24 replies to this topic

[Xipher]

http://www.cnn.com/2...t.ap/index.html

Oh GAWD

Discuss...

[zakats]

this isn't japan- our country is a LOT bigger and to slow the transport of goods... I won't even start on that

[84b18]

yesterday when i was DMV a man said to me "the troops coming home from war must be glad to be here in our free country"
i feel quite the opposite, i think every day we are less and less free and its very disappointing.i hate government control. it seems everything is illegal!

[85Beater]

skimmed the article, but I am all for a return to the 55mph speed limit. I dont think it would have that devastating effect on the flow of goods, if anything rail (which is much more economical anyway) will begin to expand. In addition our demand for gas will of course go down, as the difference between 55 and 70 on the highway is pretty murderous on the MPGs.

Then again, I usually cruise 55 whenever possible, and avoid 70mph highways.

[84b18]

whats next? all automotive racing will be baned and tracks will be closed!?

[85Beater]

whats next? all automotive racing will be baned and tracks will be closed!?

Well thats a bit of an extremist viewpoint to take...

The amount of fuel burned auto racing and on tracks is pretty much negligible. The idea is to create an affect in the general population, not in specialty uses of the fuel. I would say SUV's will be banned long before any kind of auto sports ban, neither of which I see happening, ummm, ever.

[E-AT_me]

please, the amount of fuel to haul around one plane of an NFL team is more than that used in an entire Formula 1 weekend by the cars themselves.

whatever. i do 72mph daily in my 91 EF and can get 38mpg. it's an Si, too. when any automaker starts making a car like my 91 EF, we'll actually start to get "good" gas mileage.

i can't believe "good" gas mileage is like 30mpg!!! wtf?

[ef91]

my ef use to get somewhere around high 30's then i got the itch and went b series, still does ok on gas... not like the lil d16a6 and that motor burned a quart of

oil every time i filled up...

funny.....

[Xipher]

I wont make this some TL;DR deal, but here is the just of it,

at 55mph, I get 350miles to a tank, at 75-80, I get 400mi to a tank with my Mazda 626 right now. The whole 55mph thing is HEAVILY dependent on the vehicle, almost every vehicle I drove at the GM dealership showed a pretty heavy duty drop in MPG displayed when the cruise control was set at 55mph instead of 65-70mph, EVERY CAR except my VW Golf that turned 4,000RPM at 70mph has gotten BETTER mileage over LONG distances when doing speeds above 65mph, this very much includes the CRXs .

55mph doesn't save gas, never will, unless your car is geared crazy stupid low or was built *shock* in the 1960/1970's when this was mandated and is an aerodynamic clusterfuck.

[Zephyr]

I don't think that mandating a speed limit is the solution. My Subaru gets its best gas milage at 78mph with the AC on. It is an established fact that newer cars are tuned much better and get very good milage at speeds well over 75mph. You might get another mile if you slow it down a little but a National 55MPH speed limit is total BS. The answer is to mandate that the auto makers start actually making efficient cars. 30 MPG is not good gas mileage. Good gas milage is 40+.

[d15a3power]

I'm no fan of gov't regulation: (BUT....)

55mph proposal is due to the outcry to do something that "fixes" things now. (relatively) Low cost. There was a proposal to fund a study to determine the most efficient speed, but that isn't NOW.

People scream & cry for SOMETHING ( not knowing exactly what) & this is what they get. Rehashed solutions.

55mph would only work if that was the geeneral flow of traffic-- a range of 50 to 80 is too unsafe-- so the law is needed IF this is what people want...

Since stop & go drivng is less efficient, you would think they would work of that--- make lights go longer so there are less stops & ask people to turn their cars off at these now longer stops is an idea but maybe not a solution....

A massive educational campaign on efficient driving tips would be a logical starting point....

[firstgencrx]

How about 200+ mpg? This is what you need:
http://blog.wired.co...-at-high-g.html

Still pricey, but that will change.

David

[toxicshit]

You guys are fucked.. but hey your gas price is low !! yes i said it... low...

we can drive 75 mph over here .. and i live near the german boarder.. wich means AUTOBAHN no speed limit

but we pay 1.65 euro per liter of 95 octane fuel.. thats 9.45 USD per gallon try to race with that kind of prices!

Greetings Erwin.

[ChrisF-dude]

My CRX with the SOHC 1.5i motor got about 34mpg. When the "illegal" ZC was swapped in, I got 38 mpg even while flogging it, and my vehicle emmisions even improved drastically. I generally drive the speed limit going between service calls, because I am in no hurry and I see drive time as kind of a break. I also drive rather conservatively while driving on the weekends, mainly cause I have kids in the car. Now while some idiots in Hummers and F-250s still do 90mph on the highway, I still don't think the speed limits should be reset on major highways. I think on residential and city/county streets they can enforce it, but with all the major advancements of automotive technology, (ie; ABS, vehicle stability, traction control) I think it is safe enough for people to drive faster. Until you take the most critical factor out of the equation, the driver, no amount of technology can make up for a total idiot, which in my experience will crash into you at ANY speed, be it 65mph, or 25. I think the government will next start adding a gas guzzler fee to your registration renewal instead of just at purchase.

[CarNutCertifies]

This is crap alot of speed limits are already going to 55mph and the only places that you see 65-75 here in Oklahoma are major highways and they are designed to go those speeds with barriers and decent roads. I think the guy is just getting old and his reflexes arent what they used to be.......joking.