Obama's plan to move to better mileage cars

[neurosport]

I know there's a lot of complaints against those little SmartCars, but speed is not one of mine. I was going 70 on I-10 and one of those Benz SmartCars passed me like I was standing still. Must be a crazy feeling, and that guy must have balls of steel, to go that fast yet they can. Which is something.

well some people do 180 mph on a motorcycle so there is no shortage of psychos.

i have to say though there is a big difference even between an average car and a car specifically designed for stability at high speeds like a large BMW. in a regular car when you approach 100 mph you begin to feel less and less in control but in a 4,000 lbs BMW it feels the same at 20 mph and 120 mph.

fortunately for smart car owners the speed limits are already ridiculously low.

i still don't understand why Hussein can't use all that money he's printing to build the Autobahn like Hitler did.

 

[Ralph]

Will it work? Look at the current top selling cars from Detroit. Not exactly good MPG vehicles. Do people really want small fuel efficient cars?

I personally got rid of my beloved truck to get a fuel efficient car and I can say I wish I still had my truck.


Best Selling American Cars, Top U.S. Car Sales

The Historical Parallel is amazing...no? Hitler mandates a small "peoples car" and now "barry" takes over a private sector auto industry and mandates a small "peoples car"...fuel efficient, of course after fuel is once again artificially manipulated to 4 dollars a gallon, insuring that everyone will demand one of the government owned fuel efficient auto's. What's next, his own SS squad? As its becoming clear that he is constantly by-passing the rule of law and congress with his social engineering. For instance when one of the Federal investigators found a problem with the accounting method used in the distribution of the tart funds with a BILLION DOLLAR or so mistake......was barry's Cazr replaced? Of course not, THE INVESTIGATOR was canned.

 

[edthecynic]

The Year's Best- And Worst-Selling Cars- Yahoo! Autos Article Page

Behind the Numbers

To generate our lists of the best- and worst-selling cars so far this year, we used automaker-provided sales numbers from January to November. The vehicles with the highest unit sales made the list of best-sellers.

To find the worst-selling cars we looked at the lowest sales figures for the same time period, as well as the percentage decrease in sales from 2007 to exclude high-end luxury and performance cars that are produced only in small numbers each year. The vehicles with the lowest sales made the list.


2009 GMC Envoy
As bad of a year as it's been for sales of the aforementioned Armada, it's not the worst-selling vehicle in 2008. That title goes to Hyundai Entourage minivan, with only 5,405 sold this year. Not far behind, at No. 4, is the Chrysler Pacifica, a cross between an SUV and a minivan that sold only 6,671 units so far this year, a drop of 87% from the same period a year ago. No turnaround is in the works, either--Chrysler announced at the beginning of the year that production has ceased on the Pacifica, Chrysler Crossfire and Dodge Magnum.

The problem with the Pacifica and other crossover vehicles like it is that consumers have not embraced them as the new family car, says David Thomas, senior editor at Cars.com. "Buyers just aren't buying them. None of them have done well."

Joining the Armada, Entourage and Pacifica in the top five worst-selling vehicles are the Mitsubishi Endeavor, with only 5,687 units sold through November, and the Hummer H2, with only 5,721 sold.

No SUV brand is immune from the sales slump. In the second half of the list of the worst-selling cars, all five--the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Jeep Commander, GMC Envoy, Dodge Durango and Hummer H3--are SUVs. Furthermore, all five have seen a staggering percentage drop in sales of around 50% from the same 11-month period in 2007.

The Bright Spots
While consumer interest in most SUVs has waned, many fuel-efficient small cars have seen very strong sales in 2008.

Buyers purchased 352,248 Honda Civics and 184,152 Ford Focus cars this year, ranking sixth and 10th on our list, respectively. The gas-powered Civic gets 29 mpg, but the sales numbers also include the even more efficient hybrid version, which gets a combined fuel economy of 42 mpg.

Joining the two trucks and the Civic in the top five best-selling vehicles so far this year are the Toyota Camry (411,342 sold) and Honda Accord (350,638 sold).

 

[edthecynic]

I know there's a lot of complaints against those little SmartCars, but speed is not one of mine. I was going 70 on I-10 and one of those Benz SmartCars passed me like I was standing still. Must be a crazy feeling, and that guy must have balls of steel, to go that fast yet they can. Which is something.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Aae9ReI5Q]YouTube - Beep, Beep[/ame]

 

[Citizen]

I know there's a lot of complaints against those little SmartCars, but speed is not one of mine. I was going 70 on I-10 and one of those Benz SmartCars passed me like I was standing still. Must be a crazy feeling, and that guy must have balls of steel, to go that fast yet they can. Which is something.

well some people do 180 mph on a motorcycle so there is no shortage of psychos.

i have to say though there is a big difference even between an average car and a car specifically designed for stability at high speeds like a large BMW. in a regular car when you approach 100 mph you begin to feel less and less in control but in a 4,000 lbs BMW it feels the same at 20 mph and 120 mph.

fortunately for smart car owners the speed limits are already ridiculously low.

i still don't understand why Hussein can't use all that money he's printing to build the Autobahn like Hitler did.

In a 1970 Olds Toronado GT, which was front wheel drive, 130 mph was just a solid as any lower speed, so it doesn't have to be an import, just one with some mass.

IMHO, simce our interstate highway system was designed so that everyone could travel safely at 75 mph, even though autos did not handle as well as most today, it is stupid to have any speed limit less than that, and should probably be higher.

 

[neurosport]

In a 1970 Olds Toronado GT, which was front wheel drive, 130 mph was just a solid as any lower speed, so it doesn't have to be an import, just one with some mass.

well of course it doesn't have to be an import but it's a lot of things, not just mass.

i am not a professional in the area but i would say for high-speed stability the car should have:

* wide track
* good aerodynamics
* not too light, not too heavy
* firm suspension, especially anti-roll bars and shocks
* responsive steering
* good weight distribution
* wide, low profile tires
* low center of gravity
* have proper wheel alignment and balancing
* all the bushings in suspension and steering must be new

Crown Victoria with police package probably satisfies most of those bullet points. Except tires. But good tires are the most expensive part of the car - because they need to be replaced many times over, especially if you're an aggressive driver. The cheapest car that comes with decent tires is Corvette. I think that's the only car under $60,00 that comes with good tires though.

The fastest car on Nurburgring - Dodge Viper ( American Club Racer edition ) is also the car with the most expensive tires. Even stock Dodge Viper has the best tires around, and American Club Racer edition has UPGRADED tires from stock Viper. That's not a coincidence - it's all about the tires.

That's the first thing i look at in any car - the width of rear tires. All BMW M cars, all Porsches ( except the SUV, which is actually a VolksWagen ) and especially all Lamborghinis have wide rear tires. That's how you tell if a car is real or not.