get 40 mpg on average. The Civic is one of the best built cars on the planet. I have 211,000 miles on it and plan to keep it till the wheels fall off. Detroit has been myopic while Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen have come up from behind and surpassed anything GM or Ford can dream up.

of VA 8:03AM May 21, 2008

But did it occur to anyone that the reason those intelligently laid out European towns that can have efficient transit and biking potential evolved in an absence of cars? Simply saying, "well, I bought this house 15 miles from the city and now I have to drive really far and there are no buses to my low density subdivision" is crazy. Now that our cheap gas is ending, that unsustainable societal planning will wane. Slowly but surely, as energy prices increase, only people who are willing to waste large amounts of money and people who don't mind working extra hours to send it out the tailpipe will make such foolish lifestyle choices.

Will Sisk of CO 2:14AM May 21, 2008