The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can't Have

[arrie]

Only a few European people in North america buy a smoking stinking noisy diesel car.
Diesel fuel costs more than gasoline.

In RSA, currently, diesel is cheaper that gasoline, but.....
even if diesel is slightly more expensive than gasoline, if you get three times better fuel consumption with it, it's more than offset against the price, would you not say?
Modern diesels does not smoke that much, nor stink that much either, did you know?

 

[arrie]

It's about time Ford started making decent diesels - they used to be the worst ones you get get!.

I drove the current 2.0 tdci Focus as well, very nice and very quick. Just about the punchiest 2.0 diesel here on the market.
But.....

You need a high quality diesel for these cars, unfortunately, a lot of fuel dealers here take short cuts, by adding crap to the diesel, along with the high sulphur content, and you have a car that suffers in the reliability department, where it should not.
Another thing though, up here at highveld altitudes, with our hot-and-high condition, the turbos are under tremendous pressure, and have failed in the past. Luckily UK does not have HAH.

 

[arrie]

The European Honda Civic 2.2L iCDTi Turbo Diesel is a high MPG car. The MPG numbers I have seen so far vary but look at least as good as the Ford car I started the thread with.

Has anyone driven or seen this car?

**broken link removed**

We have the Civic in RSA (also the Accord - recent facelifted), and I think they introduced the 2.2 diesel here very recently. Honda is rather well received around the globe, and remarkably so for being reliable and well put together.

 

[arrie]

It might be too much sulphur in North American diesel fuel that causes black smoke and the stink.
I have never heard a quiet diesel engine. They sound like they are hammering themselves to death.

Diesel will always have clatter at low rpm, but, you'll be surprised, they smooth out remarkably well as revs pick up.
We have quite a number of diesels in RSA, people have gone diesel crazy over here, I'm one of very few people I personally know that only has petrol driven cars.
By the way the Focus 2.0 tdci beats my Mondeo 2.0 by 0.1 sec to 100 km/h.
But I have the say when it comes to top speed.
What I really have against diesel is the close ration gearing, you change quite a lot, the Mondeo's 2.0 is more my style, it does a lot with each gear.
Europe had the Mondeo in diesel also, but Ford SA has the most incompetent bunch of idiots ever to run a vehicle brand.

 

[audioguru]

My son recently bought a Chevy Monte Carlo with a 5.3l 303hp V8 engine. It burns inexpensive gasoline, not stinking diesel.
It has traction control to keep the rubber on the tires. It has neck-breaking accelleration.

 

[Hero999]

But it drinks fuel by the gallon.

 

[Pommie]

My son recently bought a Chevy Monte Carlo with a 5.3l 303hp V8 engine. It burns inexpensive gasoline, not stinking diesel.
It has traction control to keep the rubber on the tires. It has neck-breaking accelleration.

Looks like you are really stuck in the past. Where is that "shakes head from side to side" smilie when you need it.

Mike.

 

[audioguru]

Why do you say I am stuck in the past?
Gasoline is still inexpensive in my part of Canada.

 

[3v0]

Why do you say I am stuck in the past?
Gasoline is still inexpensive in my part of Canada.

Yesterday it went from $3.60 to $3.80. Diesel is $3.90. I try to look past the missing penny They say it was because of Ike, with crude an under $100 a barrel that gouging.

 

[audioguru]

I filled up a few hours before the price went to $1.34/l. I paid $1.21/l.
There are 3.79l in one US gallon so American gasoline costs less than Canadian gasoline.

The hurricane caused Canadian gasoline to cost 10% more. It caused American gasoline to cost only 5% more.
The hurricane didn't even affect Canadian gasoline production. Somebody is goughing.

 

[3v0]

I filled up a few hours before the price went to $1.34/l. I paid $1.21/l.
There are 3.79l in one US gallon so American gasoline costs less than Canadian gasoline.

The hurricane caused Canadian gasoline to cost 10% more. It caused American gasoline to cost only 5% more.
The hurricane didn't even affect Canadian gasoline production. Somebody is goughing.

We are in agreement on that one. Currently our local prices are on he low side for the US. I have heard in some places they have hit $6.
Comparing prices between countries is a iffy thing. On should really bust out the taxes to make sense of it.

 

[Pommie]

Why do you say I am stuck in the past?
Gasoline is still inexpensive in my part of Canada.

Because you appear to believe that a "Chevy Monte Carlo with a 5.3l 303hp V8 engine" is good. It's a shame that the rest of the world think it is America that are the resource wasters of the world when it is actually Canada.

Mike.

 

[Torben]

Because you appear to believe that a "Chevy Monte Carlo with a 5.3l 303hp V8 engine" is good. It's a shame that the rest of the world think it is America that are the resource wasters of the world when it is actually Canada.

Mike.

Hey, just because we Canadians walk around acting all smug despite the fact that we consume more energy per capita than just about anyone else (including Americans) doesn't mean the the Americans shouldn't clean up their act too.


Torben

 

[3v0]

Hey, just because we Canadians walk around acting all smug despite the fact that we consume more energy per capita than just about anyone else (including Americans) doesn't mean the the Americans shouldn't clean up their act too.
Torben

Very true, but taking guff from the smug Canadians got old a long time ago.

 

[Torben]

Very true, but taking guff from the smug Canadians got old a long time ago.

Yeah, well, try being one of the Canadians who has to just blush, shuffle our feet, and grunt apologetically while some other Canadian goes off about how awesome we are on the energy front, when we totally suck. That gets old pretty darn quick too.


Torben

 

[Pommie]

Hey, just because we Canadians walk around acting all smug despite the fact that we consume more energy per capita than just about anyone else (including Americans) doesn't mean the the Americans shouldn't clean up their act too.


Torben

I think most Canadians are actually quiet sensible (especially the ones I've met on here), I was just having a poke at the old mentality where V8 is king.

Mike.

 

[audioguru]

My son had a few souped-up turbo all-wheel-drive Eagle Talon cars. Then he got a Nissan Altima with a 3.5l V6. Then he got his first V8 car the Monte Carlo. Now he is looking at a powerful V8 car made in Australia.

my car has a 2.2l 4 cylinder engine that is economical. of course it uses gasoline fuel.

 

[arrie]

Gees!
You guys over there like your big engined cars.
In RSA the average engine size in the market is just under 1.6L.
The majority guys here driving the big V8's are real idiots.
Especially those with cars from the german stables, they believe they are better than other road users and normally have little regard for other road users.
Some might say I'm generalizing, but I'm still waiting for someone to prove me wrong.

 

[3v0]

They guy next to you in with the big V8 is doing you a favor. He is paying more in taxes so you can pay less. Gas guzzlers are a good thing, the more gas we burn the sooner they will find a replacement.

Do not kid yourself that it will cost much if any less. In many parts of the world the majority of the cost is taxes. The gov will want to collect that money even if the energy is else-wise free. And the people at the oil giants are not going to willingly give up their chunk of the pie.

Unless you make it yourself you will still pay.

Gees!
You guys over there like your big engined cars.
In RSA the average engine size in the market is just under 1.6L.
The majority guys here driving the big V8's are real idiots.
Especially those with cars from the german stables, they believe they are better than other road users and normally have little regard for other road users.
Some might say I'm generalizing, but I'm still waiting for someone to prove me wrong.

 

[arrie]

Actually, I think we are paying exactly the same tax, he is just using a hell of a lot more, but do not be fooled, over here that will not culminate in less tax, gov will rip your guts out with a smile.
I'm still hunting for a source to follow what the fuel tax is doing regularly, but seems this kind of info is not really public domain.
Tax is not the largest part either, couple months back it was R1.34 per litre, while the pumps charged almost R12 per litre.
So yes, gov is ripping our guts out, but who else?
Simple.
Your fellow South African.

Maybe that's why I lost a lot of my PC clients, because I used to do a lot of things for no charge, I still do it, I'm about to substitute for a school teacher for a couple of days, I'm not charging her anything.
Maybe I'm just an idiot myself, so I should start cutting off the chap driving the luxury german vehicle from time to time also.