Coping With The New CAFÉ Standards OR Defying the Laws of Physics

The new gas mileage standards mandated
by the recently passed energy legislation
defy the laws of physics...but Democrats,
including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
don't seem to care.
---===0===---

Coping With The New CAFÉ Standards
By Jack Ward
December 29, 2007

The other day I took my Toyota Sienna van in for a
smog check. While I was waiting, I heard the news
that our Congress Critters were about to pass new
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards.
The new fuel efficiency law will require manufacturers
to meet a fleet wide average of 35 miles per gallon for
cars, SUV's, and small trucks. A fleet average of 35
mpg is a 40% increase in fuel mileage over the
existing requirement. My van gets an average of 20+
mpg and can carry 6 passengers and luggage in
comfort. My wife drives a Honda Civic which gets 30+
mpg. But neither of our vehicles would meet the new
congressional requirements. It is obvious that the
CAFÉ standards would effectively outlaw most
current cars, vans, trucks, and SUVs.

So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
I started checking out the vehicles on the lot. The
standard cars and small trucks failed immediately.
Then I spotted the smallest car on the lot, a
sub-compact Yaris. But even the sub-compact Yaris
failed the Congress Critters new efficiency
requirements. The Yaris had a maximum 36 mpg on
the highway, but its combined city and highway
average was below the required 35 mpg. The Toyota
Camry Hybrid also failed the new CAFÉ standards.
The only car that met the new CAFÉ standards was
the Prius Hybrid.

The efficiency of an internal combustion engine is
based on total energy of the fuel and the amount of
energy used to perform useful work. So by
legislating a fuel efficiency increase of about 40%,
our Congress Critters were attempting to rewrite Laws
of Thermodynamics. Congressional leaders were
warned that the mandated changes may not be
technologically or economically possible. But the
enlightened Democrat leaders disagreed. House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-Ca.), was heavily involved
in crafting the legislation and declared that "It's
groundbreaking in what it will do." She is right. I
wonder if she also plans to rewrite the Law of Gravity.

In a previous column I addressed the prototypical
micro-car envisioned by the Congress Critters - the
Smart Car 'ForTwo'. The Smart Car 'ForTwo' is about
4 feet shorter and 1,000 pounds lighter than a Mini
Cooper, so it isn't suitable for soccer moms.
Throughout the 1950's and 60's manufacturers offered
micro-cars but the public wasn't interested. But our
Congress Critters know best and will now require you
to drive one.

Researchers at Harvard University and the Brookings
Institution found that these micro-cars are not as safe
as the current U.S. fleet. Their research found that for
every 100 pounds shaved off cars to meet CAFÉ
standards between 440 and 780 additional people
were killed in auto accidents. This means that an
additional total of 2,200 to 3,900 lives will be lost per
model year. Adrian Lund, of the Insurance Institute
for Highway Safety said, "Fatalities are much higher
with small, lightweight vehicles." Politicians are
force-feeding the micro-cars on the American public
even if that means these vehicles will be less safe.

But what kind of cars do our Congress Critters have?
Spies in Washington DC tell us the congressional
parking lot is filled with large sedans, SUV's, and
trucks. While there are a few economy cars in the lot,
the estimated mileage for the cars in the lot is less
than 20 mpg. But don't expect to see Ted Kennedy
in a Smart Car because we know that politicians reek
with hypocrisy. They exempt themselves from the
very laws they expect us to follow. So, rest assured
that the Congress Critters will not be driving the
micro-cars that they will require you to drive. This is
supposed to be the 'Land of the Free' so why should
Americans be denied the opportunity to choose the
vehicle that meets their needs?

The New Media Journal.us (c) 2007

AKA sniveled ineptly:
>
>The new gas mileage standards mandated
>by the recently passed energy legislation
>defy the laws of physics..

leotard, you don't know any physics to speak of..

--Your 'appeal to authority' is meaningless in this case..

AKA sniveled ineptly:
>>The new gas mileage standards mandated
>>by the recently passed energy legislation
>>defy the laws of physics..

Which ones? The Universal Law of Lobbyest Influence Peddeling?

Kurt Lochner wrote:

> AKA sniveled ineptly:
> >
> > So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
> > average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
> > and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
> > I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.

I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car that
could happily tootle along at 80–90mph, nip past obstructive drivers in
old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles on a gallon of
diesel.
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52

OK that's a UK gallon but it's still 50.4 US mpg !

Diesel engines are a large part of the answer. The USA has an irrational
fear of them though. Modern European diesel engine design is making even
SPORTY diesels possible. They have exceptional torque which most drivers
like too.

Graham

In sci.environment, Eeyore
>
wrote
on Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:15:10 +0000
>:
>
>
> Kurt Lochner wrote:
>
>> AKA sniveled ineptly:
>> >
>> > So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
>> > average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
>> > and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
>> > I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.
>
> I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
> staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car that
> could happily tootle along at 80–90mph, nip past obstructive drivers in
> old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles on a gallon of
> diesel.
> http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52

Is that at 90 mph? Somehow, I doubt it. Best I can do is
200 mpg in a Mini Cooper S form factor at 67 mph (30 m/s)
using the Drag Equation, and that's not taking rolling
friction into consideration. At 45 m/s (100.7 mph) one
gets 88.9 mpg, as drag is proportional to the square of
the speed.

The stats I've seen for hybrids such as the Prius suggest
that hybrids get worse mileage on the highway than in
the city -- a testament to the inefficiencies of the
reciprocating piston internal combustion engine at
low RPMs.

>
> OK that's a UK gallon but it's still 50.4 US mpg !
>
> Diesel engines are a large part of the answer. The USA has an irrational
> fear of them though. Modern European diesel engine design is making even
> SPORTY diesels possible. They have exceptional torque which most drivers
> like too.

The US "fear" is not all that irrational, given the
diesel's history of sounding like a bad truck, smelling
like the inside of an oil can, and looking like something
coming out of a fireplace. Of course that's in the same
boat as brussel sprouts, which AIUI tasted bad because of
their canning decades ago; both have been since resolved,
using more efficient designs.

However, Americans, myself included, have a fairly long
memory. It will probably take a little while to purge
these prejudices out of our system.

I may never eat brussel sprouts. I might consider a
diesel, though. :-)

>
> Graham
>

--
#191,
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--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

The Ghost In The Machine wrote:

> Eeyore wrote
> > Kurt Lochner wrote:
> >> AKA sniveled ineptly:
> >> >
> >> > So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
> >> > average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
> >> > and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
> >> > I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.
> >
> > I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
> > staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car that
> > could happily tootle along at 80–90mph, nip past obstructive drivers in
> > old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles on a gallon of
> > diesel.
> > http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52
>
> Is that at 90 mph?

Don't be silly. NO mpg figures quoted are at 90 mph.

Graham

In News ,, Eeyore at
, typed this:

> Kurt Lochner wrote:
>
>> AKA sniveled ineptly:
>>>
>>> So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
>>> average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
>>> and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
>>> I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.
>
> I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
> staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car that
> could happily tootle along at 80-90mph, nip past obstructive drivers
> in old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles on a
> gallon of diesel.
> http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52
>
> OK that's a UK gallon but it's still 50.4 US mpg !
>
> Diesel engines are a large part of the answer. The USA has an
> irrational fear of them though. Modern European diesel engine design
> is making even SPORTY diesels possible. They have exceptional torque
> which most drivers like too.
>
> Graham

How well do they operate at -30 degrees Fahrenheit?


--
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong
enough to take away everything you have."

Thomas Jefferson

Scruffy McScruffovitch wrote:

> Eeyore at typed this:
> > Kurt Lochner wrote:
> >> AKA sniveled ineptly:
> >>>
> >>> So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
> >>> average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
> >>> and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
> >>> I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.
> >
> > I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
> > staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car that
> > could happily tootle along at 80-90mph, nip past obstructive drivers
> > in old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles on a
> > gallon of diesel.
> > http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52
> >
> > OK that's a UK gallon but it's still 50.4 US mpg !
> >
> > Diesel engines are a large part of the answer. The USA has an
> > irrational fear of them though. Modern European diesel engine design
> > is making even SPORTY diesels possible. They have exceptional torque
> > which most drivers like too.
>
> How well do they operate at -30 degrees Fahrenheit?

I have NO idea.

How well do YOU work at -30 F ( -34C) ? How much of the year do you have
those temps ? I imagine ANY car will need pre-warming to operate usefully.

Graham

In News ,, Eeyore at
, typed this:

> Scruffy McScruffovitch wrote:
>
>> Eeyore at typed this:
>>> Kurt Lochner wrote:
>>>> AKA sniveled ineptly:
>>>>>
>>>>> So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
>>>>> average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
>>>>> and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
>>>>> I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.
>>>
>>> I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
>>> staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car
>>> that could happily tootle along at 80-90mph, nip past obstructive
>>> drivers in old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles
>>> on a gallon of diesel.
>>> http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52
>>>
>>> OK that's a UK gallon but it's still 50.4 US mpg !
>>>
>>> Diesel engines are a large part of the answer. The USA has an
>>> irrational fear of them though. Modern European diesel engine design
>>> is making even SPORTY diesels possible. They have exceptional torque
>>> which most drivers like too.
>>
>> How well do they operate at -30 degrees Fahrenheit?
>
> I have NO idea.

That's rather important for people living in my area.

>
> How well do YOU work at -30 F ( -34C) ?

Not well, which is why I need a reliable car at that temperature. In the
past, Diesels have not proven reliable in the Winter.


> How much of the year do you
> have those temps ?

In the Winter? Quite often. Probably 15 - 30 days on average, but more
often at night.

--
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong
enough to take away everything you have."

Thomas Jefferson

In article >,
Eeyore > wrote:

> Kurt Lochner wrote:
>
> > AKA sniveled ineptly:
> > >
> > > So I began to wonder what vehicle would get an
> > > average of 35 mpg. Since I was at a Toyota dealership
> > > and Toyota has been a leader in fuel efficient vehicles,
> > > I started checking out the vehicles on the lot.
>
> I'll make a very simple statement: The Toyota Yaris D-4D is a
> staggeringly good little car.... I have never driven another car that
> could happily tootle along at 80–90mph, nip past obstructive drivers in
> old-shape Merc CL500 coupes, and still take me 63 miles on a gallon of
> diesel.
> http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=52
>
> OK that's a UK gallon but it's still 50.4 US mpg !
>
> Diesel engines are a large part of the answer. The USA has an irrational
> fear of them though. Modern European diesel engine design is making even
> SPORTY diesels possible. They have exceptional torque which most drivers
> like too.

In my area, finding a gas station where diesel is sold is a challenge. I
live in South Jersey. I was once driving home on the Atlantic City
Parkway two or three years ago. I stopped to get gas at one of the road
side places and a guy in front of me pulls up in a fancy Mercedes and
the gas station attendant had to send him away because he needed diesel
and that station didn't sell any. Hopefully, he had enough gas in his
tank to find a station where diesel is sold.