rubio07 wrote: I just bought myself a 98 ford escort for $2000.00 now I will only use my f250 to tow my travel trailer and the escort to get back and forth from work! I had the f250 listed as pleasure veh on my insurance. I figure I should make the $2000 up in fuel cost and wear and tear on the f250 in a year, even with the additional $30.00 per month to insure the escort.
I did the same last year. Got an '04 Malibu and only use the 2500HD for towing and hunting. This designated my truck as a pleasure vehicle instead of a primary vehicle. The insurance savings alone covered the insurance on the car, and now I only fill up once a week instead of 3 times! The gas savings come to about $55 - $60 a week.
Prietos wrote: Why can Brazil run on ethanol that they produce themselves and costs them half as much as gas at the pumps, and we can't do the same here?
You can to a degree but if you put a large percentage of your agricultural land into ethanol production, what are you going to eat? We are already seeing the result in higher grain prices.
If you look at the mileage ratings for E85 they are pretty dismal compared to the same cars using gasoline.
"Never trust a man who has not a single redeeming vice" WSC
Good point. Along that line, yesterday I was doing a little figuring because our pump prices have hardly changed in the past year even though the price of oil has been steadily rising. Oil at $75 USD was costing Canadians $86 CAD at the beginning of the year with an 85 cent Loony. Now that the Loon has hit $1.09 we are paying $88 CAD for a $95 USD barrel of oil, only a $2 change.
The damage a high Loon is doing to exports and tourism is another story
The 'price increase' is really the U.S. dollar's rapid fall, I'm paying the same in $Canadian too. The Federal government deficit in the U.S. is out of control, in Canada there is a budget surplus the last several years. There is a lesson there that even the largest economy in the world cannot ignore.
All of our lamentations point to the inevitability of petroleum as a finite resource. If we don't have a mini crisis now, we will have a major one coming. Suddenly the thread of an individual trying to make a diesel Liberty into a decent tow vehicle makes more sense? Prices will continue to rise, and we will figure out a way to accomodate that. I am already thinking that my original plan to tow my large TT on long trips may make way to a smaller RV, and the trailer will be a vacation home eventually - on a set location. Maybe not - but creative thinking and demands of $ will force us to change; but not force us to stop complaining.
Dan
2002 Trail Lite 211S; 8.1 Liter Chevy,
2007 Tundra Double Cab 4X4 - Hot Rod,
2005 30RLS Outback Sydney Edition,
2007 Jeep Compass
Daniel, i'm 100% with you. WE will have to change. We must reduce our fuel consumption drastically and sooner the better.
I was in Europe all last september and i would say that 75 to 80% of their vehicules are small 4 cyl diesel cars. Are they RV'ing over there ? YOU BET ! With small and beautiful camping cars with again, 4 cyl turbo diesel (around 2 litres) manual tranny. And they also tow TT with 4 cyl (diesel) sedan cars.
And if we think that we can show them how to design and build an RV, MEN, their RV's are 10 to 15 years AHEAD of what is available here.
Click in "caravan" than in "De luxe" and "Excellent" and see the pictures. I did visit a dealer near Avignon (France) and let me tell you, I was totally shocked to see how well those RV's are built with all the equipment that we have here (A/C, heating, stove, fridg etc.)
Prices of a TT over there ? 17,000 to 27,000 Euros !
Honestly, quality for quality, average RV's that we buy here are simply p.o.s. !
By the way, Hobby is # 1 RV mfg worldwide...
Standard equipment include radial tires, shock absorbers, torsion axle, PARKING BRAKE, anti-sway coupler, 5 years warrenty against water infiltration... tongue weight indicator on the tongue jack, etc. etc. etc.
About the anti-sway, this is what they use : Europeen coupler (Click in product)
I also stop at a Nissan dealer and the Pathfinder is available (and quite popular) in Europe. BUT, they are equipped with a 4 cyl 2.5 litres turbo diesel with a 6 speed man tranny and a 3.7 diff ratio. 170 HP and 400Nm (Newton meter) or 300 #-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm...
Tow Capacity ? 3 metric tons ( 6,600#) !!!
TT tongue weight are typically between 50 to 100 kg and TT brakes are hydraulics (actuated by the tongue). This is why they can tow a TT up to 25' (weight around 3,000#) with a sedan car (4 cyl diesel eng). Did you know that a Ford Focus with a 2 L diesel in Europe has a tow rating of 3,300# ? Incredible, isn'it ??? Especially when a Crown Vic V8 is limited to 2,000# here in North America...
Here was the car that I rented in France (Peugot 206, 1.4 L turbo diesel) picture in Corsica near Porto
avg of 54 mi/gal (imp gal.) or 5.4 L/100km
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Claude & Lise
Nissan Pathfinder 4WD 2003, V-6 3.5L, auto tran, 4.36 diff., Palomino 2003 ultra lite TT (T-25FB) 25' (loaded: TT 4,200#, all together: 9300#) Reese WD hitch 750# bars, Dual-Cam, Prodigy
Claude B,
Great Post.
Unfortunately it isn't likely to happen here. MAYBE in Canada. We are getting the Smart for two starting in January. It has been available in Canada for 3 years AND Canada has the diesel option a 0.8L L3 Turbo Diesel SOHC 6 valves available. The US does NOT. About 80 MPG.
It's just strange..... why can the US not get it together and start selling high mpg vehicles? I've never been to Europe so I don't know what's happening over there aside from what I'm able to read about. It's frustrating to see how advanced they are in comparison to this country. We are supposed to be the greatest nation in the world so what gives? Like I mentioned way earlier in this thread, I'm not into grand conspiracy theories but it sure seems like something is standing in our way.
7 years ago when I bought my first full size truck (Ford F150) I heard rumors of a small diesel engine... today, same rumors.. lot's of talk by lots of manufacturers but nothing for sure. Volkswagon seems to be at the forefront with their TDI Jetta and such. Toyota is making a great effort with the Prius Hybrid. It will be interesting to look back at this time 25 years from now to see how it all settles out. So far, the best technology hs nothing to do with tow vehicles but at least it's a start.
It makes me wonder about what happended in Europe to lead to the diesel cars. We keep reading on this thread that it's our own problem since we keep buying the cars/trucks and fuel to power them. So, in Europe did everyone just stop driving for a year to make the manufacturers change their offerings? Unlikely.... I'm not disagreeing with that point but there's got to be a way to transition to 'smarter' fuel usage.... why is the US so disinterested? Are we really that stubborn/stupid/ingnorant? It's no wonder most of the rest of the world hates us....
SidKaye wrote: Claude B,
Great Post.
Unfortunately it isn't likely to happen here. MAYBE in Canada. We are getting the Smart for two starting in January. It has been available in Canada for 3 years AND Canada has the diesel option a 0.8L L3 Turbo Diesel SOHC 6 valves available. The US does NOT. About 80 MPG.
Sidney
Are you aware the reason it was delayed in the U.S. is the tougher pollution laws down south, those are very dirty little beasts and it was not legal to sell in several states. It was sold as a gas version by a third party. It also costs $28,000 dollars too for that 40 horsepower 2 seater. Despite this it has green written all over it, so they sold more than expected here.
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