patrick.net

I would not want to fill up a Ford Expedition at $133 a pop. I hope the prestige of an SUV is worth it (only 16 mpg)...

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112561/gas-prices-%24100-fillup-moneywatch

I currently don't even own a car... What do you all think of this one:

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/article/6-myths-about-gas-mileage/317188/

I didn't know that newer automatic transmission cars might get the same highway mileage as a manual transmission cars (or even slightly better).

pkennedy says

The start stop feature is something new because of many issues. Old starters couldn’t start a car fast enough. Today, my car catches after like a 1/4 turn, 15-20 years ago it would take like 5 seconds of cranking. With the hybrid, they can start moving the car instantly, and then fire up the engine in the background, without any noticeable lag time. Also cats/engines need to stay at a decent temperature, engines/cats are now insulated to keep temperatures up, so if the engine is turned off, once it’s turned back on, emissions are ok.

Starter cranking speeds haven't changed since the phase in of 12v systems in the 50's so the starter isn't relevant to how fast a car starts. Cars actually started faster with carbs, although it would be impossible to do start/stop with a carb since they are purely mechanical. A well tuned car with a carb will start instantly, you just have to tap the key. The computer in fuel injection systems delays firing off slightly until the fuel pressure comes up and everything checks out, which I have found totally annoying since my first SEFI in the late 80's. I am constantly reminded of this these days since I recently bought an old beater 87 Subaru wagon with a carb as a sacrificial beach rustbucket. It fires off much faster than either of my late 90's BMW's (wonderful to drive but not great surfing/windsurfing cars), both of which are in excellent tune. Now I'm always letting go of the key too soon with the beemers. If you had a car that cranked for 5 seconds there was something seriously wrong with it.

I've never seen a car with insulated engine (other than sound insulation) or cat. Why would it matter? If you are doing start/stop the time stopped at a traffic light is so brief it's irrelevant. If you are stopping for an hour or more no amount of insulation is going to matter. Cats run really hot without any insulation, I don't see how you could avoid melting one if it were insulated. Which cars have this feature?

Start/stop in conventional cars is not anything new. VW and Fiat both sold start/stop cars in the 80's. The extra fuel economy didn't make up for the extra price of the start/stop hardware and people found the engine quitting at a stoplight very odd at the time so they weren't very successful. Not to mention that these cars were designed during the very high gas prices of the early 80's and hit the market just as fuel prices dropped dramatically.

Start/stop doesn't exist in hybrids. The gas engine starts and stops to meet electrical demand irrelevant of what the car is doing. If you take off from a light and are using just the battery the gas engine won't start at all.

American in Japan says

I would not want to fill up a Ford Expedition at $133 a pop. I hope the prestige of an SUV is worth it (only 16 mpg)…
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112561/gas-prices-%24100-fillup-moneywatch
I currently don’t even own a car… What do you all think of this one:
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/article/6-myths-about-gas-mileage/317188/
I didn’t know that newer automatic transmission cars might get the same highway mileage as a manual transmission cars (or even slightly better).

I'm overseas and I'm paying $133 to fill up my rusty 87 subaru wagon without any prestige at all. You don't even want to know about my 7 series BMW. Be thankful you are living in the land of relatively cheap gas.

Lock up torque converters and overdrive automatics have been around 30 years already, moneywatch is just catching on? On the highway an overdrive automatic with a lockup converter will never get better mileage than a manual with the same gear rations due to pumping losses, but it can get very, very close. A manual should get better mileage around town when the lockup feature of the converter isn't in use much, but it depends on the driver more than the tranny.

Bob,

I think you live in New Zealand, right? Gasoline here in Japan is around $5.80 or so a gallon. (I have to convert from litres).

Fifth Gear video review of Toyota iQ makes it compelling for me

"This could be Toyota's iPod"

http://youtu.be/z4HC6jtc5WY

American in Japan says

Bob,
I think you live in New Zealand, right? Gasoline here in Japan is around $5.80 or so a gallon. (I have to convert from litres).

Yep, it's $2.33 a liter times 3.785 per gallon times .79 exchange rate or about $7.00 us per gallon. No one commutes here and there are no sprawling suburbs.

Does anyone pay (or know someone who pays) over $400.00/ month for gasoline?