[Greenbuilding] Off Topic: What car do you suggest?

[Benjamin Pratt]

There are personal experiences, and there are statistics. In my
opinion, consumer reports has the most reliable, most unbiased, data.
I'd encourage anyone making a car purchase to look at their
publications. According to consumer reports, Volkswagens have much
worse than average reliability. There are also downsides of diesels:
Starting in winter, smell, particulates in the air, and higher fuel
costs. Better mileage is a good thing, but not when the fuel is 20-25%
more expensive.

Additionally, the horsepower of one the VW tdi's you have is 90. A
gasoline powered car of the same size and year, such as the gas jetta,
 corolla, or a neon, gets 130-140 horsepower.. I am willing to give up
horsepower for mileage, but it is something to consider in the
equation. That is another reason why a Smart is so dumb: 50 or 61
horsepower for only 36 mpg! My corolla has 140 horsepower, gets 33mpg,
and is a MUCH bigger and heavier car. It is actually rated at 41mpg
hwy, but I drive too fast.

By the way, I love the design of volkswagens, and the emotional side
of me loves the MINI, but my common sense rules my car purchases.

Finally-it isn't green at all to buy a new car. Save one from the
scrapyard if you want to be green. It could be a gusguzzler, but you
save the huge environmental cost of production.

-Ben


On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 7:52 PM, Norbert Senf <mheat at mha-net.org> wrote:
> At 02:33 PM 5/1/2008 -0400, AUSTIN SHEATSLEY wrote:
>  >Okay, okay. I know this is wayyy off-topic for this list but this
>  >mostly-a-lurker, y'all are type out some of the most interesting stuff I
>  >read on the web. So, who better to ask their opinion than the other
>  >conscious folks who read this list? The facts: 6'3", 235 pound man, 36"
>  >inseam, drives minimum 760 miles around New England each week, (snip)
>
>  I'd second the Jetta diesel.
>
>  I bought an '03 wagon new, full MSRP, zero discount from the dealer. I based my
>  payback analysis at the time on $2.50 gal (US) diesel, and it made sense
>  even back then -  I calculated 100% payback based on fuel alone at 400,000 mi.
>  Motor will go 500,000 mi with proper maintenance.
>
>  2 years later, after hurricane Katrina and the oil price hike, it was worth
>  what I paid for it new.
>
>  Very solid car, very fun to drive. A few quirky
>  things that would drive you crazy if you
>  had to rely on VW dealers, but if you're slightly handy, there's a fantastic
>  online commnunity at Fred's TDI club, where all the known issues are discussed
>  http://forums.tdiclub.com/
>
>  100,000 mi so far, no problems except a few minor
>  known issues that were easy to
>  fix, but could have been a big hassle if I had to
>  go to the dealer, 2 hrs from here.
>  Still drives like a new car, everything is tight, and I live on a gravel road.
>
>  The oil pan is too low to the ground, so I
>  retrofitted a 1/4" aluminum skid plate,
>  so no worries there.
>
>  55 mpg (US) actual on the highway (standard
>  trans), better than a Prius. 800 mi. per tank.
>
>  Norbert
>
>
>  -------------------------------------------
>  Norbert Senf---------- mheat(at)heatkit.com
>  Masonry Stove Builders
>  25 Brouse Rd.
>  RR 5, Shawville------- www.heatkit.com
>  Québec J0X 2Y0-------- fax:-----819.647.6082
>  ---------------------- voice:---819.647.5092
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
>  Greenbuilding email list
>      Environmentally-preferable design, construction, building elements
>  List info: http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org
>  List email: Greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
>  Managed by BuildingGreen, Inc. http://www.buildinggreen.com
>       publisher of Environmental Building News and GreenSpec
>  Hosted and archived by REPP / CREST http://www.crest.org
>  To get on the list:
>   http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org
>   or mailto:greenbuilding-request at listserv.repp.org?subject=unsubscribe
>  To get off the list:
>   http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/greenbuilding_listserv.repp.org
>   or mailto:greenbuilding-request at listserv.repp.org?subject=unsubscribe
>



-- 
Ben Pratt
Professor, Design