>>>>>
>>>>>>Joe wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>"Michael Johnson, PE" > wrote in
:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Wound Up wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>Donna wants a Mariner now. She likes the smaller size. I
>>>>>>>>>>think Ford designed that SUV with females in mind. Most guys
>>>>>>>>>>don't go for it. Not manly enough, I suppose.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>They sure didn't target their advertising of it to females,
>>>>>>>>>considering the girl on the commercials.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Maybe they already sold the females on it and now they are
>>>>>>>>trying
>>>>>>>
>>>>>to
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>mop up the males.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>The wussy ones at least...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>If I had to downsize from the Dak I'd go right to a bike.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>There really isn't much of a difference in mileage between an
>>>>>
>>>>>Explorer
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>and an Escape.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>That's interesting. Just from size and weight alone I'd have
>>>>>thought that the Escape got at least 5mpg better...
>>>>
>>>>The combined fuel economy for the Escape is 19 mpg and 17 for the
>>>>Explorer.
>>>
>>>
>>>19 for the Escape is horrible. Hell, even our '96 MPV Shoebox gets
>>>around 17 or 18 overall.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>The hybrid Escape has a 31 mpg combined rating. It
>>>>actually gets better mileage in the city than on the highway. For
>>>>a measly 2 mpg penalty, I would rather have the Explorer than the
>>>>garden variety Escape.
>>>
>>>
>>>Right. Not to mention rwd, a bit more metal surrounding you, and
>>>more room.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>The Escape hybrid really is quite an achievement for Ford, IMO. I
>>>>wonder what mileage they would get if they used that technology in
>>>>a light weight car. Plus, I would like to see a hybrid that takes
>>>>braking energy and stores it mechanically in a spinning flywheel.
>>>>Then used that stored energy to get the car moving again. I think
>>>>it would be a more efficient use of that energy than trying to
>>>>charge batteries from it in the short time frame that braking
>>>>occurs.
>>>
>>>
>>>For now, true. But long term I don't see hybrids as viable
>>>solutions. I think we'll see technology that hasn't been developed
>>>yet in the not-too-distant future.
>>
>>Too much expensive hardware, IMO.
>
>
> That's exactly what I think of hybrids now.
>

When I first started hearing about the design ideas, I thought they
would be disasters. Well, they're out there, but I still think "disaster".

>
>>A friend's got a Civic hybrid -
>>picked me up when I brought the Tempo in for inspection. It's like
>>a damned golf cart, hit the gas, the engine springs to life, and you
>>feel the pull of the electric motors. Stop, and it's like you're
>>dead in the water. It's a bit unnerving at first. He gets 45+ in
>>it.
>
>
> And how much more than a regular Civic did he pay for it?
>

I don't know. He did get a tax break but a dime more than its
comparable gas model is too much.

>
>>But I just don't know if I'd want to consider fixing all that crap.
>
>
> Bingo! In addition to the regular gasoline stuff you have the
> electric stuff to fix. Double the complexity, double the cost. At
> least.
>

I completely agree, at least double. Maybe worth leasing. Proprietary,
new, complicated and expensive technology that is critical to the
operation of the vehicle. No thanks (ha), I'll take 8-10 fewer MPG.

>
>>I'd get a small gas engined car, or a TDI VW. For SUVs, it raises
>>an interesting point because they suck so badly on mileage. But
>>again, even more hardware. I'd get a small sta wag... whatever
>>happened to the sta wag?
>
>
> It's kicking major ass as the Dodge Magnum SRT-8. 1/4 mile in 13.1
> seconds. Check out the article in this month's Motor Trend.
>

Man, that's pretty cool. I will. I liked the idea of the Magnum, but
was underwhelmed. Sounds like they're moving in the right direction.

I have an affinity for gigantic, powerful wagons. I plan to build a car
called The Dragon some day. I'm thinking tubbed, green, wood paneled
LTD with a bored and stroked 460, either with twin turbos or a roots
blower. I'll even re-do the wood paneling.


--
Wound Up
ThunderSnake #65