Toyota Prius

[sixdogs]

It's a shame we cant buy what we really want--a smallish vehicle with a diesel in it and overdrive geared.
Well, at least what I would like.

 

[IslandTractor]

It's a shame we cant buy what we really want--a smallish vehicle with a diesel in it and overdrive geared.
Well, at least what I would like.

VW Jetta, VW Golf, Chevy Cruze.

 

[sixdogs]

VW Jetta, VW Golf, Chevy Cruze.

No dice. I've learned my lessons on VW and Chevy.

 

[IslandTractor]

No dice. I've learned my lessons on VW and Chevy.

well, you've just eliminated two of the top 3 automobile manufacturers worldwide. Check out Consumer Reports on VW reliability over the past 5 years. Not sure about the Cruze but the VW reliability has greatly improved. Manual is the way to go for economy. Same MPG as auto but lower maintenance costs. Or wait until Spring 2014 and check out the new Mazda 6 diesel.

 

[MossRoad]

what I'm saying is while the suburban with three on board roles past the Prius with one, it's the suburban that's getting better mileage, or efficiency. It's not just the number on the sticker, you have to be smarter than that! HS

Compare apples to apples Scott. One vehicle with one person, not one with one and the other with 9. With that logic, an aircraft carrier with 5000 people will get better mileage than a Suburban with 9.

 

[MossRoad]

The formula is: gallons per mile/people in car
A Suburban getting 20 MPG with 3 people is using 0.016667 gallons per person per mile, ((1/20)/3)=0.016666667
A Suburban getting 20 MPG with 6 people is using 0.0083333333 gallons per person per mile, ((1/20)/3)=0.0083333333
A 15 passenger van getting 15 MPG with 15 people is using 0.004444444444 gallons per person per mile), ((1/15)/15)=0.004444444444
A Prius getting 50 MPG with 1 person is using 0.016667 gallons per person per mile, ((1/50)/1)=0.02
A Prius getting 50 MPG with 4 people is using 0.005 gallons per person per mile, ((1/50)/4)=0.005

So as a way to efficiently move people, a Prius getting 50MPG carrying 4 people is less efficient than a 15 passenger van getting 15 MPG with 15 people on board. With 5 people, the Prius is slightly more efficient than the van (0.004 vs 0.004444)

Aaron Z

True, but I'll bet you can't find 15 people to car pool every day with Scott. :laughing:

 

[dmccarty]

It would be interesting to see the difference in actual sale prices vs list prices on those machines...

Aaron Z

I would bet the are going to be comparable unless the Jeeps do not sell well but there has been big demand, or at least Internet talk, about having a diesel Jeep so I would expect the prices are going to stick at least for awhile. I don't know much about the Mercedes model line up but it looks like they have three new style SUVs. The one model I looked at was mentioned a comparable to the diesel Cherokee but I wonder if one of the other models would be more applicable. In any case, I was shocked to see a MB anywhere close in price to a US made vehicle. The MB does have some really cool technology though. :laughing::laughing::laughing: I wonder what it will cost to fix that cool technology? :shocked:

Just by dumb luck one of my CC's sent me an email a few days ago talking about their car buying program.

I just went and used their website to build the MB and Jeep. Now, the diesel is not showing up as an option in the Jeep web page nor on the CC car build site, but I don't see how the reviews I was reading get the Cherokee to $50-60K. The most expensive I could get the Jeep was to $36,300. :confused3:

The CC website said that the Cherokee, no diesel, was $36,300 and the dealer would sell for $34,000 for a savings of $2,300. The MB with a diesel and some of the cool technology that Jeep does not have listed for $48,900, with a selling price guessed at $46,800 for a savings of $2,100.

Since the Jeep does not have the cool technology stuff, if I delete that from the MB, the prices go $45,200 MSRP, with the dealer selling for $43,000 with a savings of $1,800. The MB diesel costs less than the gas engine.

Those prices are still pretty close which really surprises me. I would never have thought about buying an MB but it sure is cheaper than a new F350! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

You ever see the safety ratings of those high mileage cars in the 80s and 90s? They are not much more than a beer can with wheels. That's why they got high mileage.... no structure to speak of.

Yes, but the added weight of the safety structure is not that much from what I have read and seen, and in any case, the differential in MPG is substantial. I do think part of the MPG reduction is today's cars have much higher HP and torque than the 80's. Course Ethanol is not helping either.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

It's a shame we cant buy what we really want--a smallish vehicle with a diesel in it and overdrive geared.
Well, at least what I would like.

The Jeep and the MB I was looking at had 8-9 gear trannys! The MB has a smaller diesel and gets decent MPG.

Later,
Dan

 

[MossRoad]

well, you've just eliminated two of the top 3 automobile manufacturers worldwide. Check out Consumer Reports on VW reliability over the past 5 years. Not sure about the Cruze but the VW reliability has greatly improved. Manual is the way to go for economy. Same MPG as auto but lower maintenance costs. Or wait until Spring 2014 and check out the new Mazda 6 diesel.

Only if you base that on sales revenue, not number of cars sold. VW owns at least 10 other brands besides VW. Mostly luxury cars. Their sales of actual VW brand autos is not that high, yet their revenue from those luxury car brands is very high. In fact, VW ranks BEHIND GM, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, and Nissan and their sales are down 18% from last year.