Cythrawl Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 With the current Gas prices being so high, I decided to look into some stuff. The car manufactures here in the US say they cannot make the cars run any better, without huge losses. With me coming from the UK I know that this is complete and utter bull crap. So in the interest of complete knowledge, I decided to compare some specs from Ford US vs. Ford UK and I used the Ford Focus as a demonstration of this. Ford US only make three versions of the Focus 3- door (Three different Engines) The UK makes a whole lot more (like 5 or 6) only ONE of the US versions is available in the UK and mysteriously it also runs better (for the most part) Here are the numbers Ford Focus USA: Duratec 20 16V I-4 EPA Est MPG: 26 City/35 Highway Duratec 20E 16v I-4 EPA Est MPG: 26 City/35 Highway Duratec 23 16V I-4 EPA Est MPG: 23 City/32 Highway Ford Focus UK/Europe (all numbers have been converted from UK MPG to US MPG Yes there IS a Difference!!) Duratec 20 16V I-4 EPA Est MPG: 21 City / 38 Highway Duratec 1.4 16v I-4 EPA Est MPG: 28 City / 44 Highway ** Not AVAIL IN US** Duratec 1.6 16v I-4 EPA Est MPG: 28 City / 47 Highway ** Not AVAIL IN US** Duratec 20 Dualtorq EPA Est MPG: 32 City / 52 Highway ** Not AVAIL IN US** Look at the last one in the UK list... 52 MPG Highway... the best the US can do is 35MPG Highway on the SAME Vehicle. WTF is up with that? I didnt list them all, just the ones that really made my point stand out, plain as day. Just goes to show that the car manufactures and the Gas Barons are in cahoots here in the US. There's probably no point bitching about it as it seems unless the car manufactures here in the US start following in the footsteps of the Europeans we will always be on the butt end of any deal here. Also remember the UK is paying about 90 pence a litre and there's 3.785 liters in a US gallon. that's $1.62 a litre that equivalent of $6.13 per gallon at current UK Prices. Just for crap and grins I worked out the Renalt Clio I had when I lived there. Again all conversions have been done. Renault Clio 1.2 16V EPA Est MPG: 31 City / 48 Highway ** Not AVAIL IN US** To Fill the Clio completely with current US Gas Prices around where I live ($2.75 as of 8/31/2005) it would cost. $37 as it has a 13 1/2 Gallon tank. But you'd only need to fill it every 2 weeks or so. Toyota over here is trying to puch the Camry due to is "amazing" 35 MPG". Its really not that amazing after comparing it to the European equivilents. Remember MPG ratings are based off the Highway rating and not the stop, start ratings of the City MPG. Even though, you pay more to get a car imported from Europe, it might be a good idea seeing the current prices and fuel economy on US Cars... Crazy huh.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 gas hit $2.97/gal today up here in Boise thanks to the hurricane (and our president's policies heh). what i find annoying is that gas/oil companies are making record profits, yet our gas prices keep going up up up up up up....thankfully I work from home and rarely go anywhere... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cythrawl Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 Yeah I hear ya. It got to 2.75 today and this was from $2.63 yesterday. And you aint telling me that the GAS they hav in thier tanks beloew the station has just been filled to the top in all 10 Gas stations in my small town with the new prices.. I doubt it.. Its gonna be at $3 a gallon here by the end of the week. Still its nothing to what I would be paying in the UK right now as I stated in my above post. Im seriously considering getting a proper imported European car though (not from the UK though obviously due to them driving on the right hand side of the car on the left hand side of the road). I think its ridiculous that the car manufactures state they cant make the cars here in the US run any better. If the US had enforced emmision laws like they had in the EU etc they really would have no choice but to make them run better. Its all corrupt I tell ya!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpuz Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 Hi Cythrawl, thanks for that interesting piece of information. I somewhat suspected it anyhow. As you know, but for conversation here, gas in New Hampshire is roughly $2.67 for reg and climbing. I have a Honda civic which i take to work and take on any long drives because it is absolutely fantastic on gas. My Jeep Liberty is used by my partner and only drives to work and back (about 2miles). I'll need to start thinking about a replacement for the Honda, cause I have 107,000 miles on it now. I'm hoping to get 180,000 to 200,000 or so. This whole gas thing is utterly ridiculous. I went to fill the small 2 1/2 gal lawn tractor spare tank at the gas station and it came to almost $7! I did a double take when I saw that figure! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smolt Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 them states people still pay more for water then they do fer gas . just look at how many of them pay $1.50 for a pint of bottled water that come out of the wall :shake: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 Cry: please remove that word from your location as for cars...I only buy Honda and Toyota as they are generally the most efficient, cleanest cars. When you say car companies claim this, you should realize it is mostly American car companies. Japanese car companies have set the bar for emissions and efficiency. I would drive a Honda hybrid or Toyota hybrid if I could get my hands on one. half of the problem in itself is people who think they have to drive the big SUV's, or any vehicle that is not efficient with fuel. A Fun Tank 2000 is what Americans seem to have to own. I suppose we've all forgotten the long gas lines in the late 1970's and the giant USS Kennedy sized warships we used to drive that got 8 gallons to the mile (a 1976 Buick anything is all i got to say). I was just a kid then, but I damn sure remember the nasty petroleum shortages, and I remember that is when American car mfg's finally got serious about fuel efficiency....especially with the little Japanese cars that were exploding in popularity because they required very little fuel and went a long way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanSeasforMe Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 How many refineries the USA has built in the past 20 years ? 0, ZERO, Zip, Nada. (Wait, we are a growning population why havent we built any in 20 years?) Check how many refineries have been closed or stopped by NIMBY. (Not in my back yard.) (1/2 of all refineries in the US have closed since 1980.) Check how many new refineries are planned /being built in the USA. (ONLY 1 and the guy has spent 5 years getting permits and still isnt approved and everyone else gave up.) Their is a difference betyween light sweet and brent or crude oil. The USA simply does not have the capacity or refineries to refine the heavier oil types. *(we actually import gasoline also because of this fact.) It is the idealists who would rather see three wolves live on 1 thousand acres in ANWAR than have the oil underneath them to be used. *(Last time i checked Wolves *(and the other 3 animals) in Anwar are not on the endangerd list and the impact footprint is equvilant to a postage stamp in a footbal field. Which is insignifigant to the point of not evening havging a modicum of impact on the environment.) Its principle and current gas prices are a direct result of who has won the battle of hearts and minds in the past 20 years. Ok, gas prices suck, and rant over. I know I know I promised no more politics, but I toned this way way down and tried not to take (many) potshots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cythrawl Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 Cry: please remove that word from your location Done I would also like to add that its a known fact that Cars can be run on other fuel scources, but I doubt Im gonna see it in my lifetime. I think cars should run off urine. That would be awesome, all those times you are dying for a pee while driving, you could just pull up, Insert your trouser snake into the refill hole and fill the tank.. But it will never happen And I agree about all the huge cars/trucks etc on the road. 90% of those people dont even have a practical need for a Ford F150, etc. Hell even my father in law is 62, arthritic and can hardly walk. He drives a GMC Pickup, and does it ever get used for heavy loads, transporting, etc...?? No. He jsut uses it as I would use a car, which quite frankly is just plain wrong. Makes me almost cry thinking of the 7MPG fuel consumption not to mention around $80 to full the thing... Perhaps its just the Englishman talking in me but there should be huge taxes enforced on anyone buying a truck who cannot prove that it is actually NEEDED. So if you buy a truck and transport your ATV's haul bricks, etc etc then fine you dont pay any added tax, but if you use your truck for just getting around from point a to point b like a car then yes.. TAX THEM.. TAX THEM ALL... MU-MU-MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAAA!!!!.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smolt Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 yeah we could just add more tax to it yeap yeap then it would be like buying cigs 3/4 tax on them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope4Sun Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 All i can say is (if my maths is right) Shell Optimax (97 ron) is £0.98 a litre, so a UK gallon is £4.44 and thats $8 a shot, running cars that holds about 60 litres and need to be filled up every couple of hundred miles is not a good idea in this country anymore :mad: Andy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Buckstitch Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 Gas just went to $3.28 a gal here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
smolt Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 yeap same here in NL about 750 a gal wheres he get his info ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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