250 mpg???

[Mountain Freak]

It's on the way. You could fuel up as often as you change your oil. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050813/hybrid_tinkerers.html

[Treeliner]

heh,

"They're like the hot rodders of yesterday who did everything to soup up their cars. It was all about horsepower and bling-bling, lots of chrome and accessories," said Cindy Knight, a Toyota spokeswoman. "Maybe the hot rodders of tomorrow are the people who want to get in there and see what they can do about increasing fuel economy."

[Trackhead]

Americans will deal with soaring energy and fuel prices the way we deal with obesity.

We eat ourselves into obesity, then get a fucking gastric bypass instead of exercise.

[Mountain Junkie]

That's a highly unrealistic number.

Anyway, hopefully more and more hybrids start popping up. Not the best solution, but a good stopgap until something better is developed. Along those same lines, I hope Detroit gets their ass handed to them by the Japanese for not adopting hybrid technology.

[bcrider]

Thats the future man...if we want to breath without gas masks.

Now...if they only offer it in a 4x4. Chains are for the birds.

[Stanyo]

I don't see why more people don't convert to natural gas. Many gas stations do have it, though and its only 99 cents per gallon, burns clean (good for environment and your car), and it's a renewable energy source. Its not very difficult to do to almost any normal car and you leave in the regular gas tank so if you have nowhere to fill up on natural gas you can run on normal fuel for a while. Many gas stations do have it, though and its only 99 cents per gallon, burns clean (good for environment and your car), and it's a renewable energy source. You can even tap into the gas line to your house and fill up there for about 50 cents per gallon, but that's pretty expensive to set up.

[lemon boy]

and just exactly how is natural gas renewable?

methinks you've been misinformed about a number of things w/r/t natty gas.

[bagtagley]

Natural gas will likely be depleted before petroleum.

[Buzzworthy]

Hmm, extra batteries to hold more juice, what a novel idea.
Took em this long to start experimenting?


And while they are at it, add a nice sunroof size solar panel to the car to get even more energy. Sure, you have no luggage space, but you have GREAT gas mileage.

The cars need to have more batteries to store energy and get a bit bigger too, so they are actually useful to a family taking a vacation for example.

[Trackhead]

Ever drive from the midwest to the west, across South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, or any other state?

Remember the heinous headwind...............think about it.

It's Saudi Arabia, right here in the good ol' US of A.

[Tippster]

Methane gas from Pig Feces. It's the shit!

http://www.realtechnews.com/posts/246

[Mountain Freak]

I agree w/Bcrider... They have to make a 4x4. I think Ford makes one that gets around 30 mpg, but I could be wrong.

[Stanyo]

Natural gas is mostly methane and produced in a variety of ways, including high pressure under ground, similar to oil, a source for which that is not renewable. It is also produced in very large volumes by many bacteria that break up organic matter both in the ground and in the stomachs of many animals. (cows are a huge source of methane.) It is obviously not often collected from animals, but is from bacteria in the ground. It is also a bi-product when oil is refined. Those fires at oil refinferies are burning natural gas made when the oil is processed and most refineries don't bother to collect it (although some do) so the just burn it.

[fondigley]

Well it sounds like a good start. I know I paid 15 bucks yesterday for a little more than 5 gallons of gas. Which will only get me about 75 miles. I would prefer to pay 3 bucks for about 250 miles, but I need a 4x4 truck, so Toyota needs to get there shit together.

[mmcpheet]

They do make a hybrid in a 4x4, we've got a few of them as work pool vehicles: http://www.fordvehicles.com/escapehybrid/home/

Only drove it around some, and not so impressed (though a step in the right direction). The performance is good, but the engine runs constantly and the MPG reading was in the low 20's for mountain road driving with one passenger and no gear. My subi does better than that.

[lemon boy]

hybrids only beat for city driving. On the highway the engine runs full time.

hybrid is a joke until they make them with diesels.

[365wp]

Now that I live in the city and landed the job downtown, my plan was to get a diesel truck and go bio (I think there's an 80/20 station, or maybe 100%, not really sure, up north of the city)...but I'm finding it very hard to find a midsize diesel pickup. Seems like you have to go highline to get the diesel engine with a new truck, and used diesel trucks are few and far between...old trusty Outback it is for a while.

Why a truck in the city? Because I've almost broken my poor car going to Home Depot...15 rolls of sod, 100 bricks and 10 large pavers, the suspension is shot...the kitchen remodelling might be the end of her.

[glademaster]

Ethanol powered cars. Sure, there are still emissions, but far fewer than petroleum products, its infinitely renewable, and we could be self sufficient as a nation(if we made it from corn or other grain products). Maybe not a long term solution, but it seems like the best that we could implement easily, since most cars on the road would require only minor adjustments to run off of ethanol.

[Ireallyliketoski2]

Ethanol is the only viable option for this country to become self sufficient.

[MOHSHSIHd]

Ever drive from the midwest to the west, across South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, or any other state?

Remember the heinous headwind...............think about it.

It's Saudi Arabia, right here in the good ol' US of A.

exactly.

but, you have to understand the problem with this in our country. The biggest complaints of wind turbines is that people say they are too loud, and too expensive....


so as a result they would rather spend the money funding the war, and ravaging other nations...

...you cant hear the gunfire across the ocean...

[72Twenty]

I'm gonna put $3,000 worth of bricks in tha back of my car and see if it does the same.

[Lurch]

Ethanol powered cars. Sure, there are still emissions, but far fewer than petroleum products, its infinitely renewable, and we could be self sufficient as a nation(if we made it from corn or other grain products). Maybe not a long term solution, but it seems like the best that we could implement easily, since most cars on the road would require only minor adjustments to run off of ethanol.

Most scientists agree that it takes more power to produce Ethanol then it yields. It's really just another federal subsidy for farmers.