95 mpg

[stan23]

My car gets about 12mpg, yet puts a HUGE smile on my face whenever I get inside and drive the shit out of it. Its one of my biggest pleasures in life. Definitely worth the gas money and then some.

Next you guys will be bragging about neutered motorcycles that get 200mpg. Fuck that noise.

Yep. My car on fun mode gets about 9mpg. I don't care. I've also owned a hybrid for hypermiling, but that kind of fun didn't last long.

 

[stangmx13]

Yep. My car on fun mode gets about 9mpg. I don't care. I've also owned a hybrid for hypermiling, but that kind of fun didn't last long.

the last few posts reminded me of this...

most cars in fun mode get 'meh' gas mileage, even a hybrid
http://www.bbcamerica.com/top-gear/videos/thirsty-prius/

 

[Holeshot]

Yep. My car on fun mode gets about 9mpg. I don't care. I've also owned a hybrid for hypermiling, but that kind of fun didn't last long.

Some people own more than one car...and commuting in a specialty vehicle just has an enormous cost. Clown car is fine...it's efficient enough to allow alot of free cash flow. Horse is partially right...it's not a super cool ride. On the other hand, it's damn nice and I've got other super cool rides...but they all get shit for mileage.

 

[Horse]

Some people own more than one car...and commuting in a specialty vehicle just has an enormous cost. Clown car is fine...it's efficient enough to allow alot of free cash flow.

How exactly are you freeing cash flow? Did you get the car for free? You are starting to sound like a car salesman. Your math does not add up. If your goal is to save money, its not efficient to throw away dollars to save a nickle. These ugly expensive hybrid cars depreciate more each year, then what you will save on fuel. This math is been done over and over, beat to death.

If your commute is SO LONG that its eating a large portion of your cash flow, you either need to rethink what you do for a living, or rethink where you live. Buying a new clown car to commute in and wear out isn't the answer. Personally, you couldn't pay me to drive that ugly slow thing. It looks like a Prius with different bumpers and grill.

 

[Holeshot]

Horse, I did the math above. If you have a gas bill like I did the last few years, you'd see where I'm picking up dollars. It's essentially a "free car" if I was anticipating the same gas bill this year. The other problem I have is rolling a fair amount of miles on whatever I'm driving, thus facilitating the need to sell a lot more frequently...which is what I do because I can with no cost to change vehicles. I've had alot of the flashy, cool stuff. We still have flashy cool stuff...I just don't drive it daily. It pains me to put miles on a nice car on the freeway. It's much more enjoyable to put one on the track.

My commute is about 10 miles. However I put about 20K miles on vehicles in a year. Of course, vehicles that are corporate assets have a completely different set of advantages. If you were more familiar with my particular sitation, you'd understand how a guy can drive one of these clown cars...but I'm not gonna explain it here. Suffice it to say, the value retention on a hybrid is well above that of a regular ICE auto. The general public has no idea how hard they take it in the ass owning various vehicles. I do know how hard they get fucked...

Also, note: I can drive what I want, really...but I'm chosing this route to see how it works out. As it stands, it's pretty damn cheap AND I still have access to our inventory vehicles which between 4 of them, have 2055 hp. My car doesn't define me...it's just neat to try new stuff. Besides, if you read the math, it IS near free for me. I'm sick of paying dollars in gas money just to have HP on tap which never gets used on the street. It's the same reason I rarely ride on the street...

 

[TheRobSJ]

My car gets about 12mpg, yet puts a HUGE smile on my face whenever I get inside and drive the shit out of it. Its one of my biggest pleasures in life. Definitely worth the gas money and then some.

Okaaaaay. And how much fun is it to just trudge along at 20mph staring at some asshole's bumper just waiting for the moment we all jump on the brakes again?

Traffic. It's the great equalizer. And in the case of a "fun" car, it's a neutralizer. Everytime I commute with a Corvette, I feel like a greyhound that's cooped up in studio apartment.

A car like the Volt? No it's not a back road burner. But for commuting through rush hour where you're lucky to even get to the speed limit? Might as well have something that doesn't have you gassing up every week.

 

[Killroy1999]

I was curious, so I looked at AutoTrader.com Volts for $30,000 or under and I found 99 results. I expected to see cars that were banged up, and the first car that I looked at was $24,000 and did not have a ding on it and only 15,000 miles.

Everything is cheaper when you buy a new - used car. Insurance, no destination charge, registration, you can go private party and fake the sale price to pay less sales tax.

 

[Marlowe]

Oh yeah, just like the starter battery in your car, which is toxic lead acid, lithium ion is recycling, but is non-toxic.

Uhh, no dude...lithium is absolutely toxic.

There's also a question of what we're gonna do when places like Chile run out.

 

[Killroy1999]

Uhh, no dude...lithium is absolutely toxic.

There's also a question of what we're gonna do when places like Chile run out.

Really, Lithium is a medication used to treat bipolar disorder (manic depression). Off course, too much/ too little of anything is toxic like the people that have died from drinking too much water. Lithium is used in a lot of lubricating greases.

Lead is a heavy metal and very toxic and dangerous. Positioning is commonly known. No one is taking lead as a medicine.

Lead was commonly found in solders, but lead-fee solders are widely adopted today.

Its true that Chile has about 1/3 of the known lithium, but peak lithium is not as much a problem as peak oil. A good source of lithium is in Nevada and the USGS say that the US has about 4 million metric tonnes of mineral deposits identified.

The lithium alarmists started in 2006 when energy analyst William Tahil posted a paper online titled "The Trouble of Lithium". Since then there has been a rather public de-bunking. Tahil also published a paper that 911 was the result of two simultaneous, nuclear melt down under the wold trade center as the planes hit the towers. That did not help his credibility, but in today's age people are really gullible.

 

[Marlowe]

Really, Lithium is a medication used to treat bipolar disorder (manic depression). Off course, too much/ too little of anything is toxic like the people that have died from drinking too much water. Lithium is used in a lot of lubricating greases.

Lead is a heavy metal and very toxic and dangerous. Positioning is commonly known. No one is taking lead as a medicine.

Lead was commonly found in solders, but lead-fee solders are widely adopted today.

Its true that Chile has about 1/3 of the known lithium, but peak lithium is not as much a problem as peak oil. A good source of lithium is in Nevada and the USGS say that the US has about 4 million metric tonnes of mineral deposits identified.

The lithium alarmists started in 2006 when energy analyst William Tahil posted a paper online titled "The Trouble of Lithium". Since then there has been a rather public de-bunking. Tahil also published a paper that 911 was the result of two simultaneous, nuclear melt down under the wold trade center as the planes hit the towers. That did not help his credibility, but in today's age people are really gullible.

Dude, it's toxic. Seriously.

 

[Horse]

Horse, I did the math above. If you have a gas bill like I did the last few years, you'd see where I'm picking up dollars. It's essentially a "free car" if I was anticipating the same gas bill this year. The other problem I have is rolling a fair amount of miles on whatever I'm driving, thus facilitating the need to sell a lot more frequently...which is what I do because I can with no cost to change vehicles. I've had alot of the flashy, cool stuff. We still have flashy cool stuff...I just don't drive it daily. It pains me to put miles on a nice car on the freeway. It's much more enjoyable to put one on the track.

My commute is about 10 miles. However I put about 20K miles on vehicles in a year. Of course, vehicles that are corporate assets have a completely different set of advantages. If you were more familiar with my particular sitation, you'd understand how a guy can drive one of these clown cars...but I'm not gonna explain it here. Suffice it to say, the value retention on a hybrid is well above that of a regular ICE auto. The general public has no idea how hard they take it in the ass owning various vehicles. I do know how hard they get fucked...

Also, note: I can drive what I want, really...but I'm chosing this route to see how it works out. As it stands, it's pretty damn cheap AND I still have access to our inventory vehicles which between 4 of them, have 2055 hp. My car doesn't define me...it's just neat to try new stuff. Besides, if you read the math, it IS near free for me. I'm sick of paying dollars in gas money just to have HP on tap which never gets used on the street. It's the same reason I rarely ride on the street...

I put around 15k a year on my car, few k on my truck, another few k on my bikes. Its a tiny portion of my pay, but all written off. Best part is, I don't have to sit in a ugly clown car for 20k miles.

Don't you have any shame? I mean really. At least get the new Cadi if you are going to go that slow econo crap route.

Okaaaaay. And how much fun is it to just trudge along at 20mph staring at some asshole's bumper just waiting for the moment we all jump on the brakes again?

Traffic. It's the great equalizer. And in the case of a "fun" car, it's a neutralizer. Everytime I commute with a Corvette, I feel like a greyhound that's cooped up in studio apartment.

A car like the Volt? No it's not a back road burner. But for commuting through rush hour where you're lucky to even get to the speed limit? Might as well have something that doesn't have you gassing up every week.

Commute traffic is a poor/dumb persons problem. No way I would waste time sitting in traffic. There is no traffic in the hills where I work and live. But even so, much rather be sitting in the comfort of my Mercedes. Than in some ugly shit box that screams: "I'm a emo cheapskate."

Ever hear, you are what you wear? Well, you are what you drive too. The car a person drives, says a lot about a person.

 

[Archimedes]

Really, Lithium is a medication used to treat bipolar disorder (manic depression). Off course, too much/ too little of anything is toxic like the people that have died from drinking too much water. Lithium is used in a lot of lubricating greases.

Same element, very different compounds. And yes, Lithium is toxic, even in fairly moderate doses.

 

[mercurial]

Commute traffic is a poor/dumb persons problem. No way I would waste time sitting in traffic. There is no traffic in the hills where I work and live. But even so, much rather be sitting in the comfort of my Mercedes. Than in some ugly shit box that screams: "I'm a emo cheapskate."

You live and work in the hills, and (inferring from your post/tone) you're wealthy? Are you the chief executive officer of a lumbermill or something?

Most people that make good money have to work in dense, more urban areas.

 

[Asphaultnaut]

As long as we're still gaming the system by not declaring additional added potential energy, I say my Suburban still beat you all by coasting down the Siskyous and using no fuel at all for over 10 miles. Later I did have the motor running for part of that because steering was too hard without power assist, but I still got around 300 mpg. LOL

Or if we just want to avoid counting the "fuel" in the "second tank" (battery) then that Ranger I sold got close to 150mpg when I added in the two gallons from the fuel can I kept in the back.

what needs to happen is determine the actual usable amount of juice in the pack (I see listing of total capacity but there's no way the battery will be allowed to drain totally flat), and determine it's equivalent energy in gallons (roughly 36kWh/US Gallon) and then add that into the total of the vehicle's fuel reserves.

Wikipedia says "officially" you can use the battery for 35 miles. the battery is listed as using 35kwh over a hundred miles. So there's what, 17.5 kwh used there, or an additional 2 gallons of gasoline (weighing 435 pounds because we're using a battery instead of roughly 12 pounds for refined dino juice?)

so if I take that and add it to the official tank capacity of 9.3 gallons - 11.3 gallons total, and an EPA official range of 379 miles tells me the Volt actually delivers 34.4 mpg combined.

I gotta be missing something in the math here.

 

[Killroy1999]

Are you sure you are not confused with NiCd? Cadmium is banned material like lead its very toxic and and Cadmium positioning cases are well known.

Summary:

Lead Acid- Bad
NiCd - Bad
NiMH - "considered non-toxic to humans"
Li Ion - "considered non-toxic to humans"

But dont lick your fingers after handeling a a broken battery or feed any to babies.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/health_concerns

 

[Nucking Futs]

At least get the new Cadi if you are going to go that slow econo crap route.

Commute traffic is a poor/dumb persons problem. No way I would waste time sitting in traffic.


Ever hear, you are what you wear? Well, you are what you drive too.

.

I'll chime in here as a counter to all this Horse shit.

Your talking to a guy that just sold a CTS-V. Holeslut has had many a mans dream car: Z8, M5, CTS-V, Z06, SL63 AMG, many many more I can't remember. The guy know's big dick cars.

He also commutes very far to see his significant other, not by choice either.


Only a fool judges a book by it's cover, Horse.


I won't be buying any hybrid or electric car soon, but if I were commuting at all I probably would. BUT- I cannot wait to own and ride a well engineered and affordable electric motorbike. I have driven/ridden electric vehicles both on road and off and I am wholly convinced that the throttle operation of a well tuned electric motor is superior to IC engines. Whether or not you like the concept, electric engines will be our future.

 

[Killroy1999]

As long as we're still gaming the system by not declaring additional added potential energy, I say my Suburban still beat you all by coasting down the Siskyous and using no fuel at all for over 10 miles. Later I did have the motor running for part of that because steering was too hard without power assist, but I still got around 300 mpg. LOL

Or if we just want to avoid counting the "fuel" in the "second tank" (battery) then that Ranger I sold got close to 150mpg when I added in the two gallons from the fuel can I kept in the back.

what needs to happen is determine the actual usable amount of juice in the pack (I see listing of total capacity but there's no way the battery will be allowed to drain totally flat), and determine it's equivalent energy in gallons (roughly 36kWh/US Gallon) and then add that into the total of the vehicle's fuel reserves.

Wikipedia says "officially" you can use the battery for 35 miles. the battery is listed as using 35kwh over a hundred miles. So there's what, 17.5 kwh used there, or an additional 2 gallons of gasoline (weighing 435 pounds because we're using a battery instead of roughly 12 pounds for refined dino juice?)

so if I take that and add it to the official tank capacity of 9.3 gallons - 11.3 gallons total, and an EPA official range of 379 miles tells me the Volt actually delivers 34.4 mpg combined.

I gotta be missing something in the math here.

Did you read the definition of MPGe in post #13? That should help.

 

[Asphaultnaut]

Did you read the definition of MPGe in post #13? That should help.

I suspect the error is in my calculation of battery pack capacity or something. Otherwise, the Volt would need to travel around 180 miles on it's battery pack to get the reported results

I'm reading their explanation and then doing as real world calculations as I can get. KW to KW and not getting the same results. I don't want to call it marketing but that's what it starts to look like. The explanation leaves out methodology so I'm digging that up.

we know how much "juice" the battery holds. We know the motor's draw, and range. We know the energy output stored in a gallon of unleaded gasoline. the EPA lists 33.7kwh as the equivalent of gasoline in their MPGe calculation.

seems all the calculations use BTUs for the fuel, kwh for the electricity then figure BTUs per kwh? why not just convert straight to kwh and be done with it?

 

[sckego]

I'm reading their explanation and then doing as real world calculations as I can get. KW to KW and not getting the same results. I don't want to call it marketing but that's what it starts to look like.

If you are driving 379 miles per day, then you're exactly right. Most people do not drive that much. The vast majority of the time, people are going to do their 20-30 mile commute and then plug back in at home overnight, refilling the battery, and never needing to tap into the gas tank. And as long as you're running on the electric motor, instead of the ICE, you're still getting that 35kwh/100mi efficiency, and not having the deal with the wasteful inefficiency of the combustion engine.

 

[Asphaultnaut]

If you are driving 379 miles per day, then you're exactly right. Most people do not drive that much. The vast majority of the time, people are going to do their 20-30 mile commute and then plug back in at home overnight, refilling the battery, and never needing to tap into the gas tank. And as long as you're running on the electric motor, instead of the ICE, you're still getting that 35kwh/100mi efficiency, and not having the deal with the wasteful inefficiency of the combustion engine.

that ends up looking worse. two gallons equivalent battery storage for less than 40 miles. My Tacoma returns better than that.

what am I missing? did I drop a placeholder somewhere?