You could also decide to get more active and drive the process from within. You will usually start off on the bottom in your local prescient and work up from there. Become a "party insider" and try and change the party from within. The tea party did this.
This is why I tend to vote 3rd party and I know others who do the same. We all know our vote is kind of like a throwaway but in close or non 50% elections it gives you something to point to if you bother to contact your state or local parties and candidates. Make the aware you voted for some other individual and let them know the issues where they differ from your ideal candidate.
If you doubt this happens this morning on the radio they were covering the New Hampshire primary and pointed out that Romney is the easy favorite in polling but that there might be a surprise upset for second by Gingrich or Huntsman (It might have been Sanatorium but I didn't pay that much attention), but yet no mention of Ron Paul who is currently polling second.
Well there go my mod points. You are correct in that Article IV Section 1 does make it a federal issue for recognition. The problem is that the waters have gotten muddied by the abuse of the Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3 otherwise know as the Interstate Commerce Clause which is why we have DOMA as that is viewed as being constitutional because everything is treated like commerce and thus has an impact on interstate commerce there for congress can regulate it. The commerce clause is probably the most abused thing in the constitution and if the court were to overturn DOMA then it would set a precedent that the federal government wouldn't like. So like it or not it will probably be held up as constitutional. Personally I think the religious concept for marriage should be striped out of our law and replaced with domestic partnerships that are between any 2 consenting adults. You would then go down to the courthouse or government center where you currently get your marriage license fill out the paper work and poof the both of you are now granted all the rights and privileges of a domestic partnership, much like you do now.
I think I might have to go check one out then. If they want to sell hybrids or fuel efficient cars they need to make seem fun to drive. I test drove a smart car and it wasn't appealing to drive at all, the first car I ever drove was more fun to drive and got better mileage although a 92 Geo Metro convertible with the 1.0L 3 cylinder isn't anything to be proud of in the performance catagory.
About half of the vehicles I have owned have been automatics and if I could afford to buy a brand new car would purchase one with a manual but you can't be too picky when buying uses. Manuals are by far more efficient and durable than automatics, not to mention lighter and more forgiving of neglect. As far a fun to drive an automatic can be fun, but not the slush boxes that come off the assembly line, my dad has a 72 Chevy Nova with a 350 small block mated to a turbo 400 with a shift kit, better converter, and 4.10:1 gears in the differential. It shifts hard, quick, and consistently which is what you want for drag racing. Of course you basically have to tell it when to shift using the gear selector so it is kind of like a manual without the manual clutch. The car will smoke the tires in each gear.
That rebadged Suzuki was one of the Geo makes that GM sold.
Suzuki Swift = Geo Metro
Suzuki Sidekick = Geo Tracker
They also rebadged other vehicles for the Geo line:
Toyota Corolla = Geo Prizm
Isuzu Impulse = Geo Storm
Isuzu Gemini = Geo Spectrum
The colder denser air does add some to the overall carnot cycle efficiency but that doesn't make up for the increased charge of air and thus increased fuel burned per cycle. It is fun to drive in the cold weather because of the power boost seen and if you ever go to some amateur drag races early in the spring you will see a lot of pleased racers because their cars are running as fast as they will all year because the humidity is still low and the air is cool and dense.
Concerning forced induction it really doesn't make your engine any more efficient as far as burning fuel. It does give it a higher power for a given displacement at the cost of consuming more fuel and decreased overall efficiency. Now this can lead to better overall mileage since you can have a smaller engine in a car which does make it substantially lighter which is where you will see the greatest gain in mileage. When doing a forced induction engine you can't run as high a compression ratio without having pinging so you loose out on some overall efficiency there. Also no forced induction is 100% efficient so if you have a turbo that produces 14 psi (close enough to 1 standard atmosphere for these calculations) of boost you won't see 2x your engine power but should see something in the 1.7x to 1.9x peak increase at best. Some of the loss is in running the turbine, some is in the additional heat that is now in the charge of air, and some is lost as friction. An intercooler can cool the charge of air restoring some of the loss but it also introduces additional restriction in the flow but these new losses are usually outweighed by the gains from cooling the charge of air. As much as people claim that turbos are better than superchargers I really haven't seen any evidence to support one over another as they both have their advantages and disadvantages and there isn't one clear winner as overall boost, volume, and efficiency is the same when looking at comparable devices. As far as simplicity to install a turbo is the better solution in most cases.
I don't run the defrost, but in the winter it takes a much longer time for the car to reach full operating temp. In the summer it usually is fully warmed up by the time I leave my neighborhood while in the winter it isn't until I am well on my way on the freeway. Add to that in really cold weather additional fuel is sprayed in on a cold start up so that there is enough vapors to ignite. Also we get much denser air so you can really put out a lot of power but that further eats into fuel economy. Finally the fluids are much thicker when cold which adds additional drag on the engine, transmission, and differential and the decrease is to be expected and not unreasonable. Some of this can be eased by having a block heater, and using synthetic fluids but the best solution is a heated garage so the car starts off warm.
I have never gotten records with a vehicle I have bought. Good indicators of quality of care without diving into the vehicle are:
1. The dipstick - It shouldn't be varnished or covered in soot signs of neglect
2. The oil - If they haven't just changed it it shouldn't smell burned and defiantly should never have metal shavings in it
3. The coolant - shouldn't have any oil film on top, if you have a coolant gravity tester check the quality
4. Check the fuel filter - If it looks cleaner than the rest of parts around it it has been changed
5. squeeze the hoses - they should be somewhat firm and shouldn't show surface cracks
6. Check the automatic transmission fluid - It should be at the proper level and bright red and shouldn't smell burned
7. drive the car - Take it out on the highway and when going down the on ramp run it through its paces hard. Problems will show up first at the extremes any noises, misses, hesitation or other abnormal things are an indicator of problems as are long or incompetent shifts in an automatic transmission.
8. take it into a parking lot and do a couple of tight circles listen for creaks, squeals, grinding noises, or clunks.
9. Check the power steering fluid - If it uses regular power steering fluid it should be clear, if it uses ATF it should be bright red
10. On a manual see that it shifts smoothly and that the clutch holds when accelerating hard
11. Make sure that the car drives straight.
12. when going over bumps listen for clunks from the suspension.
13. make sure that all 4 tires match
14. check for even tread wear
15. Find out common problems on the vehicle you are looking to buy and check for those as well
16. Check in the wheel wells and door seams for signs of rust
17. If you are really motivated and buying form a dealership see if you can get them to put the car up on the lift and check it out. I have only managed to get one dealership to do this and that was the one where I bought my current BMW from. Here you can check a lot of the suspension and drive train stuff like axles, suspension, wheel bearings, tie rods, drive shaft, and a bunch of other stuff
18. Turn the steering wheel to see if there is excessive play in the suspension, then turn it to the extremes to make sure that the power steering pump isn't making tons of noise. It will make some but shouldn't get really loud
19. If you don't want to do this get a mechanic you know to check it out, there is a charge for this but it will give you piece of mind.
I go and do all of these checks when I buy a vehicle and haven't ever gotten a lemon yet the newest and lowest mileage vehicle I have ever owned was 6 years old when I got it and it had only 80,XXX miles on it. I have walked away from a large number of vehicles because they show signs of problems, when I bought my current daily driver I looked at another BMW at a different dealership and it had an automatic that when accelerating hard would take 3 or 4 seconds to shift, there was something really wrong with that car. I have driven cars were the suspension was so worn out the car handled more like an ocean liner than a car and it wasn't a land yacht like a big Lincoln or Cadillac. Also never buy the car the day to test drive it, go home sleep on it, do some more research, then go back the next day check everything again in case you missed something and take it for another test drive putting it through its paces. No car is going to be perfect but you should know what you are getting your self into.
I agree, the computer on my car that takes into account the vehicle speed and input from the injectors basically matches what what I calculate when I fill up at the pump. I reset the trip odometer and one of the mpg averages each time and have been doing that for years. The only vehicle where I think I might see evaporative losses would be on my Jeep but then that will sit unused for extended periods of time and even then I wouldn't think it would be 5%.
The timing chain stretching shouldn't be an issue as engines are now having tensioners on them so that they don't jump a tooth. Usually people complain about the noise of a timing chain once the nylon coating on the gear wears off and they start making some noise and they want it replaced. Mechanics are more than willing to solve this problem for them. I will agree on the water pump issue. I seem on only be able to have them last 140,000 or so on my vehicles and I don't over tighten belts and don't let the coolant get low.
If you are really concerned about total cost of ownership then the best route is a good condition used vehicle that you drive until the wheels fall off and take good care of it doing all the maintenance and minor repairs. This is what I do and my coworkers are surprised that I am still driving the same car I was when I started and are surprised at how well it runs.
You shouldn't have to rebuild the engine or transmission on a vehicle that is 10 years old unless you are driving it some ridiculous amount and even that is doubtful unless you are beating on it. I have a 15 year old car with 228,XXX mile on it that I love to beat on I also have a 16 year old SUV with 370,XXX mile on it. Both of these vehicles have their original engines and transmissions and run great.
You are looking at more of a VW problem than a modern car problem. My wife has a 2000 VW Jetta and the thing is a basket case even with my obsessive care. It is on it's 3rd water pump, 2nd alternator, 3rd starter 3rd set of brakes but it only has 98,XXX miles on it. Lots of companies use plastic impellers for their water pumps and to avoid them gettign brittle you need to change the fluid every 2 years instead of just leaving it in there with the "lifetime" coolant. It sounds like you weren't paying attention to your instrument cluster as the temp rise isn't instantaneous you should have been able to pull off onto a shoulder or off the main road and shut it down. You can switch to the green stuff when doing this and save your self the money over the Orange/Pink stuff. Once I started doing this I haven't had a water pump issue in the wife's VW. I have had plenty of other issues thus I have become convinced that Volkswagen is German for failed engineer.
In general the lifespan of a vehicle is more determined by the quality of care than the initial build quality. Granted some vehicles are lemons but in general a person who takes better care of a car will have it last longer. My daily driver is a 96 BMW 540i with 228,XXX miles on it and I haven't had any major issues that I didn't cause. I have had to replace all the hoses, some dried out gaskets, brakes, belts, spark plugs, spark plug boots, some suspension parts (I broke these taking down some logging roads in northern Minnesota when hunting before I got a truck 3 years ago). The worst repair was also my own fault as I almost got it high and centered when on some of those logging roads and crushed the catalytic converters. I also have a 96 Jeep Cherokee with 370,XXX miles and it runs and drives just fine. This is saying something as Chrysler Corp vehicles aren't exactly know for quality or reliability. When I got it last summer I went and tossed about $150 in parts and fluids at it. It now has all new fluids, plugs, belts, hoses, distributor cap, rotor, plugs, plug wires, and ignition coil, I also greased all the suspension parts. The fluids all checked out good as the vehicle appeared to have been well maintained. The vehicle still runs great and gets about 21 mpg on the highway. My dad has a 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 and hasn't had a problem with it in the 12 years he has owned it and he even does truck things with it like towing (about 7,000 lbs for a race car and dual axle trailer) and hauling on a regular basis. He takes care of his vehicles and I learned from him, my mom and step dad on the other hand have cars the barely run and the oldest is a 2005 Chevy caviler. It ran good until it they got lax on oil changes and other maintenance and never bothered to get minor problems taken care of like the spark plugs. Same thing with their 2008 Impala it ran good but then they didn't bother to do any maintenance on it and now the thing smokes like it is fogging for mosquitoes. My in-laws pay me to maintain their cars and they have a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis with 120,XXX on it and it runs and drives like it did when they bought it, same thing with their 2010 Honda Accord.
Maintenance risks shouldn't be there if the previous owner took care of the vehicle. Things like brakes, belts, hoses, fluids, suspension parts, and other consumables always need replacing. If you take care of these things then there shouldn't be any reliability issues and if you don't take care of them then you might as well just buy a new vehicle every 5 years to avoid dealing with them. My daily driver is 15 or so years old (97 BMW 540i) and has 228,XXX miles on it and is just as reliable as it was when it rolled off the assembly line. My beater truck is 16 or so years old (96 Jeep Cherokee) and has 370,XXX on it. I don't worry about being left on the side of the road as they are properly cared for.
My car has this and it was actually interesting to see it in action when going down Mt. Evans and Pike's Peak in Colorado 2 summers ago. Those were long enough downhill drives where I actually could watch the engine temp drop while leaving it in a lower gear. Add to that systems like Chrysler' Multi-Displacement System for low load driving and you can save even when cruising at highway speeds.
We haven't advanced much MPG wise but your 78 Fiesta sucked. It didn't have much if any power, had armstrong windows, no air bags, was a pollution factory, took forever to get up to 55 mph, and were lucky if you had a cassette deck for it. Now compare that to the modern sub compact and the mpg is about the same but you have close to 2x the engine power, can easily reach 70 mph, has air bags and all the other modern safety equipment like ABS, air conditioning, and has some power accessories and a decent radio. The modern sub compacts are also much larger in weight and size wise than your old 78 Fiesta.
Diesel works just fine in Minnesota. You just have to remember to plug the block heater in and put the battery on the charger in most winters. There are different types of diesel, #1 and #2 I know one of them is for winter use and the other isn't. As I don't drive a diesel I don't know which is which but I am sure someone does. Besides if your vehicle has a block heater it is worth plugging them in as it gets your vehicle warmed up much quicker and helps save on the wear and tear of cold starts. I have added block heaters to all my vehicles
Too true. For a lot of my driving a hybrid would work better as it is longer distance rush hour driving. My wife on the other hand could probably get by entirely with a current electric vehicle as a day with a lot of driving for her is 10 miles. For the longer highway trips with the family my current daily driver would be ideal and for things like hunting and camping my Jeep is an ideal vehicle. Right now all we don't own an electric or hybrid car but upon replacement of a vehicle they will be considered.
I think he hasn't read anything automotive since 1965. There have been leaps and bounds in efficiency increases but we haven't seen the impressive MPG increase that would be expected as cars have gotten heavier and larger. Just the other day I saw an article stating that from 1980 to today there have been impressive gains in engine efficiency and if our entire automotive fleet were to be the same sized vehicles as in 1980 with modern engines the US average MPG would be about 37MPG.
The silpage you refer to shouldn't be happening when at cruising speeds in an automatic transmission as the torque converter should be locked. At lower speeds it isn't slipage in the transmission but differences in the speed of the fluid pump and then turbine in the torque converter. Maybe you should go and do some reading on how a torque converter work and also how the planatary gear systems in automatic transmissions actually work. If you actually have real slipage then you have some really serious problems and will probably need to spend a ton of money getting some clutch packs and/or seals replaced in your transmission. The main loss of efficiency in an automatic transmission is that in addition to having to run the gears the engine also has to run a fluid pump.
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You could also decide to get more active and drive the process from within. You will usually start off on the bottom in your local prescient and work up from there. Become a "party insider" and try and change the party from within. The tea party did this.
This is why I tend to vote 3rd party and I know others who do the same. We all know our vote is kind of like a throwaway but in close or non 50% elections it gives you something to point to if you bother to contact your state or local parties and candidates. Make the aware you voted for some other individual and let them know the issues where they differ from your ideal candidate.
Well how do you propose to get congress to do that? Seriously I would like to know of a why without holding some guns to some heads.
If you doubt this happens this morning on the radio they were covering the New Hampshire primary and pointed out that Romney is the easy favorite in polling but that there might be a surprise upset for second by Gingrich or Huntsman (It might have been Sanatorium but I didn't pay that much attention), but yet no mention of Ron Paul who is currently polling second.
Maybe we need some in congress who have even the most basic understanding of how technology works.
Well there go my mod points. You are correct in that Article IV Section 1 does make it a federal issue for recognition. The problem is that the waters have gotten muddied by the abuse of the Article 1 Section 8 Clause 3 otherwise know as the Interstate Commerce Clause which is why we have DOMA as that is viewed as being constitutional because everything is treated like commerce and thus has an impact on interstate commerce there for congress can regulate it. The commerce clause is probably the most abused thing in the constitution and if the court were to overturn DOMA then it would set a precedent that the federal government wouldn't like. So like it or not it will probably be held up as constitutional. Personally I think the religious concept for marriage should be striped out of our law and replaced with domestic partnerships that are between any 2 consenting adults. You would then go down to the courthouse or government center where you currently get your marriage license fill out the paper work and poof the both of you are now granted all the rights and privileges of a domestic partnership, much like you do now.
I think I might have to go check one out then. If they want to sell hybrids or fuel efficient cars they need to make seem fun to drive. I test drove a smart car and it wasn't appealing to drive at all, the first car I ever drove was more fun to drive and got better mileage although a 92 Geo Metro convertible with the 1.0L 3 cylinder isn't anything to be proud of in the performance catagory.
About half of the vehicles I have owned have been automatics and if I could afford to buy a brand new car would purchase one with a manual but you can't be too picky when buying uses. Manuals are by far more efficient and durable than automatics, not to mention lighter and more forgiving of neglect. As far a fun to drive an automatic can be fun, but not the slush boxes that come off the assembly line, my dad has a 72 Chevy Nova with a 350 small block mated to a turbo 400 with a shift kit, better converter, and 4.10:1 gears in the differential. It shifts hard, quick, and consistently which is what you want for drag racing. Of course you basically have to tell it when to shift using the gear selector so it is kind of like a manual without the manual clutch. The car will smoke the tires in each gear.
That rebadged Suzuki was one of the Geo makes that GM sold.
Suzuki Swift = Geo Metro
Suzuki Sidekick = Geo Tracker
They also rebadged other vehicles for the Geo line:
Toyota Corolla = Geo Prizm
Isuzu Impulse = Geo Storm
Isuzu Gemini = Geo Spectrum
The colder denser air does add some to the overall carnot cycle efficiency but that doesn't make up for the increased charge of air and thus increased fuel burned per cycle. It is fun to drive in the cold weather because of the power boost seen and if you ever go to some amateur drag races early in the spring you will see a lot of pleased racers because their cars are running as fast as they will all year because the humidity is still low and the air is cool and dense.
Concerning forced induction it really doesn't make your engine any more efficient as far as burning fuel. It does give it a higher power for a given displacement at the cost of consuming more fuel and decreased overall efficiency. Now this can lead to better overall mileage since you can have a smaller engine in a car which does make it substantially lighter which is where you will see the greatest gain in mileage. When doing a forced induction engine you can't run as high a compression ratio without having pinging so you loose out on some overall efficiency there. Also no forced induction is 100% efficient so if you have a turbo that produces 14 psi (close enough to 1 standard atmosphere for these calculations) of boost you won't see 2x your engine power but should see something in the 1.7x to 1.9x peak increase at best. Some of the loss is in running the turbine, some is in the additional heat that is now in the charge of air, and some is lost as friction. An intercooler can cool the charge of air restoring some of the loss but it also introduces additional restriction in the flow but these new losses are usually outweighed by the gains from cooling the charge of air. As much as people claim that turbos are better than superchargers I really haven't seen any evidence to support one over another as they both have their advantages and disadvantages and there isn't one clear winner as overall boost, volume, and efficiency is the same when looking at comparable devices. As far as simplicity to install a turbo is the better solution in most cases.
I don't run the defrost, but in the winter it takes a much longer time for the car to reach full operating temp. In the summer it usually is fully warmed up by the time I leave my neighborhood while in the winter it isn't until I am well on my way on the freeway. Add to that in really cold weather additional fuel is sprayed in on a cold start up so that there is enough vapors to ignite. Also we get much denser air so you can really put out a lot of power but that further eats into fuel economy. Finally the fluids are much thicker when cold which adds additional drag on the engine, transmission, and differential and the decrease is to be expected and not unreasonable. Some of this can be eased by having a block heater, and using synthetic fluids but the best solution is a heated garage so the car starts off warm.
I have never gotten records with a vehicle I have bought. Good indicators of quality of care without diving into the vehicle are:
1. The dipstick - It shouldn't be varnished or covered in soot signs of neglect
2. The oil - If they haven't just changed it it shouldn't smell burned and defiantly should never have metal shavings in it
3. The coolant - shouldn't have any oil film on top, if you have a coolant gravity tester check the quality
4. Check the fuel filter - If it looks cleaner than the rest of parts around it it has been changed
5. squeeze the hoses - they should be somewhat firm and shouldn't show surface cracks
6. Check the automatic transmission fluid - It should be at the proper level and bright red and shouldn't smell burned
7. drive the car - Take it out on the highway and when going down the on ramp run it through its paces hard. Problems will show up first at the extremes any noises, misses, hesitation or other abnormal things are an indicator of problems as are long or incompetent shifts in an automatic transmission.
8. take it into a parking lot and do a couple of tight circles listen for creaks, squeals, grinding noises, or clunks.
9. Check the power steering fluid - If it uses regular power steering fluid it should be clear, if it uses ATF it should be bright red
10. On a manual see that it shifts smoothly and that the clutch holds when accelerating hard
11. Make sure that the car drives straight.
12. when going over bumps listen for clunks from the suspension.
13. make sure that all 4 tires match
14. check for even tread wear
15. Find out common problems on the vehicle you are looking to buy and check for those as well
16. Check in the wheel wells and door seams for signs of rust
17. If you are really motivated and buying form a dealership see if you can get them to put the car up on the lift and check it out. I have only managed to get one dealership to do this and that was the one where I bought my current BMW from. Here you can check a lot of the suspension and drive train stuff like axles, suspension, wheel bearings, tie rods, drive shaft, and a bunch of other stuff
18. Turn the steering wheel to see if there is excessive play in the suspension, then turn it to the extremes to make sure that the power steering pump isn't making tons of noise. It will make some but shouldn't get really loud
19. If you don't want to do this get a mechanic you know to check it out, there is a charge for this but it will give you piece of mind.
I go and do all of these checks when I buy a vehicle and haven't ever gotten a lemon yet the newest and lowest mileage vehicle I have ever owned was 6 years old when I got it and it had only 80,XXX miles on it. I have walked away from a large number of vehicles because they show signs of problems, when I bought my current daily driver I looked at another BMW at a different dealership and it had an automatic that when accelerating hard would take 3 or 4 seconds to shift, there was something really wrong with that car. I have driven cars were the suspension was so worn out the car handled more like an ocean liner than a car and it wasn't a land yacht like a big Lincoln or Cadillac. Also never buy the car the day to test drive it, go home sleep on it, do some more research, then go back the next day check everything again in case you missed something and take it for another test drive putting it through its paces. No car is going to be perfect but you should know what you are getting your self into.
I agree, the computer on my car that takes into account the vehicle speed and input from the injectors basically matches what what I calculate when I fill up at the pump. I reset the trip odometer and one of the mpg averages each time and have been doing that for years. The only vehicle where I think I might see evaporative losses would be on my Jeep but then that will sit unused for extended periods of time and even then I wouldn't think it would be 5%.
The timing chain stretching shouldn't be an issue as engines are now having tensioners on them so that they don't jump a tooth. Usually people complain about the noise of a timing chain once the nylon coating on the gear wears off and they start making some noise and they want it replaced. Mechanics are more than willing to solve this problem for them. I will agree on the water pump issue. I seem on only be able to have them last 140,000 or so on my vehicles and I don't over tighten belts and don't let the coolant get low.
If you are really concerned about total cost of ownership then the best route is a good condition used vehicle that you drive until the wheels fall off and take good care of it doing all the maintenance and minor repairs. This is what I do and my coworkers are surprised that I am still driving the same car I was when I started and are surprised at how well it runs.
You shouldn't have to rebuild the engine or transmission on a vehicle that is 10 years old unless you are driving it some ridiculous amount and even that is doubtful unless you are beating on it. I have a 15 year old car with 228,XXX mile on it that I love to beat on I also have a 16 year old SUV with 370,XXX mile on it. Both of these vehicles have their original engines and transmissions and run great.
You are looking at more of a VW problem than a modern car problem. My wife has a 2000 VW Jetta and the thing is a basket case even with my obsessive care. It is on it's 3rd water pump, 2nd alternator, 3rd starter 3rd set of brakes but it only has 98,XXX miles on it. Lots of companies use plastic impellers for their water pumps and to avoid them gettign brittle you need to change the fluid every 2 years instead of just leaving it in there with the "lifetime" coolant. It sounds like you weren't paying attention to your instrument cluster as the temp rise isn't instantaneous you should have been able to pull off onto a shoulder or off the main road and shut it down. You can switch to the green stuff when doing this and save your self the money over the Orange/Pink stuff. Once I started doing this I haven't had a water pump issue in the wife's VW. I have had plenty of other issues thus I have become convinced that Volkswagen is German for failed engineer.
In general the lifespan of a vehicle is more determined by the quality of care than the initial build quality. Granted some vehicles are lemons but in general a person who takes better care of a car will have it last longer. My daily driver is a 96 BMW 540i with 228,XXX miles on it and I haven't had any major issues that I didn't cause. I have had to replace all the hoses, some dried out gaskets, brakes, belts, spark plugs, spark plug boots, some suspension parts (I broke these taking down some logging roads in northern Minnesota when hunting before I got a truck 3 years ago). The worst repair was also my own fault as I almost got it high and centered when on some of those logging roads and crushed the catalytic converters. I also have a 96 Jeep Cherokee with 370,XXX miles and it runs and drives just fine. This is saying something as Chrysler Corp vehicles aren't exactly know for quality or reliability. When I got it last summer I went and tossed about $150 in parts and fluids at it. It now has all new fluids, plugs, belts, hoses, distributor cap, rotor, plugs, plug wires, and ignition coil, I also greased all the suspension parts. The fluids all checked out good as the vehicle appeared to have been well maintained. The vehicle still runs great and gets about 21 mpg on the highway. My dad has a 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 and hasn't had a problem with it in the 12 years he has owned it and he even does truck things with it like towing (about 7,000 lbs for a race car and dual axle trailer) and hauling on a regular basis. He takes care of his vehicles and I learned from him, my mom and step dad on the other hand have cars the barely run and the oldest is a 2005 Chevy caviler. It ran good until it they got lax on oil changes and other maintenance and never bothered to get minor problems taken care of like the spark plugs. Same thing with their 2008 Impala it ran good but then they didn't bother to do any maintenance on it and now the thing smokes like it is fogging for mosquitoes. My in-laws pay me to maintain their cars and they have a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis with 120,XXX on it and it runs and drives like it did when they bought it, same thing with their 2010 Honda Accord.
Maintenance risks shouldn't be there if the previous owner took care of the vehicle. Things like brakes, belts, hoses, fluids, suspension parts, and other consumables always need replacing. If you take care of these things then there shouldn't be any reliability issues and if you don't take care of them then you might as well just buy a new vehicle every 5 years to avoid dealing with them. My daily driver is 15 or so years old (97 BMW 540i) and has 228,XXX miles on it and is just as reliable as it was when it rolled off the assembly line. My beater truck is 16 or so years old (96 Jeep Cherokee) and has 370,XXX on it. I don't worry about being left on the side of the road as they are properly cared for.
I have seen those and have wanted to drive one as they look like the "fun" hybrid. My question is are they?
My car has this and it was actually interesting to see it in action when going down Mt. Evans and Pike's Peak in Colorado 2 summers ago. Those were long enough downhill drives where I actually could watch the engine temp drop while leaving it in a lower gear. Add to that systems like Chrysler' Multi-Displacement System for low load driving and you can save even when cruising at highway speeds.
We haven't advanced much MPG wise but your 78 Fiesta sucked. It didn't have much if any power, had armstrong windows, no air bags, was a pollution factory, took forever to get up to 55 mph, and were lucky if you had a cassette deck for it. Now compare that to the modern sub compact and the mpg is about the same but you have close to 2x the engine power, can easily reach 70 mph, has air bags and all the other modern safety equipment like ABS, air conditioning, and has some power accessories and a decent radio. The modern sub compacts are also much larger in weight and size wise than your old 78 Fiesta.
Diesel works just fine in Minnesota. You just have to remember to plug the block heater in and put the battery on the charger in most winters. There are different types of diesel, #1 and #2 I know one of them is for winter use and the other isn't. As I don't drive a diesel I don't know which is which but I am sure someone does. Besides if your vehicle has a block heater it is worth plugging them in as it gets your vehicle warmed up much quicker and helps save on the wear and tear of cold starts. I have added block heaters to all my vehicles
Too true. For a lot of my driving a hybrid would work better as it is longer distance rush hour driving. My wife on the other hand could probably get by entirely with a current electric vehicle as a day with a lot of driving for her is 10 miles. For the longer highway trips with the family my current daily driver would be ideal and for things like hunting and camping my Jeep is an ideal vehicle. Right now all we don't own an electric or hybrid car but upon replacement of a vehicle they will be considered.
I think he hasn't read anything automotive since 1965. There have been leaps and bounds in efficiency increases but we haven't seen the impressive MPG increase that would be expected as cars have gotten heavier and larger. Just the other day I saw an article stating that from 1980 to today there have been impressive gains in engine efficiency and if our entire automotive fleet were to be the same sized vehicles as in 1980 with modern engines the US average MPG would be about 37MPG.
The silpage you refer to shouldn't be happening when at cruising speeds in an automatic transmission as the torque converter should be locked. At lower speeds it isn't slipage in the transmission but differences in the speed of the fluid pump and then turbine in the torque converter. Maybe you should go and do some reading on how a torque converter work and also how the planatary gear systems in automatic transmissions actually work. If you actually have real slipage then you have some really serious problems and will probably need to spend a ton of money getting some clutch packs and/or seals replaced in your transmission. The main loss of efficiency in an automatic transmission is that in addition to having to run the gears the engine also has to run a fluid pump.