Author Topic: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"  (Read 17342 times)

TheAnonOne

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Re: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"
« Reply #50 on: June 04, 2015, 01:18:51 PM »
Apparently one of the safest cars is the Tesla S.   It has the highest rating by those crash institute folks.  You can pick one up used for 60K.  Never need gas again.   

Can't wait for them to bring sedans that under 30k. That still might be beyond what I want to spend, but I imagine a few years after that prices could go down for used versions.

Well that is their stated goal.   I'm doubting it though.  Even with Elon's magical battery factory,  I don't think they could get the price below 45.   Could be wrong.   Now if it is pushed that far you could see the completion step in with a sub 30 all electric that goes 300 miles.

On a related note --- I wish VW would take their 300 mpg car and mass produce for the US market.  At that rate it is less expensive and has less environmental (co2) impact than any electric.   You just don't want to be in a wreck in one!

It is being called the Model 3. They are aiming for 35k

I would expect the average one to fall around 50k after the options of larger batteries and other upgrade options....

http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/15/tesla-model-iii/



Travis

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Re: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"
« Reply #51 on: June 04, 2015, 09:51:24 PM »
So I'm out of town this month and driving a rental.  I was supposed to get an "economy car," but got a Hyndai Elantra (government dime, I'm not paying for it).  I got in it and felt like I dropped 3 inches into the seat.  I was surprised to see that the side mirrors have those blind spot inserts and after a few minutes of driving I figured out why.  You can't turn your head!  The head rests are raised a couple inches and I cannot possibly turn and look behind me.  It's been a long time since I've driven a sedan this wide and I don't like it.

Reynold

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Re: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"
« Reply #52 on: June 05, 2015, 08:24:20 AM »

I've seen this advice from MMM as well, and just to provide a counterpoint, the last couple of manual transmission cars we bought needed one and two clutch replacements respectively in the time we owned them, about 14 years each, for close to $600 each.  None of the automatic transmission cars we've bought have ever needed a transmission rebuild in the same amounts of time, roughly 160 thousand miles. 

If you have to replace clutches more than automatic transmissions, then you're either 1)buying pre-abused cars with clutches that are already quite worn  or 2) you're not driving it right.

We bought the cars new, we like to make sure we know the history of a car and maintain it to keep it reliable, so they weren't pre-abused.  It is certainly possible that we didn't drive them right, though I don't think either of us was a particularly aggressive driver (at least until we more recently moved to New Jersey, sigh). 

Perhaps it had to do with living in a very hilly, snowy area, quite a bit of shifting is needed on hilly roads going uphill on sharp turns.  I think we did the 2-clutch car at about 80,000 mile intervals, which according to this (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/car-part-longevity/clutch-last.htm), is not unreasonable, they seem to think that 50k is not unusual, and getting over 125k is well above average, congratulations on your 170k! 

Syonyk

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Re: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"
« Reply #53 on: June 05, 2015, 09:25:40 AM »
It really depends on the car.

A 50hp gutless wonder should never need a clutch.

Most powerful vehicles are doing well to reach 100k.

mlejw6

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Re: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"
« Reply #54 on: June 05, 2015, 09:42:03 AM »
Hmm, I just passed 150k miles in my 2003 Honda Accord with the original clutch. We know we'll have to replace the clutch sooner rather than later, but it shows no signs of giving up the ghost, yet.......

SpicyMcHaggus

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Re: Article: "Pricier, heavier vehicles are safer"
« Reply #55 on: June 05, 2015, 12:41:15 PM »


It's not really about being aggressive or not. The clutch's job is to slip. The more often it does it's job, the more wear on the friction discs. Riding the clutch, slipping it, frequent gear changes, downshifting to slow, etc... that is what wears them out. It's best to treat it like an on/off switch. Your left foot should spend as little time on the clutch pedal as possible. This is how I've driven all of my cars, of 15, only one was automatic. I have replaced 2 clutches. 1 was abuse ( i was 16 ), and one was a part failure prior to the clutch wearing out (also a bit of abuse as it was a sports car). 

A friend of mine had a Pontiac Sunfire. He was never great at driving, but was rather timid. Would slip the clutch excessively at lights for fear of stalling the car. His only lasted 30,000 miles (60k-90k).