78.5 MPG video

[NOTLguy]

Have a look at this..................... very interesting!

Click here: VW Passat 78.5 MPG in the Uk (http://video.staged.com/localshops/vw_passat_785_mpg_in_the_uk)

NOTLguy

[Kappa]

Cool video and hes right. But sadly for us in an oil based economy we would be in worse shape if they let that happen. This is something we worked on in length during Macro economics at our University. In the end there are points that go both ways but with out the sale of oil we are pretty much toast lol

[m_bisson]

ohhhh man this is so stupid. I hate politicians.

[Akiba48]

I did a presentation about electric vehicles (GM's EV1)...it was just sad how GM could've had such a huge lead in the EV sector (along with Toyota RAV4 EV) but pulled out by the government in favour of hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell thanks to the Bush administration's support on the oil companies *COUGHCOUGH*WAR ON TERROR*COUGHCOUGH*

It wasn't JUST the government either, car companies refused to make electric vehicles because it wasn't "profitable" enough. No moving parts, no engine oil...servicing the car was a breeze.

sorry if I was off-topic, but I just wanted to point out about the government and car companies that SHOULD'VE WOULD'VE COULD'VE done this and that...

[NOTLguy]

Well, those are all valid points . What would become of the environemnt if we had fuel efficient cars like that? Governments, business and money rule!

And besides if we had less road tax from the gas income can you imagine what the potholes would be like in TO? Might lose your Mazda 3 in one eh?

Now lets watch as the gas prices go up for the 24 weekend.................................

NOTLguy

[Unoriginalusername]

wonder if they can be imported?

[Chester_Lampwick]

I did a presentation about electric vehicles (GM's EV1)...it was just sad how GM could've had such a huge lead in the EV sector (along with Toyota RAV4 EV) but pulled out by the government in favour of hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell thanks to the Bush administration's support on the oil companies *COUGHCOUGH*WAR ON TERROR*COUGHCOUGH*

It wasn't JUST the government either, car companies refused to make electric vehicles because it wasn't "profitable" enough. No moving parts, no engine oil...servicing the car was a breeze.

sorry if I was off-topic, but I just wanted to point out about the government and car companies that SHOULD'VE WOULD'VE COULD'VE done this and that...

I wouldn't say there were no moving parts in the EV1. The motor did in fact rotate. There are bearings to wear. The motor was an AC induction motor so there were no brushes to wear of course.

Electronics to handle several the current to produce 137hp isn't trivial either. The electrical system was 343 Volts DC, so that's probably around 275 individual Ni-MH cells. Not everybody has a 440V outlet at they're house either.

[FreshTHREE]

sick

[-cj-]

Cool video.

On a side note, UK uses imperial gallons, which results in higher MPG rates.

Fuel Economy

4 litres per 100 km
58.8 miles per US gallon
70.62 miles per Imperial gallon

[boyracer]

Any of us really surprised?

[MarkWB]

That's just how our economy works, lol, it's messed up but that's the way it has to be. Besides, does anyone really want the foreign auto market making excessively higher sales like we saw in the mid-2000s? We all know how that turned out.

[Chester_Lampwick]

does anyone really want the foreign auto market making excessively higher sales like we saw in the mid-2000s? We all know how that turned out.

Huh? What does that mean?

If your talking about the bailout, that had little or nothing to do with poor sales by the domestic makers. It had almost everything to do with poor regulation on Wall Street. Give millions of consumer a NINA (No Income No Asset) sub-prime mortgage that will become too expensive to pay after the interest rate will return to bank rates in a couple years. In the meantime, take thousands of these mortgages and bundle them into bonds, and foist them to every retirement plan you can find. Then take out insurance against these shoddy investments.

Once the whole economy had nearly collapsed, GM and Chrysler could not secure the short term loans they were accustomed to using (Commercial Paper Market). Then of course, to make matters worse, the whole market for vehicles tanked (understandably, but not predictably). Throw in the huge glut of new retirees that the companies have to pay pension to, which is an inverted pyramid scheme.

GM was hurt way more by the likes of Lehman Brothers than Honda or Toyota.