Large american vehicles

monkeysnapper

I was in states for past week , my first time there ...

I was a bit shocked at the sheer size of the vehicles over there.. My sisters boyfriend and by looks of it tons more have these huge gas guzzling 4x4 trucks ... I saw his was getting 13.8MPG ( he told me he uses it for putting his cycles in it) .... and my sisters 7 seater people carrier was getting 23MPG doing motorway driving ..( she has 2 dogs) ..i was a bit shocked.

So I was having a conversation about this and said I was getting around 48 MPG out of my estate car and they seemed very suprised but stated nobody really cares over there .. fuels cheap ....
In america big is always better.....

the_pen_turner

our gallons are bigger

Eric Cartman

A lot of them are class though, Wish we had the escalade or GMC Yukon over here. The F150 now comes in a 3 litre diesel for fuel saving too.

ltdslipdiff

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I was in states for past week , my first time there ...

I was a bit shocked at the sheer size of the vehicles over there.. My sisters boyfriend and by looks of it tons more have these huge gas guzzling 4x4 trucks ... I saw his was getting 13.8MPG ( he told me he uses it for putting his cycles in it) .... and my sisters 7 seater people carrier was getting 23MPG doing motorway driving ..( she has 2 dogs) ..i was a bit shocked.

So I was having a conversation about this and said I was getting around 48 MPG out of my estate car and they seemed very suprised but stated nobody really cares over there .. fuels cheap ....
In america big is always better.....

An American gallon is only 3.8 litres so not quite our 4.55 litres.....

Also, they use a much lower RON petrol so don't get the same power that we do from fuel hence the massive engine capacities with modest outputs....

Atlantic Dawn

Air much cleaner there too, very little diesel private cars, almost none.

Harry Palmr

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Air much cleaner there too, very little diesel private cars, almost none.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Smog_Check_Program#California's_history_with_smog

astrofool

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

An American gallon is only 3.8 litres so not quite our 4.55 litres.....

Also, they use a much lower RON petrol so don't get the same power that we do from fuel hence the massive engine capacities with modest outputs....

They measure RON differently as well, it's basically the same.

Driving in America is like navigating a boat, all cars are big and wide with big lazy engines.

They do get some things right, like turning right when possible and overtaking from either side (having 5+ lane highways makes this a must)

Voodoomelon

I'm a big car fan, but America really is obscene when it comes to vehicles, as much as I like to visit. As Sean Lock said "I use to recycle, but then I went to America and I thought, what's the f*****g point.

Regulations on this side of the water are getting ever more restrictive in trying to meet emissions targets, yet we might as well be p1ssing in the wind by comparison to the USA.

bazz26

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Air much cleaner there too, very little diesel private cars, almost none.

You should take a trip to LA then or better still go over the border to Mexico City, plenty of dirty air there even though most vehicles there are petrol.

Larbre34

The first step in reducing dependence on fossil fuels MUST be the reduction in waste by American made ICEs. Ford and GM of Australia already set the ball rolling. If diesel is to be phased out for passenger vehicles, so too must inefficient slushomatic petrols in favour of mild-brids, twin charged and the like. This is the phase out step needed to high capacity electrics and next gen hydrogen fuel cells.

All very well to think that a US model would be a joy here, and maybe some of them would like the RAM 1500 as a work bus, but I use the example of my brother in laws motor, a 2019 Ford Expedition XL in 2 wheel drive using the supposed great saviour of US engines, the 3.5 V6 EcoBoost. Its an utter bag of shyte to drive, in build quality and it does less than 20 mpg, imperial, not US. Thats just not acceptable as a standard.

ted1

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I was in states for past week , my first time there ...

I was a bit shocked at the sheer size of the vehicles over there.. My sisters boyfriend and by looks of it tons more have these huge gas guzzling 4x4 trucks ... I saw his was getting 13.8MPG ( he told me he uses it for putting his cycles in it) .... and my sisters 7 seater people carrier was getting 23MPG doing motorway driving ..( she has 2 dogs) ..i was a bit shocked.

So I was having a conversation about this and said I was getting around 48 MPG out of my estate car and they seemed very suprised but stated nobody really cares over there .. fuels cheap ....
In america big is always better.....

Us gallon is only 3.7 v Normal gallon of 4.4

Do your getting 40 MOG in their language. Also petrols cheap, so cheap they don’t bother tuning engines.
There 4.4 litre has the sane output as a 2l tuned in Europe

NSAman

You forget... the shop can be 10 miles away for many people.

I agree that American cars by and large are ****e. Some, however, like the Ram 1500 is a work horse for most people and last years.

The prevalence of large engine cars is due to the fact “they can”. Smaller engines have been tried here and are not popular. Smaller cars are not popular at all. Imagine driving a VW Polo here on the highway.... beside you is a 7 foot F150.. intimidation would ensue.

Gas is getting more expensive here. Over three bucks a gallon (4+ in CA an other states) and people are seeing that large engines are not efficient.

the other thing is.. it’s FUN to drive a top range car ... something Irish people rarely get a chance to do.

They enjoy life because they aren’t taken in as much by the “climate change” money spinner. Some of the trucks over there are class and great to cruise around in.

LIGHTNING

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Money spinner :rolleyes:

Yeah. In every facet of our lives it’s an excuse to do and dip and dip into our wage packets. It’s already forcing a lot of people to drive around in glorified kitchen appliances (which is a complete con as far as pollution goes anyway) as opposed to enjoying something like a big 4x4 wagons they have in the states.

endacl

Still waiting on the RHD Canyonero.

mikeecho

Those big pickups and 4x4's aren't classed as cars.
They are categorised as light trucks.
That way they can side step the emissions regulations for passenger cars.

Del2005

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I was in states for past week , my first time there ...

I was a bit shocked at the sheer size of the vehicles over there.. My sisters boyfriend and by looks of it tons more have these huge gas guzzling 4x4 trucks ... I saw his was getting 13.8MPG ( he told me he uses it for putting his cycles in it) .... and my sisters 7 seater people carrier was getting 23MPG doing motorway driving ..( she has 2 dogs) ..i was a bit shocked.

So I was having a conversation about this and said I was getting around 48 MPG out of my estate car and they seemed very suprised but stated nobody really cares over there .. fuels cheap ....
In america big is always better.....

The ironic thing is that this is the direct result of the EPA trying to reduce fuel consumption in the USA. But like the diesel mistake that Europe made it made the fuel consumption increase because they exempted >3.5t vehicles so the Yanks started buying trucks and the rest is history.

I wonder what the feck up from the push to EV will be?

mikeecho

Del2005 wrote: »

The ironic thing is that this is the direct result of the EPA trying to reduce fuel consumption in the USA. But like the diesel mistake that Europe made it made the fuel consumption increase because they exempted >3.5t vehicles so the Yanks started buying trucks and the rest is history.

I wonder what the feck up from the push to EV will be?

The feic up will be from how all the electrical power is being created.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/25/are-electric-vehicles-really-so-climate-friendly

I'm not bashing EVs, but it's something that shouldn't be ignored.

Nox was know about back in 2008, when there was a big push on diesels.. but wasn't heeded.

Give it another 10yrs when a lot of people have transitioned to EV, and they'll have to be heavily taxed due to the environmental impact their EV has be it from the manufactor of batteries, or the creation of electricity. (Let's not even start on brake dust, that'll be an extra environmental tax on brake pads)

TrailerBob

To be fair, although there are still a lot of big trucks and SUVs in the states, more moderate cars are very popular and have been for a while. The Toyota Camry was the best selling car in America for several years running a while back. My sister in law works for Toyota in Dallas, and you'd think Texas would be truck territory, but the mid size passenger cars are huge sellers

MadYaker

Most of them are rubbish build quality and sh!te to drive as well, especially the cadillacs. I was a passenger in the new Navigator a few months ago and that was impressive though. Not like most of the sh!t boxes they drive.

CrankyHaus

It's a bit like how easy it is to get guns in the states. It's great fun trying it when you're there on holidays, whether zooming around in a massive rental or letting loose with an AR-15 at the range, but you know deep down that its a bit mad and you're glad it's not normal in Ireland.

Del2005

TrailerBob wrote: »

To be fair, although there are still a lot of big trucks and SUVs in the states, more moderate cars are very popular and have been for a while. The Toyota Camry was the best selling car in America for several years running a while back. My sister in law works for Toyota in Dallas, and you'd think Texas would be truck territory, but the mid size passenger cars are huge sellers

The F150 outsold it by a margin of 3 to 1 and trucks are the still the top sellers.


https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2019-us-vehicle-sales-figures-by-model/

whippet

I love driving in the states - especially parking .. the last time I was there I had a Volvo S90 it was about 60% the width of most parking spaces - no chance of door dings and multi-storey car parks have ramps on them like dual carriage ways!!

TrailerBob

Del2005 wrote: »

The F150 outsold it by a margin of 3 to 1 and trucks are the still the top sellers.


https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2019-us-vehicle-sales-figures-by-model/

I don't dispute that... But the notion that everyone in the states drives a 47litre boat doesn't hold true any more

loyatemu

those giant SUVs may be great to drive, but they're death traps for pedestrians, cyclists, bikers, basically anyone who isn't in another huge SUV.

https://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/7-on-your-side-children-killed-accidentally-run-over-by-vehicles-with-blind-spots

Tenzor07

I know someone who drives one of these: https://www.joeduffy.ie/ford/news-events/the-ford-ranger-raptor---coming-in-2019/

Completely ridiculous and out of place for Ireland. Our roads are too narrow and city streets too clogged to accommodate vehicles like this.

Parking spaces in Ireland are the same as the UK afaik: 2.4m wide by 4.8m long.

The Raptor is 5.4m long and 2.2m wide...

I hope not to see a trend of "American sized" vehicles here in Ireland.

Dravokivich

loyatemu wrote: »

those giant SUVs may be great to drive, but they're death traps for pedestrians, cyclists, bikers, basically anyone who isn't in another huge SUV.

https://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/7-on-your-side-children-killed-accidentally-run-over-by-vehicles-with-blind-spots

So no different to any other large vehicle then. That article mainly talks about commercial vehicles and the image insisted on kids sitting on the road? Of course it's going to be difficult to see something lower than your sightline. Should I get a few to lay down in front of me and we keep lowering vehicles until we are all driving MX5's or Lotus 7's?

4068ac1elhodqr

If they drive at limits of 56mph, it's optimum efficency and better than A6's screaming down the autobahn at 160.
A big truck (in the world's largest oil producer), is also handy for the once per month trip to stock up at Walmart, instead of the daily rush for bread n' milk.
Likely combined with trip to hardware depot if there's space left over.

The big change in the next few (5-10) years however, will be some e-Telsa type wagons in an autobot-conga, putting 3.5m truckers out of a job.

loyatemu

Dravokivich wrote: »

So no different to any other large vehicle then. That article mainly talks about commercial vehicles and the image insisted on kids sitting on the road? Of course it's going to be difficult to see something lower than your sightline. Should I get a few to lay down in front of me and we keep lowering vehicles until we are all driving MX5's or Lotus 7's?

the forward sightlines from that truck are far worse than any mainstream car sold in Ireland, and that style of vehicle is hugely popular in the states. You say it like it doesn't matter a jot.

Most of the cyclist deaths in Ireland are from collisions with lorries, and blind spots are a major issue. Kids getting knocked down in driveways is also a problem. The last thing we need is to have loads of extra vehicles on the streets with sh!te visibility.

hi5

Tenzor07 wrote: »

I know someone who drives one of these: https://www.joeduffy.ie/ford/news-events/the-ford-ranger-raptor---coming-in-2019/

Completely ridiculous and out of place for Ireland. Our roads are too narrow and city streets too clogged to accommodate vehicles like this.

Parking spaces in Ireland are the same as the UK afaik: 2.4m wide by 4.8m long.

The Raptor is 5.4m long and 2.2m wide...

I hope not to see a trend of "American sized" vehicles here in Ireland.

The Ranger Raptor and the F150 Raptor are two completely different vehicles.

The US has always had large vehicles and the infrastructure has been built to suit them.
What is the correct size of vehicle anyway, is it written down somewhere?
Someone in Vietnam probably thinks a fiat punto is a complete waste of space when everyone knows a whole family of 5 can easily get around on a Honda 50.

zilog_jones

astrofool wrote: »

They measure RON differently as well, it's basically the same.

They don't use RON for rating octane, we do. "Regular" petrol in the US is typically 87 AKI (the octane rating they use), which is about 91-92 RON. Normal petrol in Ireland and the UK is 95 RON. Their "premium" is closer to our petrol.

bazz26 wrote: »

You should take a trip to LA then or better still go over the border to Mexico City, plenty of dirty air there even though most vehicles there are petrol.

No need to go to those places - you can see the smog from Grand Canyon! Things like catalytic converters, EGR valves, etc. exist in cars mainly because of the decades of abysmal air quality in California.

Andrewf20

I remember upgrading to a mustang 3.0 in Phoenix on 2004 after landing in, thinking it would a rocket ship. Id say it hit 60 mph in 9 seconds. Horrible lethargic thing that was a tank in the corners as well.

I lived there in 2003 and in 2013 and there seemed to be a move away from the bigger jeeps the second time around.

Dravokivich

loyatemu wrote: »

the forward sightlines from that truck are far worse than any mainstream car sold in Ireland, and that style of vehicle is hugely popular in the states. You say it like it doesn't matter a jot.

Most of the cyclist deaths in Ireland are from collisions with lorries, and blind spots are a major issue. Kids getting knocked down in driveways is also a problem. The last thing we need is to have loads of extra vehicles on the streets with sh!te visibility.

They made kids, sit down in front of it. You'd struggle to see a similar number of adults sitting in front of it.

colm_mcm

Don’t they sell trucks and pickups as basically commercials in the states to get around emissions legislation?

monkeysnapper

More funny things .......

I was told by my sisters boyfriend he couldn't ever live in Ireland because it was to cold .....

But next day he was telling me you dont walk anywhere most of the year because it's to hot and air conditioned cars and shops is essential......

I personally found the shops/restaurants and there cars to cold for me , I had to turn the aircon down at the hotel apartment every morning after cleaner left I found it unhealthy.

I was told they buy bigger engined cars because fuel is cheap....this is a ridiculous thing to say when you are buying nearly 4 times more fuel.... I bet I still spend way less in fuel even tho it costs more over here

bazz26

I was in Texas this time last year, which is the land of big trucks. I got a lift in a colleagues Ford F250 Super Duty, now that is a big truck where you need a stepladder to get up into it. 6.0 or 7.0 litre v8 diesel with enough torque to pull a mountain, my god could it shift for a big heavy block of metal. Mainly used as favorite work horses with the Texans who use them on their ranches.

I prefer the muscle cars myself. Supercharged v8 Camaros, Challengers and Mustangs very common. Yeah they don't handle the best in corners or have the best build quality but American roads for the most part are wide and straight, the power on offer for under $50k is just nuts compared to what we get over here.

NSAman

Obviously not everyone drives large American Cars in the States. There is nothing like a 5.7ltr Hemi 4X4 when dragging loads around, be it your large cruiser for the day boating or the snowmobiles in winter, not to mention dragging farm equipment around or lumber/equipment when doing work.

There used to be a tax advantage to buying vehicles in the States, hence many people had very large vehicles like Hummers etc.

There is a "fun" element that driving a high powered top of the line car too, don't forget.

Also, consider the cost of ownership in the States. The vast majority of people who buy large vehicles here, do so for work/through work. Cost of ownership for many states is minimal. Where I live the "road tax" is $115 per year. No emissions testing and currently you can get 36 months interest free on purchase not to mention a $10-18K discount on the RSP. Insurance is not exactly massive, no matter what type of car you have.


Discounts also exist on ALL brands (unlike Ireland) BMW discount as do Merc dealers. You shop around.

Here purchasing a vehicle is not the same as at home, you can literally go in and come out with a new vehicle..... the whole process is simple.

Cost wise... no comparison in purchase price. Literally, half if not more of the cost in Ireland, with far more safety features (all models including european models)