Um Arnold has 2 hummers that runs on Biodiesel and Hydrogen and I Just heard recently that dodge ram 2500 & 3500 are gonna be running on bluetec diesel.

 

You are correct; when his Ford is running the A/C at MAX, that is when it does that.

My Highlander (as well as my Prius, and my HyCam that I had), can all run the A/C, max, so to speak, with the ICE off. It will run the ICE during the first moments I turn on the vehicle, but after that, if I stop at a light, or whatever, the ICE is off, but the A/C is on. Now, of course, if I am stuck in a traffic jam, and am going nowhere, and the battery starts to run low, the ICE will kick in, to charge the battery. But once the battery is back up, the ICE goes off, and the A/C stays on.

For where I live, in South Florida, the ICE being off at lights, and all, yet allowing the A/C to run still, was one of the main reasons I bought my Prius, and subsequent Hybrids from Toyota.

 

Still, Gov Schwartzenegger realizes the message the Hummer sends so he has not been tooling around in them like he once did.

Biodiesel and clean diesel are a good thing - all those passenger cars the EPA has on hold can be sold again with 40-50mpg (like the TDI). Hydrogen is worth researching, but it's a long-term solution that won't mature before plug-in hybrids and clean diesels.

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Need to find this article, but it noted that the average US vehicle's fuel economy peaked around 1988 - today it's at around 22mpg - no improvement. The average vehicle weighs 800 more pounds now. It going to be challenging to explain an 800 pound weight gain as sales as dedicated or semi-dedicated commercial trucks.

 

I live in South Texas and bought my FEH in early March '06 so I've already had it through a full South Texas summer (hot and humid -- hotter than you in S. Florida, but slightly less humid.) I almost NEVER ran the Max. A/C -- the longest spell was when my mother had just gotten out of the hospital and was still adjusting to the deep freeze setting they'd had her hospital room at for 10 days (must keep down bacterial growth or something, 'cuz I'm not kidding on how cold it was in there! )

There *is* a normal, non-ICE requiring A/C mode that recirculates plenty-cool air for most usage, and in the case of long stretches parked in the hot sun it's primarily the front seat passengers (who get sunlight beaming down on them) who feel the change in cabin air temp. Thus, a lot of us get tinted front windows (I haven't yet, but plan to before next summer) to match the factory-tinted rear windows. And for folks who splurged on a sunroof, cracking the sunroof lets the heat not build up as quickly, necessitating no Max. A/C usage at stops.

I don't like to sweat, at least not when I'm not exercising (mountain biking, etc.), so I'm not advocating anything that requires undue hardship on the part of passengers or driver... I understand folks get addicted to icebox cold, and if maximum cooling is available without any discernable MPG penalty, I obviously don't begrudge folks using it. We'll see how this summer and my minimization of Max. A/C goes with a newborn in the back seat. Thankfully, the rear liftgate window and both rear windows, as well as the sunroof, all come much more darkly tinted than the front windows and (obviously) windshield of the FEH (and, indeed, most other vehicle's factory tint), so I suspect the "hot seats" are the front seats, not the rear.

I should note my previous vehicle had untinted windows (ZERO tint) and a perfectly functioning A/C, and I find the FEH's non-ICE-requiring A/C mode (non-MAX. A/C) as cool, if not cooler, than that car's A/C... it's not an apples to apples comparison since that car was a 1992 Toyota Corolla, but it was well-maintained and never had any A/C issues so I suspect it was still performing at optimal efficiency, as well.

 

This monster truck driver certainly didn't see the light:

I drive up to see my dermatologist today, for my twice-yearly "spot check." I stop in at a Wendy's to have lunch.

Out in the parking lot, a guy in a Dodge Ram 1500 V8 sits there, idling his engine. He was there when I got there, and there when I left.

A Dodge Ram sitting there consuming gas and spewing emissions, for a half hour, while a Prius is parked nearby, which shuts off its engine at stop lights.

Sure, different strokes for different folks, but now I see why we need laws to try to halt stupidity. Global warming is a serious situation, yet hardly anyone takes notice or does anything to stop it. People just don't seem able to comprehend the situation. I'm all for freedom, but it looks like they'll have to pass a law to deal with the idiots among us.

Harry

 

Not to be a wet noodle, or detract from your post in any way, but making a law against something just criminalizes the behavior -- it does not cause said behavior to cease (evidence: rape, murder, etc.) It's arguable that it even causes a reduction of certain behaviors (again, evidence: rape, murder.)

Our courts are already overloaded... it takes HOW many years for a death row case to result in a (final) verdict? And how many more years for a guilty death row inmate to actually receive said punishment?

Somehow, I don't think criminalizing driving a {insert demonized vehicle of your choice here} is going to ameliorate the situation...might make more money for lawyers, and the government, though, so hey, why not, right? {sarcasm}

Here in Texas, folks aren't even fined if -- like the vehicle I had the misfortune of driving by the other day -- their vehicle is not only polluting but doing so egregiously (this vehicle seriously looked like its engine surely must explode at any given moment... I have never SEEN such a huge, noxious, dense cloud of burning oil/burning rubber/who-knows-what-else!) There's a "No Smog" hotline but the worst that happens to the offender is a letter in the mail suggesting they look into doing something about it... no "three strikes you're out," no note on file so when that vehicle comes up for inspection (assuming it was current on its inspection, and not running expired/faked tags) they would catch it, no fine, etc.

 

For lunch today, I went to A&W Root Beer and did the same thing with my Prius. I picked up my food, drove to a sunny place, and left my Prius in "P" while I enjoyed the root beer and lunch. It was 40F and windy outside but the sun made up for the rapidly cooling ICE. Thanks to my thermistor hack, the ICE stayed off until I needed to accelerate later at the light.

Bob Wilson

 

And to further be a wet blanket about "monster" trucks and SUVs (I'm talking the ones that aren't, in my mind, monster... not the ones whose tires dwarf the roofline of a standard sedan, and/or the ones sporting modded exhausts, excess accessories and the typical "pissing Calvin" variant stickers on the back) --

I understand and applaud the "just rent a truck when you need one" philosophy against truck and SUV ownership, really I do, but that doesn't fit everyone's needs. I'd be renting a truck at least once a month (more in the spring and summer months) if I didn't have access to a pickup (which, yes, evil me -- I do...) or, now, my hybrid SUV (which, yes, not-so-evil me -- I do, and prefer using when at all possible for said tasks.)

Just yesterday, I picked up my baby's crib (unassembled, in original shipping box -- fits the cargo footprint of the FEH exactly, with the back seats folded down), the baby's crib mattress and other assorted infant accoutrements my parents had shipped to their home a couple months ago (because we had nowhere to store said items until just now, when the former office got converted to a nursery). There is no way that would have fit in my old sedan, and it would have been cost-prohibitive to rent a truck for the mere 25-30 minutes I needed to get the stuff from my parents' house to my own. The fact that I didn't need to wait for my husband, in his {big, evil, demonized} Ford F-150 Supercrew 4x4 to get home from a long road bicycle ride to haul the stuff? Priceless... and should count for something. The SUV fit a need, and fit it well.

Throw two dirty mountain or road bikes in the back of a Prius or Civic? Probably not gonna happen... can do it with with a Ford Escape Hybrid (or, yes, a Honda Element or maybe your minivan with the back row pulled out.)

Carry enough cement to get the job done without having to make multiple trips to Lowes/Home Depot/etc? Need a truck or SUV for that. I know, I tried it with my '92 Corolla and it took three.darn.trips to carry all the cement I needed... not because I didn't plan correctly, but because I was seriously concerned I'd do rear axle damage to my vehicle carrying the multi-hundreds of pounds I needed.

There's a reason there are so many types/styles of vehicles on the roads. Just because we all find our "one true vehicle" doesn't mean that it inherently is the one that fits every other Tom, Dick and Susan... as much as that annoys me to say it, because I'd happily see every third vehicle on the roads be a hybrid or plug-in (or: added later -- fuel efficient non-hybrid) as much as the next guy/gal.

 

If all Americans made their next purchase the next smaller size (if it's larger than midsized) and chose a fuel-efficient model (not necessarily hybrid), it would save a trememdous amount of gas! This is basically what GeekGal did. :thumbsup

Better yet, if everybody trimmed their wheels a bit, their would be peer pressure to avoid waste like Earthling mentioned...
Some of us remember in 1973 the gas lines and fillups were allowed only if your licence plate was even-numbered (or odd-numbered the next day). World War II had serious gas rationing, and you had to make a good hardship case to get more rations for the week. A number of people back then were hypermiling because they had to.

Prince Charles got some flak for flying to Philadelphia to receive an enviromental award from former Vice Pres Al Gore this week. Some wanted him to receive it video link, but at least flew commercial - not charter. He already canceld a ski vacation to reduce his enrivomental footprint and drives a Prius. What I'm hoping for is that kind of peer pressure to be applied on the general public.

If they were betting on this in Vegas, I'd put my money that in the next five years, the gas prices will spike $.50 from another Katrina or from a Middle East crisis. Doesn't it make sense to do something before we get in the next oil pinch?

 

OK, I am in construction (a project Manager for a commercial construction company) and I drive a TCH to the jobsite. I get the respect I deserve from my subcontractors because I am the one who decides what and when they get paid. I don't get the respect because I drive some huge truck that makes them feel I am better than they are. If that is what you think you need to get respect, then you obviously don't know what you are doing, and would not get the respect regardless of what you drive. Sure, I might get some jokes about driving a car to a construction site, but I promise they will do what I tell them to do, and when I tell them to do it. (If they don't I have multiple companies standing in line to do the work they won't do.)

I also have a F250 which I drive to the site before we get the infrastructure installed, and I use it to tow my boat. Do I need a F250, no! Do I like the truck, yes!

There are many subcontractors where the boss drives a truck around, and they don't ever put anything in the bed of the truck. For them it is image, and they refuse to use the truck as it was meant to be used. They will get all their materials delivered, and if they need to have something picked up, they will get one of their employees to do it. These people are the ones that are also driving up the cost of trucks. They get them fully loaded, and don't care what they pay for them.

Me my F250 looks like I drove it through a south texas field with all the scratches on it, and the bed of the truck looks like someone just started beating it with a hammer.

My rule of thumb is, if the truck looks like it has never had anything in the bed, the owner bought the wrong vehicle, if the bed looks like it has been beat to an inch of its life, the owner knows what the truck is for.

And as far as what is the most durable finish for a truck, it is vinyl seats with a plastic floor liner, and that is how we buy all of our company trucks. Our recent trucks have been V-6 5 speed manual trans regular cab 1/2 tons. About as frugal as you can get.