Where Did 84 Mpg Come From?

[3 Card]

What kind of gas milage to you get with your current automobile? All I'm saying is they should not delay production because of not meeting 84 mpg.. 60 mpg highway would be amazing..Elio claims 49 mpg city which is probably what 70 % of your driving will be running to the store, going to malls and work etc.. The city milage would not be affected at all.. If you are counting on your new Elio to deliver 84 mpg you better not exit an expressway.. The sticker on my jeep wrangler claims 17 city 21 highway, I do the standard 65% city and 35 % highway and my average has never went over 15mpg and with my harley the 41 highway means about 25-28 I'm getting...

 

[Cali Chris]

I doubt there's a vehicle out there that attains the claimed mfg or EPA fuel economy. They get their economy data by driving slower than real world speeds (whatever speed is the most efficient for the engine/trans/gearing setup), on a treadmill in an environment that is controlled (i.e. large test lab). No hills, wind, starts/stops, buffeting from other vehicles, etc.
There is no onus on the mfg for the vehicle to attain their claimed economy. If there were, every mfg would be continually sued for not meeting the claimed fuel economy.

I don't remember where I read it, but the article broke down the testing process and it is done in a lab. They will have the car on a dyno that can apply resistance to duplicate wind resistance, vehicle/occupant/cargo weight. There is a preprogrammed mix of in town, highway, flat land and hill driving to duplicate real world driving experiences. City is a series of stop and go driving. Highway driving is done at average highway speeds. These computer models are progressively getting more accurate as time goes on. Below is a link to the government site which briefly explains the testing procedure. It's not the original article I read, but still very informative.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ty]

I'd almost argue that the 5 star rating is almost a moot point. Take two vehicles - F350 Crew cab and Mustang GT... If they both had the same rating, would it not make sense that the F350, though safe, would have trouble AVOIDING hitting something? They aren't exactly the most agile vehicles on the road. Now, getting hit while stationary is another thing but I would think the Elio would be easier to maneuver out of a tight spot plus it would stop incredibly shorter distance than that truck. Doesn't help you much if that truck is right behind you... sigh. I think inherent safety is in awareness/maneuver. In every T-bone accident, both drivers could have avoided it by paying attention to what's around. The T-bonee pulled into an intersection while someone was barreling into it. Did they not look around? The T-boner (heh heh) obviously could have stopped too. Okay, wow... that got a bit off topic. Ooo squirrel!

 

[SandyCWV]

What kind of gas milage to you get with your current automobile? All I'm saying is they should not delay production because of not meeting 84 mpg.. 60 mpg highway would be amazing..Elio claims 49 mpg city which is probably what 70 % of your driving will be running to the store, going to malls and work etc.. The city milage would not be affected at all.. If you are counting on your new Elio to deliver 84 mpg you better not exit an expressway.. The sticker on my jeep wrangler claims 17 city 21 highway, I do the standard 65% city and 35 % highway and my average has never went over 15mpg and with my harley the 41 highway means about 25-28 I'm getting...

This is where my 2001 ST Explorer and I don't fit the model. I bought this truck new and have always gotten at least 18-20 mpg. It is advertised at 17/21. Of course my commute has always been 25 - 35 miles one way with one stop light and no express ways (or much traffic) on the route. I am looking forward to 84 mpg and avoiding deer (maybe they could jump me?) with the Elio.

 

[zelio]

What kind of gas milage to you get with your current automobile? All I'm saying is they should not delay production because of not meeting 84 mpg.. 60 mpg highway would be amazing..Elio claims 49 mpg city which is probably what 70 % of your driving will be running to the store, going to malls and work etc.. The city milage would not be affected at all.. If you are counting on your new Elio to deliver 84 mpg you better not exit an expressway.. The sticker on my jeep wrangler claims 17 city 21 highway, I do the standard 65% city and 35 % highway and my average has never went over 15mpg and with my harley the 41 highway means about 25-28 I'm getting...

I get 27mpg local (meaning short distance highway and local) and 30mpg mixed long distance highway and local. By local I mean I go shopping, etc. 15 miles away. I do not shop in my little town. The prices are too high and the selection too limited. I plan my shopping trips around my trips to the Y to swim thus limiting those 30+ mi RT 3 times per week. If I remember correctly the predicted mpg for my car at the time I bought it used in Oct. 2000 was 27mpg. The car had 45,000 miles on it at that time.

I not only want to be able to buy a new car I enjoy driving but have enough money left over to be able to drive it on the occasional day trip. I haven't taken an impulsive drive in a couple of years and frankly I miss it. 84mpg gives me a hell of a lot better chance of doing that than 60 mpg. As I said in an earlier post, people with disposable income really don't get it. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me because I definitely don't feel sorry for my self. If I felt sorry for myself I wouldn't even consider buying an Elio or anything else. I'd be too busy feeling sorry for myself. We are all impatient to get our Elios but some of us are being a little more gracious about it. OK I'm off my soap box now, I can be nice again. Z

BTW Did it ever occur to you that your lower mileage is due to your driving style? :-)

 

[3 Card]

This is where my 2001 ST Explorer and I don't fit the model. I bought this truck new and have always gotten at least 18-20 mpg. It is advertised at 17/21. Of course my commute has always been 25 - 35 miles one way with one stop light and no express ways (or much traffic) on the route. I am looking forward to 84 mpg and avoiding deer (maybe they could jump me?) with the Elio.

It appears we all have different reasons for buying an Elio.. I'm so friggin old ( but still cute) that I want something different to play with, others who are younger for economy reasons .But for us guys, just another toy to get chics attention..

 

[ST13Fred]

My Insight drag coefficient on Wikipedia is a low .25, very good and is capable of 64 MPG hiway. I would be very interested in Elios' #.

 

[Zipper]

My Insight drag coefficient on Wikipedia is a low .25, very good and is capable of 64 MPG hiway. I would be very interested in Elios' #.

I'm sure they know the number they need to hit. There will be some wiggle room depending on drivetrain variables. I too, would like to know what the number is for the production vehicles.

 

[Inigo93]

My Insight drag coefficient on Wikipedia is a low .25, very good and is capable of 64 MPG hiway. I would be very interested in Elios' #.

I wouldn't expect Elio's number to be much different. Maybe even a bit higher due to interference drag and the suspension. But with a smaller reference area comes lower drag even with the same coefficent.

 

[ST13Fred]

The VW XL1 has a .189 cd.
Elios' frontal area, even with perhaps added drag from the protruding wheel and front suspension components, is still going to have minimal drag....I would guess around 21.

After going through rain in my Insight, it is interesting to see the water pattern around the rear of the car and how the air has traveled around it.
It has a very good aero package and is quiet at speed with no sounds of air passing around the body. Even the under carriage is completely covered in plastic panels. But Elio will be better.