Global Warming...New Report...and it ain't happy news

a report pointed out recently that the people of china and india have decided that they are entitled to drive cars just like the people in other developed countries .
and from what i've seen in a recent report from china , 'the rich chinese kids' sure like their hummers (and other big vehicles) .
perhaps they'll be salvation for the american automobile industry ?
meantime , chrysler will start to import the mini-chery (?) from china Laughing

.
hbg

http://www.autoblog.nl/images/chery_qq_china.jpg

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Yup, but they aren't required to sign onto the treaty because they're such a 'poor country'. Ha!

Of purely anecdotal interest, our esteemed governor Richardson, here in New Mexico, awhile back made a big deal that he would drive a hybrid to be a good example for the people. Well, this morning's Albuquerque Journal has a front page story that he just couldn't take that hybrid. He has traded it in for a $51,535 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ with a vortec 5.3 liter 8 cylinder engine with 4-wheel drive and third row seating. (Leather seats and Boze speaker system too of course.)

(As an afterthought, the news story does say that the First Lady still drives a hybrid Ford Escape and the governor travels in that when it's just the two of them. And if anybody wants to believe that, I'm going into the imaginary bridge business.)

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Foxfyre wrote:

(As an afterthought, the news story does say that the First Lady still drives a hybrid Ford Escape and the governor travels in that when it's just the two of them. And if anybody wants to believe that, I'm going into the imaginary bridge business.)

That above is the main part of the report, on page 2.

And Gov Richardson didn't buy a Japanese car because he "chose to go with an American-made vehicle".
But as soon as American-made full-size hybrid SUV's were on the market, he would consider to buy one.

And that he wanted to help New Mexico's industry, namely the ethanol ethanol industry (the new car runs mainly on ethanol).

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Walter Hinteler wrote:

Foxfyre wrote:

(As an afterthought, the news story does say that the First Lady still drives a hybrid Ford Escape and the governor travels in that when it's just the two of them. And if anybody wants to believe that, I'm going into the imaginary bridge business.)

That above is the main part of the report, on page 2.

And Gov Richardson didn't buy a Japanese car because he "chose to go with an American-made vehicle".
But as soon as American-made full-size hybrid SUV's were on the market, he would consider to buy one.

And that he wanted to help New Mexico's industry, namely the ethanol ethanol industry (the new car runs mainly on ethanol).

Could I interest you in one of those bridges, Walter?

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i'll keep driving my 1999 oldmobile intrigue for the time being .
i think the energy needed to produce a more fuel-efficient car is probably greater than the extra gas i'm burning .
i'm sure i'll buy a more fuel-efficient car next time , but not sure that a hybrid is really the best idea . there certainly are a lot of of conflicting reports out there . the cost/energy to produce a hybrid are higher than producing a regular car a/t some engineering studies .
a/t consumer reports , the gas mileage obtained by hybrid cars has been much worse than initial test reports showed .
for the time being , honda civic and similar cars are probably a good bet considering all relevant factors (initial and operating cost , fuel consumption ... ).
hbg

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No, but in the Bose speakers of that car.

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hamburger wrote:

i'll keep driving my 1999 oldmobile intrigue for the time being .
i think the energy needed to produce a more fuel-efficient car is probably greater than the extra gas i'm burning .
i'm sure i'll buy a more fuel-efficient car next time , but not sure that a hybrid is really the best idea . there certainly are a lot of of conflicting reports out there . the cost/energy to produce a hybrid are higher than producing a regular car a/t some engineering studies .
a/t consumer reports , the gas mileage obtained by hybrid cars has been much worse than initial test reports showed .
for the time being , honda civic and similar cars are probably a good bet considering all relevant factors (initial and operating cost , fuel consumption ... ).
hbg

Well we drive a Subaru Forrester which is a small SUV but gets better gas mileage than most mid-sized hybrids and also gets better gas mileage than my compact Subaru Impreza. So it's all relative. All of us who are genuinely concerned about our environment do buy energy-saving appliances and vehicles, etc. when it is practical so, but it isn't all for unselfish motives either--it saves us money. We save water because we don't like to waste it but it also saves us money. But we care careful with how we handle toxic substances and paints and pesticides too because we actually do care about the quality of our soil, water, air etc. and we do appreciate the beauty of our surroundings and don't wish to spoil them.

People caring about the Earth will generally do the right thing without a lot of heavy handed mandates.

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in ontario the electric utilities are finally beginning to install 'smart meters' . ours was installed in 2006 , but it will likely be 2008 before the switchover is complete and the new 'peak demand' metering will take effect .
while this will likely not reduce total consumption much - if at all - , it should reduce the need for bringing new generating stations on-line .
from looking at the daily stats for energy use it is quite clear that the 'peak' demand is what's straining the electricity generation and distribution system .
so if the new metering system will help even out the consumption and even save us a few dollars , so much the better .
hbg

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Actually, the Subaru Forester isn't that bad at all - if you use it with a LPG (liquified petroleum gas) engine. (Otherwise, it's only "Euro 3"* classified, cars now must have Euro 5 here if they want to be sold :wink: )

*EU emission standards

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Walter Hinteler wrote:

Actually, the Subaru Forester isn't that bad at all - if you use it with a LPG (liquified petroleum gas) engine. (Otherwise, it's only "Euro 3"* classified, cars now must have Euro 5 here if they want to be sold :wink: )

*EU emission standards

So what was all that about the other day when Thomas (and others? I can't remember) were criticizing the U.S. CAFE standards and thought we ought to hike up our taxes instead?

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Referring to what? With an Euro 3 class car you have to pay higher taxes.

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But in your last post you said it had to be Euro 5 to be sold there. So what is it? Higher taxes to drive my Subaru or it couldn't be sold at all there? And if it has to be Euro 5 as you said, how is that different than CAFE standards?

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It has Euro 3 class, can of course be sold, is actually sold, but you have to pay higher taxes than for Euro 5 class car of engine displacement (that's how taxes here are paid).

To be honest, I've no idea how it's different to CAFE standards - I only learnt of CAFE via this thread.

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Foxfyre wrote:

Well we drive a Subaru Forrester which is a small SUV but gets better gas mileage than most mid-sized hybrids

Subaru Forester: 29 mpg (highway)

Not too bad, actually. It's not a "better gas mileage than most mid-sized hybrids", but it's not too bad, either.

Here's a list with 2007 hybrid cars, and I looked up the mileage of some of these hybrid cars, too.

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old europe wrote:

Foxfyre wrote:
Well we drive a Subaru Forrester which is a small SUV but gets better gas mileage than most mid-sized hybrids

Subaru Forester: 29 mpg (highway)

Not too bad, actually. It's not a "better gas mileage than most mid-sized hybrids", but it's not too bad, either.

Here's a list with 2007 hybrid cars, and I looked up the mileage of some of these hybrid cars, too.

Is this EPA gas mileage? If it is you can regard it as fiction.

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Following oe's link to some other, I found this:

Quote:

A mid-size car, frequently referred to as an intermediate, is the North American term for an automobile with a size between that of a compact and a full-size car. In Europe, cars of a similar size are often referred to as large family cars or executive cars,

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Funny, isn't it?

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Funny, in the doesn't-make-me-laugh way.

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Correct.

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Global Warming...New Report...and it ain't happy news

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