StevenJ

http://www.blueovalforums.com/index.php?showtopic=19392

http://freedomfromoil.com/



PS, note to send as much hate mail as possible to the following address:
autos@ran.org

FireDragon

Oil companies make the world go round. I'm sure we could've switched to an alternative to oil by now if we had to, but the oil companies won't have it. They make too much $$$$.

That said, until the alternatives come out providing <5 second 0-60 times in my Mustang or our oil supply completely runs dry, I'll have fun scaring the *$#@ outta the hippy in the Prius as the roar of my soon-to-be Mustang flies by him on the highway. :drive: Gas ain't cheap, but I plan on getting my moneys worth.

StevenJ

But you'd think if they had even half a brain, they'd spend more time lobbying the government for more mass transportation so more people wouldn't need to use thier cars periord. Ontop of that, we have alternatives such as synthetic oil, bio diesel, and E85. Not only that, every day, more and more oil is being discovered in places all around the world. The newest hotspot is in Utah around Salt Lake City and Canada as well has lots oil deep in the ground. Oil is a naturally reoccuring resource like coal or metal. Theortically we could drill at a faster rate than it is regenerating but the chances of us actually running out are slim.

JustAnotherDude

Yeah, I agree that they would spend their energy better on lobbying for more alternatives for transport, such as trains or buses or whatnot instead of bashing car usage. Oil ources are discovered at a steady rate, both in America as you say, and also in Russia and other places. The question here is how expensive it will be to extract it, money that ultimately we, the end users, will have to pay. But technology improves all the time making out-of-reach sources available. Just look at the oceans; deep sea drilling wasn't possible 50 years ago, yet now there are rigs everywhere, arguably the biggest constructions of modern time.

Personally, I'm fine with public transport when it takes me to where I want when I want at a price I can afford. But I LOVE driving, and in this country just like in the US where we have large distances between places with few people inbetween, the car is the only option we have to get around.

mustang_sallad

running out of oil is one thing. at one end you have people saying we'll run out in 20 years, i don't buy that, and other people say we'll never run out, i don't buy that either. the more important thing is that right now, my city has a nasty yellow blanket over it. it looks nasty, it smells terrible, and its giving me serious breathing problems. the city of toronto health department found that 1000 people a year die in that city due to poor air quality, and a further 5000 a year are put in the hospital. i don't think people outside of large urban centres realise how bad it is.
For $1000 bucks, i've got a sweet bike that to me, looks cooler than any car, most of the time, due to traffic, i can get downtown faster than a car (even the stinker in his Vanquish ), and i can also pop it on a chair lift and take it down some sweet trails. It also keeps me in good shape without having to go to a gym. A sweet bike is a lot of fun and can be the answer to many problems.

JustAnotherDude

Yeah, bought myself a bike too a few weeks ago, to get me to and from work. I beat all the commuters too, plus I enjoy the exercise. Biking is fun but it can't take away the thrill of driving...

scottie1113

All of the above is true. I've been walking to worl lately. It's only a 30 minute walk but the exercise is good for.

I'd like to see an expanded mass transit system in this country but it won't happen in my lifetime. More's the pity.

1999 Black 35th GT

:scratch: It really sounds like these people (if you want to even dignify that) have a hard on for Ford and thats it. Maybe they should take a look again and notice that the Focus is now offered with a SULEV 2.0, bet you they didn't even think that far. Plus they argue that about liberty and the pursuit of happiness, well my happiness happens to be driving my Mustang and you know what it gets better gas mileage than my wifes Element.

Instead of looking at a specific company they need to look at the broader picture at the millions of other producers that put out more crud just with manufacturing.

1999 Black 35th GT

This is the letter I sent them:

Zastava_101

I don't think that's possible. Mustang V8 in best case could get 18 MPG. Element in worst case can get 21 MPG.
I have only V6 Mustang and currently I'm getting only 10 MPG. Even my dad's 18-wheeler-500-hp Freightliner Century can get better gas mileage than that.

1999 Black 35th GT

Its very possible. In the city of Reading no (but I wouldn't drive any car in there yikes) but cruising regular streets and moving on the highways it does. The reason is that I can cruise along the streets and accelerate with a lot less effort than her vehicle can because of the weight to power ratio of her Element. Trust me I've monitered the gas mpg on both of them. The Element, if I accelerate very slowwwllly can get approximately 21 mpg while with the Mustang I have averaged just a hair over 23-24 mpg. Which in the long run adds up.

Now in the suburban streets the Element is god awful. Its averages between 17-18 mpg with moderate acceleration.

The thing is that it is very difficult to get the mileage that the manufacturer suggest. When the mpg test is done, it is usually done with the A/C off, on a circular track with no hills. Such is not the real world though, but I wish

mustang_sallad

extremists on any side of any issue only give that side a bad view. I'm definitely the type to value our environment, make sure we don't screw things up too bad so that future generations can't enjoy life as much as we do. But i get really annoyed at people who don't really know what they're talking about, and delegitimise valid arguments. There's this huge group or cult or whatever you wanna call it of extreme lefties who set up stands in the subway and around town with huge posters with the most ridiculous slogans. "BUILD THE MAGLEV. FASTER THAN THE FERRARI!" i mean could you be more simplistic?! Where do you wanna build this maglev? Will it be worth the extreme cost? WHICH FERRARI?!!? "RETOOL GM TO BUILD 6000 NUCLEAR PLANTS!"

anyways, you get the idea. a bunch of crackpots who have good intentions but have absolutely no clue what they're talking about. I feel the same way about environmental Ford bashers. The whole transportation industry needs big changes. Bill Ford definitely does value the environment, or at least the image of his company, and he's making the company do many good things. Sure they sell more SUVs than most other companies, but look at they're recent development. While GM is completely redoing their entire truck line, Nissan has a fancy new set of SUVs, Honda just put out an ugly box of a four door pickup, and Toyota now offers the RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Sequoia and the FJ Cruiser is on its way, meanwhile Ford is giving one of its 4 SUVs the boot (sort of, excursion will be replaced by expedition max), two other SUVs get a mild refresh, and the 4 SUV is now available in hybrid form. Ford is coming out and saying "people don't really want SUVs as much any more, the SUV boom is waning, we're gonna build regular cars now".

These Ford bashers don't know anything about what's going on in the auto industry, and they've just clamped on to another evil name that's easy to rag on.

1999 Black 35th GT

Which is a shame because they give the enviromentalist who have legitimate plans for the world a bad name. These people don't seem to realize that instead of helping their cause they only further hinder it by making unfounded claims.

Zastava_101

In my case they were waaaaaay off. I always drive with A/C off and most of times I drive on the freeways because of my job. Just last Friday I droved 30 miles total, all on freeway and all with A/C off with 1/4 tank of gas which is about 3 gallons. So 3 gallons on 30 miles - 10 mpg, which is really low for a car that Ford advertised that can do 20 mpg in the city and 26 (or maybe 28) mpg on the freeway.
I like my car, I really do, but if this continue, I'm buying something with 4-cyl, maybe 1992-1995 Civic, I like those cars and they can last forever.

1999 Black 35th GT

You need to take it to a mechanic then and have them check it out. Something is not right if you are only getting 10 mpg on the highway. You may have a leak of some sort that you may not be able to see. I would suggest doing this ASAP just in case there is something wrong so that it doesn't snowball into a worse problem. My in laws have a tendency to do that and it only makes the issue worse.

Either that or check what James or SVOPaul can suggest.

Zastava_101

The plan is to take it to a mechanic tomorrow morning.

1999 Black 35th GT

Good to hear.

Vermillion98

Has Ford ever been fined for violating federal fuel economy rules?
BMW paid $42 MILLION in fines for violating U.S. fuel economy standards in 2003.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20...d25bmwfine.html

Why aren't they mentioning BMW?

1999 Black 35th GT

Good question Vermillion, very good question indeed. I think it is safe to assume that these "people" if you want to even dignify them as that, have not researched any aspect whatsoever but have simply latched onto a large corporation to try and place blame.