Miles to Go

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  Posted By: ramospk @ 05/30/2008 10:19:35 AM

  One other thing I forgot: When evaluating plug-in vehicles like the GM Volt, one has to take into account the total monthly cost of ownership. Not just what you pay at the gas pump. It is idiotic to reason that you have achieved huge savings without taking into account how much your electricity bill is going to increase by plugging that battery to charge every night.

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  Posted By: ramospk @ 05/30/2008 9:58:36 AM

  This is an incredibly poorly reasoned article. It begins by telling us that 50MPG cars are already available in Europe, but then absolutely ignores that fact by reasoning with American manufacturers on why it cannot be done! Hello!? It IS already accomplished in Europe. Read your own notes. Furthermore, it goes on to say that safety and comfort needs to be sacrificed. In my experience, I do not think cars are less safe in Europe and Japan than in the US. Cars do not need steel cages to be safe. Clever design can accomplish the same using carbon fiber or aluminum. Where is the steel cage in a F-1 race car? where is the steel in a Cessna airplane?.
  
  Besides, building a car like a sherman tank makes it safe for the tank, not for the people inside. Drop an egg inside a steel box, and drop another egg inside a crumpled aluminum foil enclosure and see which one fares better. Also you can make the opposite argument as well: driving Hummers and Suburbans makes it unsafe???for other cars on the road.
  
  The author says that Ford???s cost in aluminum is upwards of $50K. Why even approach that line of reasoning? Didn???t he just say that in Europe they reach over 50 mpg? Do they use all aluminum? Do Europeans or Japanese spend that kind of money on a small commuter car? Of course not!
  
  Finally, it is a GIVEN that there has to be some paradigm shift in order to lower the cost at the pump. I have never spoken to a person that is waiting for a 50mpg Hummer. They KNOW they need to sacrifice on internal space and acceleration.
  

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  Posted By: ramospk @ 05/30/2008 9:57:21 AM

  This is an incredibly poorly reasoned article. It begins by telling us that 50MPG cars are already available in Europe, but then absolutely ignores that fact by reasoning with American manufacturers on why it cannot be done! Hello!? It IS already accomplished in Europe. Read your own notes. Furthermore, it goes on to say that safety and comfort needs to be sacrificed. In my experience, I do not think cars are less safe in Europe and Japan than in the US. Cars do not need steel cages to be safe. Clever design can accomplish the same using carbon fiber or aluminum. Where is the steel cage in a F-1 race car? where is the steel in a Cessna airplane?.
  
  Besides, building a car like a sherman tank makes it safe for the tank, not for the people inside. Drop an egg inside a steel box, and drop another egg inside a crumpled aluminum foil enclosure and see which one fares better. Also you can make the opposite argument as well: driving Hummers and Suburbans makes it unsafe???for other cars on the road.
  
  The author says that Ford???s cost in aluminum is upwards of $50K. Why even approach that line of reasoning? Didn???t he just say that in Europe they reach over 50 mpg? Do they use all aluminum? Do Europeans or Japanese spend that kind of money on a small commuter car? Of course not!
  
  Finally, it is a GIVEN that there has to be some paradigm shift in order to lower the cost at the pump. I have never spoken to a person that is waiting for a 50mpg Hummer. They KNOW they need to sacrifice on internal space and acceleration.