Auto sales at 16 year low - sudden shift towards passenger cars hitting Detroit hard

[S and S 12]

The cars above look great, but what kind of gas mileage are they getting?

The mondeo gets about 24.5 mpg and the diesel version gets 32.2 mpg.

The falcon gets 23.3 mpg for a 261 hp engine.

Keep in mind in AUS they average the highway/city. Rather than showing both.

Thats okay and really they look great, but my Honda is getting 30 mpg in the city and 40 on the highway. It is not one of those hybrids so I still have some decent power though by no means a muscle car. At this point my top concern is the reliability of the car and getting great gas mileage with a car that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy. Honda meets those requirements very well, but if another company starts to build cars with those specifications, I might just look into it.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I'm certainly not suprised by this. People who loved their big, gas guzzling vehicles have learned they aren't worth it when they pay considerably more in fuel costs. I've owned a Honda since 2002 and I thank God for that. Who knows how much money I've saved from that.

That's called 'math'.

[S and S 12]

I'm certainly not suprised by this. People who loved their big, gas guzzling vehicles have learned they aren't worth it when they pay considerably more in fuel costs. I've owned a Honda since 2002 and I thank God for that. Who knows how much money I've saved from that.

That's called 'math'.

Which I'm not a big fan of, but its easy to see I saved a lot.

[Heracles 417]

The cars above look great, but what kind of gas mileage are they getting?

The mondeo gets about 24.5 mpg and the diesel version gets 32.2 mpg. 158hp engine

The falcon gets 23.3 mpg for a 261 hp engine.

Keep in mind in AUS they average the highway/city. Rather than showing both.

Thats okay and really they look great, but my Honda is getting 30 mpg in the city and 40 on the highway. It is not one of those hybrids so I still have some decent power though by no means a muscle car. At this point my top concern is the reliability of the car and getting great gas mileage with a car that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy. Honda meets those requirements very well, but if another company starts to build cars with those specifications, I might just look into it.

The EPA here has only now started requiring cars provided an average (combined mpg) rating. In comparison the 140hp Honda civic here gets 29mpg and the 177hp new Accord gets 24mpg. Highway/city are really irrelevant ratings for everyday driving.

As you can see Ford is doing quite well in terms of competing with both Honda and Toyota overseas. You also get much more power for the same or better fuel economy with Ford's cars there..

Edited August 3, 2008 by Aficionado

[PlatyPius 5]

They look like Volvos to me. Not surprising, of course.

[Heracles 417]

They look like Volvos to me. Not surprising, of course.

It really depends on the type of car people prefer. The falcon there can cater for the family sedan to the XR6 turbo falcon. Which has 361hp out of a straight 6 engine.

These are based on the same falcons that Ford US dropped in the late 60's might I add.

Or you could drive the high performance version. 422HP in a sedan..

[S and S 12]

The cars above look great, but what kind of gas mileage are they getting?

The mondeo gets about 24.5 mpg and the diesel version gets 32.2 mpg. 158hp engine

The falcon gets 23.3 mpg for a 261 hp engine.

Keep in mind in AUS they average the highway/city. Rather than showing both.

Thats okay and really they look great, but my Honda is getting 30 mpg in the city and 40 on the highway. It is not one of those hybrids so I still have some decent power though by no means a muscle car. At this point my top concern is the reliability of the car and getting great gas mileage with a car that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy. Honda meets those requirements very well, but if another company starts to build cars with those specifications, I might just look into it.

The EPA here has only now started requiring cars provided an average (combined mpg) rating. In comparison the 140hp Honda civic here gets 29mpg and the 177hp new Accord gets 24mpg. Highway/city are really irrelevant ratings for everyday driving.

As you can see Ford is doing quite well in terms of competing with both Honda and Toyota overseas. You also get much more power for the same or better fuel economy with Ford's cars there..

Thats odd because I check the mileage on my Honda Civic and I definitely got about 39 mpg while driving 80 to 85 mph cross country. I am sure it could have hit 40 if I had gone a little slower. In the city I am definitely getting over 30 mpg. Why do I need the horse power? I'm not racing anyone or hauling anything. Its not even a matter of what they "say". It is a matter of reality and these are the statistics for my personal Honda. It will vary on the driver and how well they take care of their car.

[peejay 327]

I'm surprised we haven't heard from the herd that always counts on government to know what is best for the unwashed masses. How about mandates to outlaw any vehicle that doesn't get "X" amount of gas mileage? Are government mandates or the marketplace the answer? Are consumers saavy enough to decide for themselves or does government have to?

[Heracles 417]

Thats odd because I check the mileage on my Honda Civic and I definitely got about 39 mpg while driving 80 to 85 mph cross country. I am sure it could have hit 40 if I had gone a little slower. In the city I am definitely getting over 30 mpg. Why do I need the horse power? I'm not racing anyone or hauling anything. Its not even a matter of what they "say". It is a matter of reality and these are the statistics for my personal Honda. It will vary on the driver and how well they take care of their car.

That is just not possible. Once a car goes over 55mph it starts to burn more fuel exponentially. A civic would be using at least 20% more fuel at 85mph to sustain the speed. Your civic would get better gas mileage than a prius at that speed.

[Heracles 417]

I'm surprised we haven't heard from the herd that always counts on government to know what is best for the unwashed masses. How about mandates to outlaw any vehicle that doesn't get "X" amount of gas mileage? Are government mandates or the marketplace the answer? Are consumers saavy enough to decide for themselves or does government have to?

The governments job is to regulate the free market and provide the most equitable outcome (equilibrium) for all. In another thread I indicated how the oil companies killed off light rail. Actually bought the networks up and closed them down in the last century. Fast forward to 2008, Americans are paying for this decision. Whereas if the government had stepped in many American cities would now still have an alternative and cheaper method of transit.

What about GM who deliberately killed off the EV1 electric car? It amazes me how people get suckered in and don't understand that the free market can be manipulated to suite someone's own agenda. Otherwise know as a monopoly, oligopoly and corruption. The free market does not protect against abuse of the system and that is a matter of fact. This is where the government is supposed to step in. Unfortunately in America the government seems to have their bread buttered by others rather than the interest of Americans.

Edited August 3, 2008 by Aficionado

[ready4ONE 5,400]

http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007/10/08/super-...cars-1978-1981/

Funny how the 'free' market has sent us backwards in both price and fuel economy... Maybe the 'free' market is less free than we would like to believe?

[Heracles 417]

http://www.mpgomatic.com/2007/10/08/super-...cars-1978-1981/

Funny how the 'free' market has sent us backwards in both price and fuel economy... Maybe the 'free' market is less free than we would like to believe?

People forget the free market can be abused. The free market does not mean literally free to let anyone do as they choose.

[pedroh 21]

Ford and GM should have moved their head offices out of Detroit years ago. They need to be near some modern and larger cities. This way they can reflect more of what the modern customer wants.

Detroit is the wrong place to have your designers / engineers in. Mitsubishi suffered the same fate in Australia. Whereas GM, Ford and Toyota have their offices / engineering team in large modern cities. Different culture. Different attitude. Much more modern and stylish.

I always wondered why Renault and various other European companies never brought their cars here. They have some awesome looking cars. With excellent MPG, build quality and safety..

there's a safety issue why they can't bring them over here.. I was dying to get a peugeot in Mexico they're fairly popular and they're good cars.. but somehow u can't import them here.. the same as those SEAT cars, they're cheap and have good mileage too

[Heracles 417]

there's a safety issue why they can't bring them over here.. I was dying to get a peugeot in Mexico they're fairly popular and they're good cars.. but somehow u can't import them here.. the same as those SEAT cars, they're cheap and have good mileage too

Ah yes Peugeot. Another great car manufacturer. Fiats are good cars as well.

Actually European cars are much safer than American cars. The EU is much more stricter on safety. Whereas American manufactures have a history of having to be sued to be forced to introduce safety. IE Seat belts, collapsible steering wheels etc

False misconception in the US that trucks are safer because they are bigger.

Edited August 3, 2008 by Aficionado

[IAMX 3,055]

Thats odd because I check the mileage on my Honda Civic and I definitely got about 39 mpg while driving 80 to 85 mph cross country. I am sure it could have hit 40 if I had gone a little slower. In the city I am definitely getting over 30 mpg. Why do I need the horse power? I'm not racing anyone or hauling anything. Its not even a matter of what they "say". It is a matter of reality and these are the statistics for my personal Honda. It will vary on the driver and how well they take care of their car.

That is just not possible. Once a car goes over 55mph it starts to burn more fuel exponentially. A civic would be using at least 20% more fuel at 85mph to sustain the speed. Your civic would get better gas mileage than a prius at that speed.

Not true. My Neon gets 33mpg with me going consistently 75-85 while driving 110 miles a day to work (round trip miles), 5 days a week. I made sure to calculate this to see if my speeding was greatly affecting my mpg. It wasn't.

One thing that I love is I can speed my ### off and the mpg drop isn't bad at all unless you calculate it in yearly costs, which, driving 55-65mph, I'd save a decent amount of money (like several hundred per year), but it would take a lot longer to get to work, and it would piss a lot of people off going that slow.

Moving into the city, a car like a Prius is even more valuable, because they roast the ####### out of ICE vehicles in city mpg.

But alas, I'm waiting for something else, like an FCV/BEV to get a new car. Tesla has in the works a BEV Sedan at a reasonable price, Honda has the FCX Clarity coming out next year for lease. With good reviews, I'd put the money down to go either entirely or virtually oil free, plus cut the costs to drive in half for an FCV, and even further in a BEV.