30th Dec 2009, 17:31
First of all, we too got our car for free (inherited).
According to the site you posted, your car, a 1989 Chevy Sprint is rated at 34 MPG. It puts out roughly 5.40 tons of emissions.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/5335.shtml
Mine, a 2002 Toyota Prius is rated at 45 MPG, a good 11 MPG more than your vehicle. It also puts out 4.50 tons, or a full ton less than yours.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2002_Toyota_Prius.shtml
Lastly, as mentioned, your car is a Suzuki with a Chevy badge stuck on the front. It's a Japanese car. Thus I'm not sure what your argument is.
31st Dec 2009, 17:44
I like how you went ahead and assumed my car had the 3 speed automatic, that has worse emissions and mpg's. Well it's not, its the 5 speed manual tranny. And I was looking at my car and your car compared, and I was wrong about your car, it is rated less Mpg on the hwy LOL.
This is where my car was made ----> CAMI Automotive, originally known as Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc
I checked the Vin and its correct TYVM.
This is quoted from Wikipedia: "While Car and Driver did jokingly ridicule the age of the car, lack of amenities (The Metro actually lost seven points from its overall score for lack of amenities.), and mentioning that it was originally sold brand-new without hubcaps, the Metro did tie the Prius for best overall fuel economy at 42 MPG".
The Metro and my car are the same, just different names, same motor and tranny.
Quoted from Wikipedia: 1989 - "The Geo Metro debuted in the United States, replacing the Sprint. Canadian models continued with the Chevrolet Sprint and Pontiac Firefly nameplates, while the second generation Suzuki Swift replaced the Forsa nameplate. Suzuki begins marketing the Swift in the United States."
So shall we start comparing the price of new parts when your car breaks as compared to mine?
31st Dec 2009, 17:53
Continuing: Oh I almost forgot I'm looking into running this car on straight Hydrogen that produces 0 emissions. It's still in the testing phase in the video, but it's a start.
Here is a video as proof it can be done.
3rd Jan 2010, 18:48
So to summarize everything up, if you own a 2003 or older Toyota Prius, you DO NOT have better MPG than my 1989 Chevy Sprint 1.0L 5 speed manual, nor better emissions. Even if someone owned a 2009 Toyota Prius, my annual fuel cost is only $108 more dollars than a 2009 Toyota Prius, and the emissions are only marginally better than mine. So just remember 2003 and later Prius owners, you're being beat out by a car that is 20 years old.
Go ahead and compare my 1989 Chevy Sprint 1.0L 5 SPEED Tranny. Here is the web site; remember it has a 5 speed transmission, NOT the 3 speed automatic.
20th May 2010, 23:04
I do believe the guy with the Neon... Now, these are all the highest MPGs that I have gotten, but it is proof that it is possible.
NO, I did NOT always get that great of mileage, but when you learn to drive, you can definitely achieve much higher mpg.
I used to own a 1996 Honda Civic DX sedan with A/C & auto transmission with 64,000 miles... Me, my father, and my younger brother took it on a road trip & managed 48.2 mpg & it is rated at 33 mpg on hwy... We did not do any jack rabbit starts, quick braking, or anything like that. Nor did we use the A/C or cruise (as the car did not have cruise control).
Also, while helping my sister move, I drove her 2004 Nissan Sentra 1.8S with auto transmission with A/C on most of the time, which had 47,000 miles. We had the car fully loaded and at 60 mph I still managed 46.3 mpg with it & it is rated at 31 mpg.
My other car was a 1997 Saturn SL1 with auto transmission & A/C. That car was only rated for 33 mpg & I also managed 39 mpg & it had 189,000 miles! At those times I ranged from the age of 16 - 18 years & am a male... Yes, I do get on the accelerator quite a bit, but if you're willing to stay out of it, you can definitely get more than the EPA! You just have to learn how to drive "civilized" shall I say.
These were all during summer months, but always across the USA so different brands of fuel were being used, and we did experience a lot of different terrain.
Believe it or not, I had a 2000 Mercury Cougar V6 with auto transmission that was rated at 31 mpg. Well at 75 with 3 people, I averaged 28 mpg. Although, when I was driving alone at 80 mph, I had gotten up to 37 mpg. Yes, higher EPA is very very possible! Now with the Mercury, I am still unsure to this day (3 years later) how I managed 37 mpg @ 80 mph, but I'm not going go complain as that car saved me a lot of gas over my Jeep Grand Cherokee with a V8!
My 2004 Ford Crown Victoria LX EPA was 15/23 cty/hwy, but I had an avg of 18/27 cty/hwy.
Now, not all of my vehicles have been like that. My 2001 Ford Escape XLT 4x4 with the V6 & auto is rated 20/24 cty/hwy. Unfortunately that was not the case with that one. My avg with the Escape was more like 16/19.
Now like I said earlier, these averages were the highest that I had ever gotten and did not normally get that high, but I was definitely not going to complain about them! The averages that I normally had gotten though were about 4 mpg less than the highest stated, which IMO, is great. I didn't necessarily drive them like a grandma to get them, but I was also not a race car driver either...
City driving was a different story though. I'd say an avg of anywhere between 20-30 mpg in town. Except with the Civic, record in town was 52 mpg!!! I was alone and did drive like a grandma, not just a grandma, but a great great grandma, ha ha (no offense to anyone please).
So no, not all vehicles are going to get what EPA says *PLEASE read the fine print under the LARGE EPA numbers. It does say depending upon many things and to expect a different number & will give you 2 other numbers on what to expect from real life driving experiences!!!*
18th Aug 2011, 14:57
I love my Prius!!!
It is funny the looks when passing ANY car with ease and quiet. Plus my mileage is AMAZING. I drive 60 miles return trip commute each day. I spend $20/week. I used to spend $15 and less before gas went up AGAIN. Comfortable/ safe/ wagon back for the dog (big rottie who loves it too).
I love how the car "turns off" in a traffic jam. The electric engine is so great! I just paid $4000 for a hybrid part to be replaced and thought "GEE!".
Said and done, I love it enough to keep it after that kick in the head, and feel the car is totally worth it. People who do not drive this car do not understand. Oh well. I do.
29th Dec 2009, 19:46
Well I guess your Prius is a 2002, so I went to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbsSelect and compared your car and my 1989 (not 1986, it's a 1989) Chevy Spirit and you know what?!?!? They put out the same amount of emissions, the same MPG, and the same carbon foot print!!! So tell me that you came out ahead??? That's right, I got my car for FREE and you probably paid 20 thousand for your Prius. My car is all brand new under the hood, for less than 2 thousand that I have put into it for the new motor and tranny.
So all you got is a shiny new car with some batteries.