My guess is yes. Our cars will become and even hotter commodity.

What does everyone else thinks?

 

I think a trend towards smaller cars is occurring, but I suspect the big SUV's and such will still have a heavy hold in the U.S. I think it would take $3/gallon gas
(which, I suspect, we will see in some parts of the U.S. this summer- for Premium
@ least) for people to become uncomfortable with fuel prices.

Honestly, with the increased driving I will be doing in this new job, if gas get's around $3 a gallon, I may consider selling the MCS and getting a Golf TDI... We shall see...

 

I think most people are going to continue to drive their huge SUVs and 4-wheel drive pickups unless they just can't get any gas or it's more than, maybe, $5.00/gal.

If you're going for mileage you need to think hybrid or maybe a VW diesel.

Most people who ask me what my gas mileage is on MINI seem surprised that it doesn't get 45/50 mpg. Sometimes I wonder that also.


R.E.

 

I really hope that MINI will make a hybrid/alternative fuel model in the future. If I could have the gas mileage of a Prius with the handling and looks of a MINI. . . . . wow!

 

The fuel topic keeps coming up, fuel was a big reason for me to buy a MINI
but those that need gas milage , high purchase price may turn them away from
a MINI...An echo is 1/2 as much and gets better mpg's.But they are not a MINI
Had an echo
Hope resale stays high from controlled sales,low

 

I would think not, at least for the S with the 91 required octane. It gets worse milage than my Civic, and its $2.45 a gallon here. But by being so fun to drive, I still prefer it even though it cost more.

Nik

 

When I drove in Europe last summer the prices were about $5 per gallon and up but the small car I drove got over 40 mpg so the net effect was the same as if I was driving in the US with half the mpg and half the cost per gallon.

If we see gas prices headed up to $3 a gallon someday the people who own cars that now get 12 to 16 mpg will be selling them or driving them less and less.

Our MINIs will be free to roam the country. If you want better gas mileage then take off those performance wheels and get some stock 15" eight spoke or 7 hole wheels for minimal road resistance and lighter weight.

I went to the autocross the other day and still managed 20 mpg over 8 runs.

 

>>We talk about MINI's here,and civics and echos or the G.M. new little one are not
MINI's. MINI's are way more car with not bad MPG

 

I manage to average 25.8 MPG with my 203HP MCS. I don't think this is exactly brilliant mileage. There are many vehicles out there that get better mileage, however I'm quite sure NONE of them are as fun!

 

>>My guess is yes. Our cars will become and even hotter commodity.
>>
>>What does everyone else thinks?

My guess is in the short term, Americans will continue to lust after SUVs.

SUVs Bear Down on Car Sales

Sales of SUVs Continue to Rise

That said, in the long term, it's only logical that Americans will begin to downsize. When you visit Europe (where gas prices are substantially higher than those in the U.S.) it's very rare to see an H2/Expedition/etc.

My $.02 -- although I hope we can get a handle on the oil issue -- but that's a whole different topic

 

I don't think anyone will really consider the MINI unless it's the MC. My car gets crappy gas mileage. I fill up 2-3 times a week. When people ask me if the gas mileage is good, I tell them, "Yeah, if you're very conservative with how you drive it." I am not conservative because my car just won't let me be that way!

 

>>I don't think anyone will really consider the MINI unless it's the MC. My car gets crappy gas mileage. I fill up 2-3 times a week. When people ask me if the gas mileage is good, I tell them, "Yeah, if you're very conservative with how you drive it." I am not conservative because my car just won't let me be that way!

Forced induction vehicles do have a way to, er, go through that there gas like thirsty dogs after a desert run.....my old Probe GT (may god protect its beautiful soul, wherever the devil dealer sends it to) had an instant MPG gauge and it would get right down to single digits when banzaiing in the Autobahns.......like 5 and 4 MPG....price of fame......

 

"I manage to average 25.8 MPG with my 203HP MCS."

That's impressive! I just have a stock MCS and I feel lucky when I get 23 MPG.

What was your early mileage before you started modding?

 

What I find interesting is that recently there have been several articles that point out how Prius/hybrid buyers, by paying a premium price (typically way over list, but even at list), even w/ the federal tax credit, will never see a payback in less than 10 years.

What we need to do in addition to having higher gas prices is eliminate the ridiculous loophole that excludes SUVs from the CAFE standard, which is only for passenger cars. Even souped up Forresters from Subaru will be classified as "light trucks". We need a CAFE for trucks and some more ***** to force auto manufacturers to improve fuel economy all around.

There was also an interesting article that I saw that said since the early 1990's, avg. HP has increased over 40%, but fuel economy has increased 1%. Pitiful.

 

Just curious, what try of mileage is everyone getting. I got my MCS about 2 months ago, and it seems like my honda civic before that was getting better mileage. I could be wrong. So I was just wonder what everyone was averaging.

 

The size of SUVs have basically created an arms race. Everyone needs a large SUV for fear of the other large SUVs on the road and concern over the safety of their family. I don't think the gas price increases will affect this behavior. After all, people are spending $30k for entry level and $40k for a luxoriously-equipped truck. There's a fetish value at play which goes beyond good economics.

The last time big cars gave way to small cars wasn't so much the problem of gas prices, but gas lines from shortages. If people can only buy gas on certain days or if they have to wait in line for half an hour to get to a bump, then I think you'd see people's attitudes towards SUV's changing.

Now on the flip side, I think Pontiac picked the absolute worst time to come out with a 5.7 liter, 390 hp, V8 GTO. The era of sticking V8s into every model line might come to an end.

 

It feels right to have a car that gets "good" milage
like our MINI's... I suspect we can all handle much
higher gasoline prices... and we all hope we will not
have to... The day of gas guzzling SUV's will not last
forever... pressure on prices and supply will hurry its
demise, but Americans give up our "rights" so very
slowly.

Godspeed.

 

Daily driving and keeping speed under 75mpg on highway I can get 30+ mpg, but my average is probably around 27. Best on a tank of gas was 31. Worst was 24. I do almost no city driving but when I did last night in NYC I got 15 mpg. It did however take over an hour to go 8 miles!

I have noticed that according to the OBC mileage takes a BIG hit when you get over 80 mph. When doing 90 on a flat road I'm only getting around 22 mpg. At 70 on the same road I cane squeeze 31 mpg.

And si your driving style and normal driving conditions give a very broad range of possible consumption from 15 to 32 mpg.

Finally, when comparing to anything in Europe people should remember that a European Gallon (they all measur in litre though) is 20% larger than a US gallon (or the US gallon is 25% smaller; same thing). Factor this in when comparing price of fuel and consumption numbers.

 

We used to have a 1992 Pontiac Grand Am that would deliver 39 mpg on the freeway, and never less than 30 on regular gas. It weighed about 3000 pounds. That's on the economical side for a "normal" car.

The MINI Cooper S I'm driving gets about 34 on the freeway or 27-28 in routine driving. I do have a bit of a lead foot though.

I can't compare the mileage of the MINI Cooper S to any "normal" car and feel right about it. I can compare it to a Mazda Miata, Golf GTI 1.8T or a Subaru WRX. (Not STI, let's not get carried away!)

When you remember the car is a high-performace car, it starts to look very economical. Most of those other popular sporty cars really suck down fuel.

It's not a CHEAP car to drive, though. When I look at the price for parts, I'm very glad the car has only 4 cylinders!

 

>>I manage to average 25.8 MPG with my 203HP MCS. I don't think this is exactly brilliant mileage.<<

That's exactly what I average with my 120HP Cooper (mostly city/suburban driving).

_________________
"In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane." -Oscar Wilde

 

Maybe there will be more MINIs as well as more large SUVs, mirroring the increasing political polarization in the country. OK, I won't go on...

 

The Prius might though be even more popular then it is now. I had one for a day and averaged 44 mpg combined on regular gas. Plus, Governor Ahnold wants to allow Hybrids to access the carpool lane even without the necessary number of people needed for that lane.

 

>>Plus, Governor Ahnold wants to allow Hybrids to access the carpool lane even without the necessary number of people needed for that lane.<<

Wow, that's a really good idea! I'm actually in support of the governator on something!

 

I would have to say no... my Cooper S is really not that good on gas, there are alot of small car that get much better gas milage.

 

I have gotten a confirmed 33 mpg on a long trip from MD to FL, and this also with 2500 miles on my MCS. The average speed for the trip was 73mph, with 90+ over great stretches just keeping up with traffic flow. Around town/mixed mpg is about 25-27, and I have gotten roughly 36 hwy when I 'drive for mileage', which is very tough to do for me. Worst has been in the low 20s driving the **** out of the poor thing. Not bad at all considering the performance and fun quotients the car offers.