<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Apr 6 2007, 05:06 AM) [snapback]418717[/snapback]</div>

Because it's still a minority of drivers who would buy this car. Most buyers still want faster more powerful cars. You have to build cars for the market.

That's not my point, my problem is that to get an extra 15% fuel economy over today's designs is so CHEAP, and has no drawbacks, why don't they do it even on the fast and more thirsty models?

They were able to cut air resistance by 10% with the ECO4 and Bluemotion with just two bits of plastic!

It costs nothing extra to add these improvements in mpgs to any car - why do they hold back?

Based on my recent very unhappy experiences with VW, you don't have to worry. The thing won't run long.

2007 white Prius, six days old

Before that:
2002 Jetta TDI (died untimely death 3/07 -- transmission went out)
1999 Passat GLS (died untimely death 12/06 -- blew a cylinder)
1987 Jetta (drove 12 years and 215,000 miles, then sold to a family member who drove it to 300,000 miles; it is probably still running and not burning a drop of oil)
1982? Diesel Rabbit (died after collision with highway patrolman travelling at a high rate of speed, no siren, around a blind curve; case went to state supreme court but we won. Best thing was no one was killed.)
197? Rabbit (ran fine as long as you didn't run the A/C, which ate alternators; it finally escaped into the woods)

is that 64 imperial if so it's only 53.2 mpg, US gallon
opps sorry didn't see it was converted to US

It's £540 more, not $5,000 (even though it's actually cheaper for VW to build it than the standard car!).

Here the Polo Bluemotion is going on sale for £12,000. By way of comparison to our prices, the Prius goes for between £17,700 and £20,700, depending on specification.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(formerVWdriver @ Apr 6 2007, 12:13 PM) [snapback]418856[/snapback]</div>

So what happened to VW between 1987 and 1999 to turn their cars into cr@p?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(formerVWdriver @ Apr 6 2007, 12:13 PM) [snapback]418856[/snapback]</div>

Based on your experience I would say VW's quality is a average. You had a 2002 that lasted 5 years and a replacement trans is bad but not usually a total loss. Then a second car that lasted 7-8 years before a car killing failure. I have known Honda owners that had to put in major repairs after 5 years.

Why is the Prius so bloody expensive in the UK and Canada? Particularly Canada. I don't understand the cause of the higher price in that case. In the case of the UK, the shipping costs would explain some of it, but not all.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Apr 6 2007, 08:38 AM) [snapback]418781[/snapback]</div>

Because higher gearing, especially on low horsepower applications, results in unacceptable acceleration, to the extent that freeway merging would be unsafe, due to lack of safety margins from being unable to sufficiently modulate speeds.

Btw, anyone know the stock vs modified gear ratios used in this example? I'm looking at this mod for my RX-8 which my Prius has garaged for all but track days and long trips. I'm thinking that going from the stock 4.88 final drive to something like 4.11 or even 3.57 would yield both better mileage (like the 24mpg on my previous higher final drive RX-7s as opposed to my current 19 MPG), plus would give me access to 2nd gear at the track (e.g., turn 1 at Buttonwillow, CA, that is now a 3rd gear corner). TIA

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Apr 6 2007, 08:06 AM) [snapback]418717[/snapback]</div>

The first thing that happens to me? Chop my legs off so I can get inside. At 6'-5" - 225 lbs big folks don't fit inside. Many manufacturers can make micro cars with high mileage. The trick is to make it high mileage AND roomy (and not a piece of cr@p).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Apr 7 2007, 05:55 AM) [snapback]419334[/snapback]</div>

The Polo is a fine car, but Hill is relatively correct. Polos are teenie weenie ... not bad in the front, but the rear seats are useless, and there isn't much cargo room. Think Plymouth Champ (or Chump, depending on your take on the marvel of engineering).

So, this Polo will give you the same performance (i.e., 0-60 times), the same mileage (i.e., around 52 MPG), and cost more than a Prius? That and it's a VW, so an oil change will be $70, a timing belt change will be $900.00, and need new rear brake pads and rotors every 23,000?

I'll stick with the Prius, thanks ... and I LOVE my VW's.

im sure by changing my 4th gear on my scion xa i would be getting 40-50 mpg.

look at the corvette for instance 28 mpg highway, well its becuase of how the gear ratios are and Computer Aided Gear Selection (CAGS)...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(snowdog650 @ Apr 7 2007, 01:16 PM) [snapback]419405[/snapback]</div>

The Polo gets 64 mpg US (76 mpg UK) on the combined cycle. The highway figure (we call it "extra urban) for the Polo is 89 mpg UK, which translates to 74 mpg (US).

I agree that it's a small car, but the Astra ECO4 we had here a while ago got similar performance/economy figures using exactly the same tricks but it was a decent (ie Prius) size! Sadly it got pulled from the market despite good sales.

Any guesses for who built and then stopped the ECO4? GM!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clett @ Apr 6 2007, 02:06 PM) [snapback]418717[/snapback]</div>

According to Volkswagen, there were a little more changes than that:
- Lowered by 15mm
- "Internal changes" to the engine (no details provided)
- Special fuel-saving tires

But nevertheless, it's frustrating indeed to see what can happen only if the industry is pushed a little bit. I traded a 2006 Volvo XC70 D5 for a 2007 model (my dealer made a mistake with the delivery). The new D5 diesel engine had a particle filter, with particle exhaust down by 95%, NOx exhaust down by 60%, performance up from 163hp to 185hp, all for exactly the same price!