krusty

Something that continues to astound me is the quantity of crap people seem to think they need to haul around with them for the simplest of trips. I grew up in a family of 3 boys, and in the summer we would always take a driving vacation. There were 5 of us in an old Hillman back in the 60s. We were allowed to pack a small bag each, and if it didn't fit in the bag, it couldn't come along. We all visit our parents occasionally, and when I watch my younger brother pull in with the minivan and 2 kids, I can't believe how full it is with unnecessary junk. If he eliminated most of it, I'm sure his fuel mileage would improve noticeably, and maybe he could even take his smaller car and save even more gas.

My vice is my older AMG Mercedes. Absolute crap fuel mileage under any conditions, but boy, is it fun on a long trip. It hardly makes it out of the garage these days due to the fuel costs.

PapaLegba

europeans can't even come to the same quality standards the asians abide by. so on top of having a miserable econobox, you have an unreliable miserable econobox.

my ideal 'european' car would be a diesel BMW, auto union, or mercedes wagon, but i don't have the 50 grand it takes to buy one in the US--and BMW doesn't even want to entertain the idea of selling a diesel wagon when it can sell its SUV's and audi just contents itself with peddling diesel volksvagens.

so all we're left with volkswagen. cheap cars build in mexico or brazil or wherever VW assembles its crap so it can keep its german factories cranking out audis and lamborghinis.

and that doesn't solve the issue of hauling a few dozen bales of pine straw, palettes of grass, my old land cruiser, or just being able to throw three bikes into the back without having to worry about them dangling off the back or hitting something when they're on the roof.

not every american needs trucks. but some of us actually use them. imagine that.

Cyclist0383

That would be in the EU, for us Europeans.

supton

Yep, my car in 128k has had to have the wheelbearings replaced, the drivers window needs to be attached to the regulator, and there is a buzzing sound at times from the center vent in the dashboard while using a/c. Yep, I'd be much better off getting rid of this unreliable car for something that doesn't even get half the mpg's. That way I can get rid of that 4x8 utility trailer too that I use 2-3 times/year also, that thing is ripping me off at $25/year to register.

The_Cretin

rog

I saw one here in NJ once, about 4 years ago. I was driving my tractor trailer down rt 36, and I saw this tiny little thing whipping in and out of the lanes....was curious, so I busted my ass to catch up to him. Went home, googled Smart car, and I was pretty impressed. If I could justify a second car, I'd get something like that in a second.

PapaLegba

imagine that.

but people will defend their junky euro cars with anecdotes.

Cyclist0383

That is one one 'Euro Car' maker and it doesn't even include cars made for the European market, but rather cars made in North America for the US market. VWs in Europe don't have the same QC problems as those in North America.

yogi13

Things already are fading with $3 gas. Last quarter sales data from the US automakers shows that the sales of things like large SUVs and trucks have dropped like a stone, to be basically replaced with sales of small economy cars (not hybrids, too expensive for Joe sixpack). Automakers are shaking in their boots, as the profit margins are huge on SUVs and trucks, tiny on the small stuff.

I'm not sure whether the high end bike shops will see much increase in business, though. One coworker who started to bike commute some of the time picked his bike up at Target for under $200. Another rides a tank of an old MTB that he probably picked up a garage sale for under $50. I think that is more the profile of what average Joe will do.

FWIW, I don't bike to work myself, as my commute is about 40 miles one way with large hills in the middle. I am starting to make noise about telecommuting more often, though.

PapaLegba

so the fiats, and renaults, and peugots, skodas, citroens, and rovers, and other garbage that can't even run for a week without catching fire should be included in that list?

true, opel makes some decent cars that get rebadged as GM's in the US, but seriously... there's a reason why japanese microcars are eating up the european marketshare. their engineering isn't garbage.

Cyclist0383

Good luck with the trolling!

The_Cretin

Left column Euro:

Mini Cooper (is this even a Euro car?)
1 out of 47


Right column Euro:

20 out of 45

Hobartlemagne 

No one in this post so far has even considered carpooling. High gas prices wont move the hordes into
bike commuting. They'll start carpooling first.

Versa2nr

meh... I still get a chuckle when I think about it....A co-worker came up to me the other day and started chatting me up about various things and one of the topics was the cost of gas. I said I didnt really notice it much because I havent had to fill up at the pump in over 6 months. My coworker's jaw just about hit the floor and asked me if I had a electric car or something. I smiled said no and pointed to my commuter that ahs an indoor parking space next to my cube. Gas is sooooo overrated...LOL

Sadly though I have noticed the cost of certain things at the grocery store creeping up. Also shipping is a little more expensive than it used to be but not nearly as much as keeping gas in a vehicle.

celticfrost

Just buy a Honda Civic and get it over with. My 2003, 5spd manual has 100K+ miles, gets a consistent 37-38mpg, doesn't need more expensive diesel, doesn't cost an extra 10k because it's not a hybrid, seats 4 adults, hauls my bikes, is more reliable and better built than a euro or american ****box, etc, etc, etc...

maddyfish

"If gas hits $4.00/gal nationwide"

We can only hope, higher would be better.

CdCf

I don't know about other countries, but diesel is significantly cheaper here. By 10-15 % or so.

Az B

So when did this become a European car vs Japanese car thread?

You guys are so easily distracted.

Az

celticfrost

Yeah, diesel is more expensive than regular gas in the States. The funny thing is that in the States I bet our diesel has less emission controls than your diesel, yet it still costs more -- go figure!

celticfrost

Back on topic. IMO, gas @ $4 p/gallon in the US will have little effect, at least in the short term. But if our economy as a whole continues to weaken AND gas prices continue to rise, then I think over the mid to long term there'll be some (hopefully positive) changes --- maybe then bike shops will be in better shape.

supton

I dunno about older Civic's--wife's '01 is the only car either of us has had to have towed, due to a blown CV joint. It also loses the A/C every other year, usually for the same safety switch. Don't get me wrong: it gets the job done. But we use my VW for family outings, as it is more comfortable and a quieter ride. More space too, and it was cheaper to run--now with gas at $3.10 and diesel hitting $4.00, they cost about the same per mile to drive.

Today's diesels have just as much for emissions controls. My older '04 has an EGR valve and a catalytic convertor. Throw in the intercooler, turbocharger, and a fuel injector system running upwards of 27,000psi, and it's no wonder why it costs more than a naturally aspirated gasser.

supton

I'd tend to agree: $4/gallon gas won't make much of a change. People will gripe; but they'll still have to drive to work and whatnot. Plus, one just gets used to the cost. Everything else has slowly gone up in price overtime. It's only when it takes big jumps that it really hurts. IMO, if prices instead just keep going up slowly, instead of big jumps like we've seen, I think the SUV sales will recover, and American habits won't change drastically.

Scummer

That is correct, you don't need a hybrid to get 50mpg. The VW TDI and the Mercedes BlueTec Diesel can easily provide that milage with decent sized cars.
BUT, emissions from diesels are much worse than on a gasoline car. So it's not all about the mileage why somebody would buy a hybrid, it's environmentally more sound.

Yes, I wanted to buy an MB 320 CDI but they pulled the plug on the Diesel cars until the particle filters were matching the stringent California emissions controls. So I went with a Prius instead since I needed a new car for work and I'm pretty happy with the car so far. A few things I would change on the car, but for the most part the Prius is a great car and with the right driving technique you can push over 70mpg in city traffic and around 50mpg going 65mph on the highway.


And 4$/gall ain't going to change anything. I laugh when I read in the newspaper: Man it hurts when I need to fill up my Expedition, Suburban, Hummer. You made the choice of buying the car, you get to feel the consequences. Same thing with the subprime crisis, people don't thing about the future. :shakes head:

Thomas

celticfrost

I've had VW's too (both new and used) and my luck w/ them was just downright bad.


Yep, Americans have too many bad habits that $4 p/ gallon gas just won't break. We need a couple more big jumps just to see how quickly we'd be able (or not able) to change.

FrankBattle 

Yes. Exactly.