On 60 mpg Vehicles...

[catnhatnh]

...Which you can buy on E-bay tonight.

I goes to the doctor today...while killing time between filling out forms and the magic moment when I sees an actual health care human being, I reads a small piece in Car and Driver about the new popularity of Asian mini-trucks in Oklahoma. So I reads this and learns that over in many Asian places they build small light trucks that due to tax policy in Japan and other places, well, it's to their advantage to buy new ones every other year or so, and late model units are being exported to the US at near fire sale prices.

Let's talk about these trucks. They use tiny 3 and four cylinder engines. They weigh from 1500 to 2000 lbs. They seat two and carry between 900 and 1500 lbs. They get a fuel economy of 40-60 mph. Top speeds are limited to between 45 and 70 mph.

They lack a shitload of sophistication. Ain't no automatic transmissions, no airbags, and no ABS. They do offer A/C as a standard since it is hot in summer in most of Asia. And radios and such...But the idea is these are little in-city trucks meant to carry the bulk of the city's goods with little fanfare...just the vehicle a day to day truck driver would use.

So when I got home I went to E-bay and there they were-a selection of vehicles, both new and used, and they carry what an american pick-up does, getting three times the milage and at half the purchase price. I found multiple new units with multiple year warantees for under 10K.

The down side is that the Feds frown on these...I understand that at least some can be street licenced in 30 states. In the other 20 you can ride a motorcycle with 1/2 the weight and twice the horsepower-in several of them with no helmet...But as a car the Feds want many more HP and safety features. I think if I choose a truly light truck with seatbelts that's an equally responsible choice.

Anyhow it is a trend I approve of. I wonder what high milage cars never arrive here at instead being sacrificed at an altar of safety never applied to 2-wheelers and custom and antique car drivers-all of whom are assumed to be intelligent enough to make choices about their safety.

We NEED light transport here and the poorer among us cannot afford 6 airbags and the latest gewgaws to protect us from ourselves. Why must this only be okay for those with antiques or handlebars?

On Edit:If you are interested jump on E-bay and search for Daihatsu...there are others but that will give you an idea.

[drm604]

1. I wonder if these could be retrofitted with the required safety gear such as airbags.

Then again, I'm not so sure that we want to be importing more Asian vehicles. Maybe instead, we should require our Auto makers to build similar vehicles in exchange for government loans.

[catnhatnh]

8. What we need is legislation to allow them to be manufactured here.

Think for just a second about the cheapest car in this country. That bad boy probably carries nearly 1000lbs of "luxury" and "safety" and excess power. I don't know if a single auto in the US is rated under 100hp...A common ride now carries stuff like heated power mirrors, power seats (which are sometimes heated) cruise control, ABS, etc., etc., etc.....And people drive to the store to buy a pound of butter carrying that extra 1000lbs. At some point these frills become frivolous waste of limited resources. And at some point a '72 Pinto becomes almost admirable.

[Winnipegosis]

14. Have you seen the new Dodge Challenger?

Now you're talkin' RETRO.

[ContinentalOp]

2. Is it about safety or emissions?

I'm sure much more efficient vehicles could be made (and have been made in the past) if it weren't for our emissions requirements. Luckily we're getting to the point where technology can fulfill the emissions requirements and deliver fuel economy.

[CRF450]

18. I think its more about safety.

[ContinentalOp]

3. OMG, I definitely need one of these.

[CRF450]

15. I saw something like that at a used car dealer. Been sitting their for a while too.... nt

[spag68]

4. High mileage vehicles

You might also look for a Geo Metro, which was made by Suzuki. Maybe a 35 year old VW pickup with a tiny diesel which got 50MPG even then.

[catnhatnh]

9. Hell yeah!

But I'm guessing that passenger vehicles built to the same stadards probably top 70+mpg...

The thing is the "car" regulations are overly restrictive. A few trucks are trickling through under less strict requirements. As a a guy who spent 35 years riding bikes, why am I not allowed to waive vehicle standards for automobiles? Am I much stupider now that a bad back makes me strap on extra wheels?

[TlalocW]

5. Oklahoma also has a lot of Compressed Natural Gas vehicles

I have a side business that I bought a Ford Cargo Van for that runs on CNG. There aren't as many filling stations as regular ones, but I've never run into the same people twice at any of them and seen everything from a University of Tulsa campus bus to small sedans filling up. Most of them are used - there are several small dealerships in small towns around Tulsa that sell them (I think a lot of them were factory cars), but I heard that one of the local big dealerships was selling new CNG vehicles.

The thing we have to recognize about Bush's energy policy is that it's obvious that he only gave lip service to alternative fuels, higher mpg vehicles, etc. to protect his buddies in the oil business and probably didn't even care when gas sky-rocketed, but like all his other plans, this one didn't turn out how he planned - the free market is now demanding hybrids, higher mpg vehicles, alternative fuels, etc. There's not going to be one magic bullet (like fuel cells) that lets us stop depending on oil so much, but it will be a combination of things, and as time goes on, we're going to have more and more choices when it comes to how we as individuals get our energy because Bush showed us just how bad it could be.

TlalocW

[ContinentalOp]

7. If you get a CNG vehicle you can get a hookup to your home gas line to refuel at home!

I know a guy with a CNG van who loves it. You can buy used CNG Honda Civics that were used as fleet vehicles. It's much cheaper than gas and very clean burning. I would have done it except our house is on propane and there are no CNG fueling stations around where we live.

[TlalocW]

10. Only problem is the cost

I think it was around $3000.00. Anyway, I can't fit my van into my garage (too tall), and so there would probably be the extra cost of having an extra long hose plus having to leave the garage door open, etc.

It is cheaper ($1.17 a gallon), clean burning, and it creates American jobs. I've also read interviews with the local CNG-evangelist that a lot of the products he makes (the pumps, both commercial and home-based) are sold to the Middle East, which has a lot of CNG too. I guess they prefer to use the CNG and sell us as much oil as possible.

TlalocW

[drm604]

11. All the ideas that require some kind of hookup at home,

CNG, plug-in hybrids, ect. ignore us apartment dwellers who can't hookup to a gas line or plug-in to an outlet in a second floor apartment.

They also ignore people like row home dwellers who often can't park right in front of their house in order to hookup.

[ContinentalOp]

12. Uh... so I shouldn't get a plug-in hybrid because you don't have anywhere to plug it in?

That doesn't make any sense. Nobody is ignoring you. There is not going to be any magic bullet solution. There are 100 different solutions for people in different situations with different needs.

I didn't buy a CNG vehicle because there's nowhere near me to refuel it and I have propane at my house. So I bought a Prius. But a CNG van was the perfect solution for the guy who told me about them. Likewise, a weird little Daihatsu truck is totally unsuitable for my needs but if it works for the O.P. then more power to him!

[drm604]

13. Certainly you should be able to have them. I didn't mean to imply otherwise.

It's just that I see conversations like this all of the time that seem to assume that everyone currently has the capability to plug in. We have to be careful that plug ins aren't the only things we come up with. There need to be other alternatives for people in other situations.

Either that or some kind of infrastructure to provide public street side outlets where a charge can be purchased, perhaps with a card that is charged against your home electric bill.

Those who could benefit the most from efficient vehicles, people in lower income brackets, are the ones who are least likely to be able to take full advantage of them as things currently stand.

[silverojo]

6. I'd need an automatic transmission

With my fibromyalgia, I couldn't handle a manual.

Otherwise, sounds like my kind of vehicle!!

[comtec]

17. From what I understand modern autosmatics are excellent

maybe even better than manual transmissions now a days.
Mind you a skilled driver is still better, but the Automatics are close.

[CRF450]

16. I know many of you would be willing to buy one...

But sadly, the majority of truck buyers here throughout the country wouldn't touch one those with a 10 foot pole. I wouldn't ever consider a light truck as described over my mid-size.