What is Digg?93 Comments
- ineptsavant, on 03/20/2008, -0/+10it's a shame the mini cooper doesn't make these lists more often. They start at like 18k US dollars, and I get around 40mpg in mine(35 if it's Denver at rushhour). On another note I wish more diesel cars would come to the US. The mini diesel version gets like 70mpg. I'd love to have a mini diesel.
- inactive, on 03/20/2008, -9/+19Once again great diesel cars the ecoterrorists in this country don't want ius to have
- protodon, on 03/20/2008, -1/+10"Top 10 cheap eco-friendly cars... for the European market"
- thegreatgazoo, on 03/20/2008, -1/+6As soon as we get nice small cars that aren't just as expensive as bigger cars, Americans will buy them.
A Honda Accord starts about $20K, a Honda Element starts about 19K, a Ford Fusion starts about 18k.
Why would I want a 20K smart car? The gas mileage isn't THAT drastically different. - cleonm, on 03/20/2008, -1/+6Top 10 Cheap eco-friendly cars, eh? Anyone care to do the currency conversion on those cars? I'm guestimating most of them are over $30k.
- triskele, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Conversions courtesy of XE and my boredom.
1. $21805
2. $23777
3. $32311
4. $25772
5. $25772
6. $31323
7. $33900
8. $25970
9. $27556
10. $20810 - staplez, on 03/20/2008, -1/+5Why in gods name would the oil companies care which kind of oil they sell you? The money all goes back into their pockets. If you follow the history of diesel, it's cheaper to produce and gives them higher profits. It actually is the environmentalists who banned diesel back in the day. It's just back then no one cared and the environmentalists showed that diesel released more particles. This lead to the ultimate ban of diesel. This is similar to nuclear power bans. Which ironically, had we gone towards nuclear power instead of burning coal again our environment would have been better off. There's a long history of environmentalists doing the worst possible thing for the environment.
- bumcheekcity, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4Speaking as a self-confessed eco-terrorist, we DO want you to have these cars, you blithering idiot. High-mpg low-emission diesel cars are WAY UP HIGH in our good books.
- protodon, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3I also have a mini and it gets around 40 mpg as well. i would definitely trade it in for a mini diesel... or just keep both.
- Branyers, on 03/20/2008, -5/+8As soon as Americans stop equating the size of the car and the engine with the wang, the sooner we'll get more cars like these.
- dsmx, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3All those cars have 17.5% VAT added.
- craigp, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3I'm absolutely appalled by this article. I live in the UK, and I've just spend £50 (about $100) on a tank of petrol for my tiny 1.1L ~50mpg car for the first time. Petrol prices in the UK have gotten stupid and it's squeezing people tighter and tighter financially.
The reason I'm so pissed off is that there are absolutely no alternatives to petrol cars here in the UK. I know because I've just gone through the process of researching the alternatives. I want a pure plug in electric or plugin hybrid, and all you can get in the UK are cars that have some pretty major flaws. This site has a pretty good list:
http://www.greencarsite.co.uk/electric-vehicles-ca ...
The range is acceptable for me (~60 miles per charge), but the maintenance required is shocking. Some you have to take in for a £300 service every three months, some you have to keep the battery fluid topped up every week...
It is absolutely astounding to me that we're so advanced as a race in so many areas of technology, but we can't take a normal small town car and successfully replace the combustion engine in it with an electric engine. Surely with all the design resources at the disposal of the car manufacturers, they could have come up with something more exciting by now.
And that's why I'm pissed off by this article: it completely missed the point that we should be moving completely away from petrol, not trying to cling on to it for dear life. - domokunt, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3It's a shame Darling only introduced the tax as a sham to help pay for Northern Rock, only good intention here, yeah right.
- triskele, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3But Honda Civic is the #2 most stolen car in the US, and I'm pretty sure a Mini is more fun to drive than a Civic.
- Branyers, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4Which is perfect for a morning commute. And you can probably park two of these in the same space that one SUV takes up.
- moletimer, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4Smart cars are so cool, but they can only carry a couple of passengers I think : (
- saikyan, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3There is no such thing as a truly green car. There's Really Bad, Bad and Less Bad.
In fact, the greenest way to own a car is not to buy a hybrid / bio-diesel / whatever, it's to buy something USED. Reusing what already exists is the best energy (and money) saver. - trenchfever, on 03/20/2008, -1/+4where's the Tata Nano? The cheapest one of them all?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Nano - tikitechi, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3Exactly, it comes down to price per mile, doesnt matter what the cost is per gallon
- enri, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3Here's what the world might look like without "ecoterrorists":
"A World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that diseases triggered by indoor and outdoor air pollution kill 656,000 Chinese citizens each year, and polluted drinking water kills another 95,600."
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/07 ... - theonlymerry, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3$4 a gallon! So about £2 then (of course they are US gallons). We pay £5 ($10) for an imperial gallon here, now does anyone want to do the maths and convert that to US gallons.
It does make me laugh when Americans complain about petrol prices - bearda, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3There's a reason they call it the For-Two.
I work down the street from a dealer that sells Smart cars, so we see them a fair amount as people test drive them. My wife loves 'em, but they REALLY are tiny and the price isn't that much better than a Toyota Yaris. - thanakar, on 03/20/2008, -2/+5Maybe they get 50MPG in Europe but you fail to realize that to sell those cars in the states the car must be reworkd to meet US specs and many times this reduces the gas mileage they get here. So please, get all your facts in line before you start calling Americans stupid.
- z28com, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3Why don't they bring back the Geo Metro? I would LOVE to have a brand new $7,000-8,000 car that gets 50 MPG with today's gas prices. Those cars ran great. No expensive diesel BS. Why do car makers always stop making economical cars in the US right when we need them?!?!?
- evilregis, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3Depends which year you are buying. A 2008 model is gas-only. Now they're stuck with around 5.5L/100km (43 US MPG) combined. 2008 Yaris is rated 7.6L/100km (31 US MPG) combined. Still 2L/100km better.
Prior to 2008, they were diesel. I own a 2006 model and I can get 3.5L/100km (67 US MPG) pretty easily. If I really try I can push 3L/100km (78 US MPG). - Slapo, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3Why not? It's a city car, not a racing car nor one for long drives.
There are lots of people who use their cars mostly to drive to work, etc. - apox24, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3In Britain, these are cheap! Remember the weak dollar at the moment, plus of course VAT at 17.5%...of course buying new isn't such a great idea...
- thegreatgazoo, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I drive a Honda Insight. On some internet forums there was a thread about a guy in Massachusetts who had problems getting the car to pass a measured emissions check because the tailpipe sensor kept reading '0' for everything unless the engine was running over 3000 RPM.
They aren't made anymore, but are probably the most eco friendly ever available in the US. - AndreiOttawa, on 03/20/2008, -2/+4As cleonm pointed out, those cars are not cheap. The cheapest ones are over $22,000 (with current exchange rate). The more expensive ones are over $32,000. They advertise a new Volkswagen Golf in Canada for about $15,000 now.
- apeweek, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Beat this car: 72mpg, costs just $5495
http://www.wildfiremotors.com/mall/NEW%20truck%20a ... - rockefeller2, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3The mpg aren't much better than a Yaris either.
- 0xbaadf00d, on 03/20/2008, -2/+4Probably not included because it's hardly a real car. Max speed 56 mph?
- GoatMonkey2112, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Nice Tatas.
- tikitechi, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2You mean if they strip out the diesel engine and put in a gasser?
- hcharger, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2 I remember the 50's very well when cars were the in thing with style, power and pride of ownership with tanks that got about 8 miles to the gallon. The car manufacturers eagerly sold you one, the oil companies made sure you had an ample supply of good old leaded fuel to run them.
The 60's was another era of boom for the auto sector bringing out even more powerful vehicles, beautiful styling and of course plenty of fuel which for some strange reason began increasing in price despite no disturbances in economic growth.
Ah yes, the 70's and the beginning of the transitional years where the Arab's over in the OPEC nations finally quit humping their camels and realized that gasoline has turned into an essential commodity over in gas guzzling North America, and jacking up the price with minimum excuses creates enough riches that all these jockies could now afford their own Harlots.
Still the auto sectors were puken out those large cars, the pride of America with still bigger engines. But they did bring out unleaded fuel which was a tad cheaper to refine than leaded, or should I say bluntly, a hell of a lot cheaper. The oil companies thought, hey, giving less makes more, (money that is)! Despite the fake fuel shortages and long wait lines for fuel, the oil companies caught on to the Arab's anicent philosphy of "make it compulsary and they'll pay!"
The auto manufacturer's didn't get on the econo bandwagon as well as the Japs did in the late 70's and into the 80's, but as Detroit would say, "if it says Chevrolet, people will buy it...regardless. After the Japs finally learned quality control (while we lowered ours), along with decent pricing Detroit ate their words...literally. Still, the oil companies were pumpen the gas to us.
Now the 90's and the 2000's were the approachable green years when we finally realized we're polluting our atmosphere at an alarming rate and still guzzling the fuel with the ever popular SUV's of which the auto companies just couldn't get into your hands fast enough. I mean after-all, they knew that this green environmental business was coming, so lets build some hogs to make some good profits and deregulate the fools for using them later. And folks, that's exactly what they did, suck the whole car buying public into buying the guzzlers and penalize them when they use them.
But to show their hearts are as cold as ice, the manufacturers will sell you one of their dispossable plastic econo boxes, for a slightly higher price, (environmental concerns of course) and the oil companies with their now mega priced fuel adopted by the modern day philosphy, "they, (the consuming public) will squack about the monthly increases for a couple of days, then they'll fill up their tanks and go back to work!"
But you...you ungrateful bastards who drive those gas guzzling SUV's we sold you in the first place, will now pay for having no environmental insight, ha ha ha, (laughing hysterically like a madman).
And the oil companies will supply you with their almost endless qaunity of gasoline with prices equivalent to filling a 65 Lincoln Towncar have just noticed the rapidly rising price of wheat and flour. My goodness, things are just getting out of hand in this consuming old world, (snicker)! - thanakar, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I wonder what the gas mileage for these cars would be after they were all converted to US specs.
- markashtonb, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I like the way that both the author of this piece and the Govt use the term "Gas Guzzling" to conjure images of unnecessarily large or fast cars. Band G also contains many high occupancy family cars such as a 2.3 Ltr Ford Galaxy, Renault Espace 2.0 etc... Is it fair to penalize large families who want to travel together in a single vehicle?
- Aidanjalali, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I'm not sure why, but nobody likes Smart cars over in England. Hell, you can park them sideways, that's enough reason to buy them!
- triskele, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2/Fixed
- thanakar, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2No, if they could be fitted with an DIESEL engine that actually met US emission standards. The European emission standards for diesel are not as stringent as the US standards. Hopefully we'll start seeing some of these cars and diesel engines with the introduction of ultra low sulfur diesel fuels in the US.
- tikitechi, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Unfortunatly :(
- triskele, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Read the blurb above the list. It's mentioned, but the price they list is 20,000GBP while the most expensive on the list is 17,100GBP. The ~3k difference is the reason it's not on the list.
- thanakar, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Your 2003 Diesel Golf was built for the US market not the European market. If it was the European Golf it would be called a Rabbit. I drove a Rabbit for many years while stationed in Holland. It depends on the car and many of the cars on this list are European only cars.
- Branyers, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3If you are that obsessed about your image while commuting, then I'd say you have deeper issues. Go see a shrink.
- feliks2, on 03/20/2008, -3/+5Would you prefer a monstrous american ugly-mobile?
- fix8ed, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I guess my comment came off wrong. What I meant was, if these were all we had to choose from (or cars very similar to these) then it would be a sad day, at least for auto enthusiasts that see their car as more than just a method to get from point A to point B.
If the auto makers can make these cars look and perform better (and by better I mean 0-60 in less than 5 seconds) and price them less than $40k, then I'll be the first in line to get my hands on one. - bdbElysian, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1awesome! look at all the diesels!
- macnerd, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I have the supercharged Mini and I only get 23 mpg in town but on the road I do about 29. The turbos are a lot better with mpg. I would also get a diesel Mini if they brought them over to the states.
- teeker95, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I think you missed his point about the Golf. His US model Golf TDI gets virtually the same mileage as the same model in Europe (Rabbit TDI). He's pointing out that when you take a Euro model of a car and sell it in the US, it doesn't always require "reworking" that ruins it's mileage. Modern crash safety and emissions specs are pretty similar these days between Europe and the US...there are differences obviously, but none that reduce fuel mileage enough to erase the advantages diesel gives you in that regard. Diesels in the US (which are unfortunately rare) still get 10-30% better mileage than their gasoline counterparts, JUST LIKE in Europe. There is no "reworking" involved that ruins their economy when sold in the US.
- fix8ed, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1Fel, hate to call you out but that statement is just flat out wrong. Show me an import that, stock for stock, outperforms a Z06 in the same price category. Show me another import that beats the SRT8, stock for stock, in the same price category. If you're as much of an enthusiast as you say you are, you should know better.
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