Comments on: Ford shows off 76 mpg Fiesta

Ford launched the Fiesta Econetic, which gets 76 mpg with its diesel engine, at the British auto show.

[zahmbee]

OH my my my. Ford is doing something cool. I work at one of the other Detroit automakers and we're in deep trouble. We need to make a car like that.

[RyleeROBERTS]

I have read this many times at Ford News. I love this diesel-electric combination in a hybrid.The aesthetics look great. This is usually the first thing that people complain about with high mileage cars. I would certainly buy this if I were in the market for a new car.

[kanehi]

As any high-tech inventions the price would be on the expen$ive side which a lot of people cannot afford at these economic times. Might look nice on paper and reviews but the bottom line is will it be affordable?

[BioBeetle]

Great idea, failed execution! Here you have a proven 76mpg diesel but you won't sell it here in the US and you wonder why the US manufacturers are losing!

Look at the 2009 VW Jetta TDI there selling like hot cakes and it's expected that VW will sell every single one of them! I have a 98 New Beetle TDI (diesel) and I get 50mpg combined city and highway driving.

I feel sorry for the employees of GM, Ford, and Chrysler that they have to suffer for the lack of vision and leadership. If they fold they deserve it and I don't want any taxpayer dollars bailing them out!

BioBeetle

[bkhw77]

This is not GM, Ford, and Chrysler lack of vision and leadership. Diesel cars are banned by EPA in this country. Our emission standards up to 40 times more restricted then EU. The reason:
more gas we spend - the taxes we pay...

[kockgunner]

haha exactly biobeetle. "wow, we have a car with 100 MPG but we're not going to release it in the US because we think there is no market for it." when will these numbskulls wake up and realise that environmentally friendly cars are on the rise and big cars are on their downfall? even if they do release it, it'll be 5 years after europe gets it. no wonder the american auto market is so behind. why are all these american car manufacturers going to do something for america?

[labazzo]

This is why I will not be buying American cars any more. tried to be loyal but Toyota has a 48mpg car that will likely be my next car. American auto makers are all hot air. They show off in other countries but fail to bring it home. They wonder why no one wants there cars any more. They are against our own country.

[joshdeboer]

Who is Ford? Three of my last four cars have been Honda.

[bigmc6000]

Well that's nice and all but, umm, I hate to point this out but it still runs on gas... My next vehicle is going to be electric - I'm not going to buy another gasoline/diesel. So - GM/Ford - get to working on it or I will be forced to buy the sedan/light SUV that Tesla is working on right now...

[jharrisofkansas]

Why would you buy an all electric car? They pollute more per mile driven than gasoline powered cars.Unless you know for a fact each time you plug it in there is a hydroelectric power plant at the other end to supply power to your car.

[acdr92]

guess where electricity comes from, thats right, from coal and oil powered plants.

[ltfred]

Your ignorance is sickening from this armchair qb comment section. The emission standards on diesel's in the US are completely different and thus hurting a lof of the benefit vs. the cost. Generalizations like yours further prove your ignorance.

[BioBeetle]

The ignorance comes for the the lack of knowledge in that diesel can be manufactured from various forms of crops that make vegetable oil. New research is showing that biodiesel can be extracted from various strains of algae. The algae extracts carbon and creates biodiesel. When burning biodiesel it is far less polluting that diesel made from crude oil. VW is meeting the standards as set by the EPA for new diesel emissions. So much so that they even meet CA standards, the toughest in the country.

By the way I take used vegetable oil and make my own biodiesel (B100) that fuels my car at around 70 cents a gallon. B100, and it's process if far less polluting and requires less energy to make than the boondoggle E85.

I'm not going to post any studies here as they are easy to find with a Google search. At least while I sit in my armchair I am intelligent enough to use technology to find facts and answers to educate myself before I open my mouth.

BioBeetle

[BioBeetle]

Ok there is one URL I will point you from the RAND Corporation study comparing diesel, hybrid, and gas. Guess who came out on top across the board?!

http://www.rand.org/news/press/2007/11/08/index1.html

Please educate yourself!

BioBeetle

[Benf]

Remember, the electricty usec to charge that "Electric" car" probably comes from a "oil Fired Power Plant", alternate fuel and electric cars are so expensive that the average american cant afford em so only the above average wage earner can afford to buy one, if the vast majority cant afford these ecologicaly friendly cars then where's the enviromental benefit?

[jnkyd]

I think you answered your own question. When a "vast majority" of people cannot afford to drive, there are huge environmental benefits.

[Stevhov1]

by ltfred - "Generalizations like yours further prove your ignorance."


Says the man who is making a general statement about an entire thread of comments. :)

[texasags]

Is that 76 miles per U.S. gallon? Remember, the gallon in Europe is larger than ours (1 Imperial gallon = 1.2 U.S. gallons). Either way, it's impressive.

[ktwbc]

It's UK gallons. Technically this car uses 3.7L/100km (that's 3.7 litres of gas per 100 kilometers driven), which in US Gallons is 63.57mpg

[dcomputer9]

I wish I could get a job with Ford to show them how they are going down hill. The diesel may also not be a great idea since fuel costs in the USA for diesel are higher than Super gasoline. I would not buy a US auto in the next 10 years and this is why Ford and GM are going to hit the bottom while foreign auto makers will keep hitting high. I think that the technology is there but using it is taking them 9 years.

[BioBeetle]

The problem is that the US auto makers have invested so heavily in SUV's and trucks that making the switch is going to cost them. But yet they sell the same models in Europe with diesel options that get better fuel economy.

For example, we have a 05 Dodge Grand Caravan as our family hauler. It gets 26mpg highway and maybe 20mpg city. But yet the same model is sold in Europe with a diesel option that gets nearly 40mpg! Had I had the option of getting the diesel I would have.

No for those of you that only see the price per gallon between gas and diesel your missing the whole picture. My real world example:

02 Dodge Neon 32mpg (highway) x 10 gallons = 320 miles per tank. Multiple that 10 gallons by $4 = $40

98 TDI Beetle 50mpg (highway) x 10 gallons = 500 miles on 10 gallons. Multiple that by $4.69 = $46.90

In order for the Neon to get the same mileage would cost me another $48! (500-320= 180/10 = 8 gallons x $4 =$48) Yearly savings, for me, $2,496.

BioBeetle

[THEDOVEY]

BIODEETLE,

I THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO DIVIDE THE 180 MILES BY 32 MPG TO GET THE SAVINGS.


BIGTOM

[hey_frind]

Small correction Biobeetle, your cost for neon to get the same mileage as the beetle, it costs $22.5 instead of 48! (180/32 = 5.65gal, required for 180 miles and 5.625 X $4 = 22.5) ofcouse it'd result in a savings of $811 instead of $2496. - Just to ease you up...may be you are not loosing that much money as expected.

[bricar2]

That's a great idea to have a car with such a high MPG. Say you're a car manufacturer and you have that one in your fleet. You could meet the looming 35 MPG CAFE standards and still sell the other cars everybody really wants to be seen driving. Maybe these tiny-wheeled cars will save sports cars after all? One can only hope.

[brianbot5000]

Another great car that Ford won't sell here. Why are we stuck with the gas-only version? Clean diesel technology has come far enough so that most car companies can make diesel versions that WILL pass US emissions standards.

Ford, you're making great cars, you're just not selling them in the US. Until then, F off.

[rrod182]

Can you say gimmick. Ford is weak. Diesel gets 8 - 20% better fuel economy anyway. It costs more, despite basically being industrial waste. On top of that its a manual transmission? Can't a computer automagically **** more accurately than I?

BTW RAND is pwned by Big Oil and Weapons lobbyists.

[submariner88]

blah blah blah, the technology is already there, let's start making these vehicles already

[jabailo]

Does it use Start-Stop technology? (No idling).