If the price of gas goes up enough were you have to be rich to afford to drive an Impala than the US will go into a DEEP DEPRESSION. Stamps will go up to $2, food will quadruple in price, inflation will run crazy pushing interest rates up into the mid 20% range, etc.....

Those that want big SUVs will just buy Diesel H2s and Suburbans and get the $800 conversion kit so they can burn $2 a gallon vegatable oil while the working poor have to quit their jobs because the can afford gas for their 15 year old Dodge Caravan to get to work, it will be cheaper for them to stay home and collect welfare.

 

Increasing gas taxes would be even less palatable politically than increasing CAFE and applying it to daily-use non-work trucks and SUVs. We're already paying quite enough in taxes, anyway!

Increased CAFE, applied to all non-work vehicles is the only way that makes sense to me.

Side benefit: lighter-weight performance cars! I remember the 1600 lb. Lotus Elise (then unavailable here) had the highest observed fuel economy in the back of Road & Track for YEARS, until it was rotated off their performance summary page. Wouldn't take the automakers too long to figure out light weight=> better fuel economy.

 

They've known this for eons. People don't want lighter cars, when they have inattentive retards in 6000lb SUVs and blue hairs in Crown Vics sharing the road.
This won't really help until they deal with the aerodynamics and frontal area aspect of trucks. Right now, with trucks and SUVs, road horsepower dominates the equation over internal engine friction, unlike in, say, the Corvette, where the reverse is true.

 

6 speed transmissions should help get another 2-3 mpg, SUVs/trucks could really use some better gearing at around 70mph.

Your right about the areodynamics, the V6 Escape is the same weight as a V8 Camaro but gets worse milage. Jeeps are light too and even with a 4 cyl and 5 speed they have a hard time getting over 21mpg in the hwy

 

Whoever gets the light duty diesel into the Tahoe or the Expedition first is going to win BIG TIME.

It's time for diesels in the half tons and consumer SUVs.

Geez I'd kill for a TD in either a Tahoe or Expy.

 

Jeep Liberty is coming out with a Diesel this fall.

 

Yeah, I'm not talking little 4 banger euro-diesels. I'm talking smaller V8 or V6 Duramax's amd Powerstrokes. These diesels in the HD trucks are insane. Bone stock a 7500lb F250 6.0 runs a mid 15 and gets 19mpg. With a chip and exhaust, they are running high 13s and still get 19mpg and can still pull a house out of the ground. Same with the Chevy 2500 Duramax.

Now picture 350hp 500lb-ft in a 5000lb Tahoe or Expedition. You're talking 21-22mpg, high 14s and towing that'll put the gas V8s to shame. Then you put the chip in.

 

There are no more "chips" anymore really, at least not for GM cars and trucks. Welcome to OBDII....hell, OBDIII is on its way in!

 

Yeah, the word "chip" is just a general term now to describe any alteration to the stock engine controller, whether it be reflashing, external tuner box, stand alone fuel system, etc.

OBDII doesn't seem to have slowed down anyone. Especialy the TD crowd. They predominantly use external tuner boxes that modify engine controller signals without touching the stock programming. And like I said, the new F250 6.0 is like the Cobra of HD trucks. For about $1K you can drop a 7500lb truck into the mid 13's.

Consider the number of half ton trucks and consumer SUVs on the road compared to the HD stuff. The market is wide open. Who would turn down a 14sec 22mpg Expedition or Tahoe that could out tow the big block gas engine?

 

Actually, the new Toyota HSD system generates 295 lbs-ft torque at 0 - 1,200 RPM and it just declines from there... Add that to the actual engines torque and you have a pretty torquey little car... Its the HP that these things lack (but thats about to change with hybrid sports cars), the low end torque is right there with V8 cars.

 

The Prius electric engine has a lot of torque, but it dies off real fast. At 1200 RPM the electric engine shuts off and the 76HP gas engine kicks in and peaks out with 82tq @ 4200 RPM.

The Liberty Diesel has 295 lb-ft @ 1800 rpm and will have a much much better torque curve with power at all RPMs while still delivering 40mpg. The Prius torque curve looks like the letter "L".

I'd rather have a Diesel, fuel is cheaper and they run for 500,000mi. Chevy needs to make a 3.0L Diesel Colorado I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

 

If the aftermarket decides to support the Liberty diesel, maybe we'll have some 13 flat 40mpg Jeeps blowing people's minds.

 

With emissions that would make a Semi blush