Top Gear
 

Just saw the episode about the Honda Clarity four door ECX which is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Range 275 miles and it developes 139 horsepower.0 to 60 in 9 seconds.
Cool as hell for an ugly rice burner.;)

Is this the UK version of TG?

I can't hardly stomach the US version of TG....

Yep...

Will it cross the scales at 18,000 GVW?

If it doesn't, I have no use for it.

Chas

I think the 1H fueled car is far from green BTW!

http://www.greenfuelonline.com/hydrogen


Barney

I subscribe to 2 Brit car magazines-"Top Gear", & "Car". As usual, we here in the USA are being made do w/2nd class technology...In Yoorup, on almost all of their cars, a petrol version, a diesel version, & in an increasing number of models, a Hybrid model is offered..On their Diesel versions, the performance differential is usually near as makes no difference, they're almost always turbodiesels, & they are getting extraordinary high mileages...And I think the EU pollution regulations are as stringent as ours are, maybe even tougher in some regards. Why WE can't have these cars is a mystery to me..

I just watched Gas Land II IIRC and it was stated solar and wind alone if given the opportunity could supply enough energy to supply the world many times current demand.



Barney

I've never understood this either. I'm guessing there is a lobbyist and a paid off bureaucrat in the woodpile somewhere.

Chas

My guess is they don't meet the safety standards of the U.S. market.

The delay in the introduction of advanced diesel technology to the US has nothing to do with safety standards. It has to do with the mistaken American belief that diesels are still smoky, loud and slow as well as the relative cheapness of American motor fuels. The first belief with regard to diesels is an outgrowth of the American auto industry's failed attempts to introduce lousy diesel engines in cars to the American public a few decades back.

Chev has a clean turbo diesel in the new Cruze.

I didn't know that.

Of course, I haven't set foot on a car lot for almost 8 years.

Chas

The low octane sippers are coming. Almost every brand has a few they want to bring to the US. Saw a jeep liberty the other day with its diesel badge on the back. Hello 60-80mpg.

Yep, a diesel developed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and first used in the Opel Astra.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t-drive-review

I think the reason the car shows from Europe tend to be better is, they are far, far more car crazy over there. I saw weekly car newspapers in England!

It's live axle syndrome :) I've still got it.

I think if we doubled the price of gas and added a heap more taxes on new, heaps? we'd see different cars.

Pete

Just for the summer driving months. ;)

And this is different then what has happened in the last decade how?

I was comparing us to the EU ;)

http://goeurope.about.com/gi/o.htm?z...inewithtax.cfm

I did a little looking and the base price of a 2012 Focus wagon in the UK was 17,095 Pounds, while the 2012 wagon here was $17,400. At the rough average exchange rate on 2012, about $1.57, that would put the UK base at $26,800+. Even the base model could be equipped differently, but that's a lotta cash for a Focus.

Pete

Are yew tellin' me that FoMoCo is gougin' them Limies???

Chas

If you want people to conserve fuel, (or anything else, for that matter), the only way to get them to take it seriously is to make it prohibitively expensive. You can talk all day long and no one will listen. (I'm the prime example of that.:rolleyes:)

Hit them in the wallet and you have everyones attention.

Dave

No. He's not.

Dave

In the UK there is also a tax on car purchase that depends on engine displacement. I once had a Ford Anglia that was 999cc just to keep it under the 1.00 litre tax bracket.

Rob, that is one small car engine!

The blued one is correct :D I wish Ford was scalpin' those limeys (just kidding comb :)) but it's their government collecting the hair.

Pete

Say it ain't so, Joe!!!

An alla this time I thunk the Queen wuz just sum sweet little ol' green hared vidder women a helpin' them subjucts a hers.

Chas

The funniest thing about that engine was the 3-1/8" bore and 1-1/8" stroke. All valves individually ported. Developed 40 HP as shipped, put on dual Weber carbs and a Stebro exhaust system and she went to 60HP.