Yeah, I saw that about the AZ refinery. Still, I dont think the EPA shut down the existing ones, the oil companies did for whatever reasons. Cynical me figures it was to cut overhead, create shortages, boost prices, etc. Just as here in CA, the Enron types tried to close down several generating plants during the power shortages which vanished the very day the long term stuck-us-in-the-ass contracts were signed by Pete Wilson, amazingly enough. Funny how nobody is doing the old comparison of milk prices vs gas prices anymore! Pretty much the same price here per gallon now.
Cant afford to drive to the LHS or the flying field? Items ordered over the phone or online will cost more for shipping? Prices of RC items will rise as costs of shipping them from overseas due to the price of fuel will increase?
This is no an anti american post, but typically the US prefer larger engined cars, Petrol has always been cheap in the US and so large engined cars were not a problem. Now it is and you have to ask do you really need 2.5+ litres of engine power to get to work every day, just like the UK, the proliferation of 4x4 and SUV's that are guzzlers is a problem, especially as the nearest they gto to off road in most cases is going into the garage at night
If given the choice between small uncomfortable cars and larger, more comfortable cars, I think anyone of any nationality would choose the latter. The ability to pay for the comfort/safety is what is at issue.
Having survived a few major auto accidents, none in which I was cited, I have learned that the larger the car, the greater the protection. I buy as large and comfortable a vehicle as I can afford/need. Money is worth nothing when one is dead.
You don't need a gas sucking 250 + HP engine to have a comfortably large automobile though.
Comfort isn't worth anything when one is dead either, you could probably buy a safer car if you sacrificed some of that comfort. (j/k)
I don't buy the size makes a vehicle safer argument, I've seen plenty of Cavaliers, Escorts, Civics etc get into wrecks with the likes of Aerostars, F-150s, Range Rovers, Tahoes and from what I've seen (my brother is also a claims adjustor for Nationwide Insurance), the larger vehicles appear to take less damage but the people inside have just that much more room to bounce around in and get injured more seriously, alot less people wear seatbelts than you might think, myself included (I know I should but usually don't bother unless its raining or in the winter time when snow is around). Also even the bigger vehicles can take more damage in a big vs small crash. It all depends on speed of the cars and which one hit the other and where, rear/front/side. A Miata can hit an Escalade in the side and take less damage since the Miata had a front bumper to absorb alot of impact and the Escalade had little to help with the crash. I've even seen where some smaller cars have almost sheared through the bigger car if it hits it in the side at a high enough speed.
I think with side impact beams, airbags and side curtain airbags, crumple zones, seat belts, ABS brakes and a myriad(sp?) of other technologies cars are as safe as they need to be, at this point it's the drivers we need to make safer and I feel that reducing the horsepower and torque of cars would help immensly with reducing traffic related deaths. Simply by taking away the ability to speed around and drive fast I think that most people would be safer drivers. Personally around 80 to 120 Horsepower is all that is needed in daily driving. The only people who need to drive faster than that are Police, Ambulance, and Fire personell (sp?).
I regularly drive an F150, a new, smaller Ford truck, a Saab turbo and a Peugeot 3L V6 - the Saab is the best vehicle for getting planes to the field as it's got the best trunk capacity (figuring how to secure aircraft in the back of a truck is too much of a hassle), but the Peugeot is by far the safest vehicle to drive in - its safety features and handling are far better than the other three, it delivers its power better and uses much less fuel.
If prices keep on going up the way they are at the moment, I've got to say the US has a lot to learn from the Europeans on how to make powerful, fuel-efficient cars that hold the road like they're glued to it.
This argument is cited often, but it's wrong. For example in germany, most accidents with dead happen at relatively slow speeds in or between cities. Statistics clearly show that the german highways are safer than the village roads.
On the other hand, horse powers main sense is not to gain high speed, but to change speeds rather quickly. This can help to increase safety in takeover manouvers. You could, on the other hand argue, that people with lots of horse power in their cars just take more risks than before - but this can be said about virtually any safety measurement in modern cars. And what's even more important: If you're careful, it _will_ be a safety increasement for _you_.
It would indeed increase safety much more if cars could not start without the passengers wearing their safety belts than to reduce the horsepower. If you don't waer the seatbelt, an accident with more than 30km/h will most probably kill you.
There is a test taking place in the U.K which could have a bearing on safer driving.
Electronic numberplates are being tested. They are picked up by sensors at the roadside and the following information would be available...
Car identity, tax paid, MOT (and insurance valid ?), also road tolls, where applicable, could be determined.
The time between sensors would also allow the car's speed to be determined and there would be no way of avoiding it. The current practice of slowing down when the location of speed cameras is known and then speeding up again would be made useless by this new method.
The idea is in the testing stage to see how effectively it works and then government would have to decide if they are going to use it... its gonna be controversial !!!
Aparently the electronic plates are tamper proof and some of the justification for the idea is to greatly reduce car crime.. the location of a car is known at all times, presumably if someone rips the plates off then the car is flagged as `suspicious' and convoys of police cars home in on it >:-)
I like the idea in so far as it would have an immediate effect on the idiots driving around at stupid speeds, the civil rights groups are going to have a field day with it though !
Sounds like a good idea but here in the US I highly doubt it would be put into practice except in high crash areas as it would very expensive to put all these sensors in the road and then maintain them, far easier to put GPS in cars and allow the police access to the tracking information.
Bah, I don't go around breaking the law, not the serious laws anyway lmao, so I have no worries about have a tracking device of some sort in my car, I like you welcome it actually and would feel safer knowing it was there and were I kidnapped/carjacked/or my car stolen it would help recovery be almost instantaneous.
You don't even need a car if you come down to it. However, back to the point. My two minivans are lucky to generate 150 HP.
I am not a fan of the current SUV craze, by the way. But I don't get militant over it. They will outgrow it.
I will not afford a Volvo. Both of my minivans could be purchased for the price of one Volvo. Besides, someone would just steal the Volvo anyway and I'd have to buy something else. The comfort in my minivans is incidental. They were bought for hauling capacity and gas mileage. A weird combination.
Ever since my USAF driver's Ed classes and viewing the Ohio State Police films, this fellow does not ride without a seat belt. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. This one is mine.
I don't care if the car survives. I'll buy another one.
Larger cars do fare better in accidents with other cars and light trucks. None fare well in collisions with very large vehicles such as tractor trailers and fire engines. Or the dinosaur Cadillac from the sixties that rear-ended my stopped at a light Pontiac 6000. Had the wife been driving her Plymouth Horizon that day, I doubt she would still be here in such fine condition.
The expense of fuel will soon limit horsepower, assuming that the fuel prices remain high. There is no need for legislation. To me, legislation is the tool of last resort.
I've never had the pleasure of drivng a Saab or a Peugeot. I love cars and I would enjoy driving samples of each, just for the experience.
A pickup truck without a cap is useless for hauling models, as you have indirectly pointed out. I miss my 85 Ranger pickup with cap. The little four cylinder engine was anemic, but it provided decent gas mileage and lots of cargo area.
I think one of the things driving the size of cars here is indeed comfort. But I also think the main reason behind that is the fact that Americans are a very mobile bunch. It is nothing for us to put 500 - 1000 miles on a car a couple of times a year just to visit family. A couple of German friends of mine had never been to France until I took them to Paris once. Americans can travel the same distance and never leave their state.
So yea! We want the comfort the size provides. So we can comfortably haul the luggage and gifts half way across the continent to Grandma's house. And who would dare say no to Grandma?
Yea, all we gotta do is throw out the pollution regs like the Europeans do. Most 10 year old US cars put out less pollution than current year Euro spec cars. That's how they get so much power out of those little engines.
I lived in England for the past 5 years and they are buying every big SUV they can get their hands on now. There are loads of cars sold with huge engines (relative to the average Corsa!).
Renault very successflly demonstrated that NEWER cars provide better protection. They crashed two Renault minivans, one new and one 10 years old head-on to simulate one of the Euro MCAT tests and the new one would have allowed the occupants to walk away but the older one would have likely killed the driver. The newer one did such a good job of absorbing the impact that the airbag didn't even need to deploy! I witnessed a rear end collision where a newer Peugeot 306 (little econo-box) ran into a larger estate car at about 40 mph. Everyone walked away without a scratch. I was amazed!
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.