Why the heck do we care ONLY about Fuel Efficiency

WRXXX · 29th June 2005, 00:01

I do worry about FE only because it is an health indicator for the cars

There is nothing wrong in worrying about FE,
If your car manufacturer worried the same way as Indians did,
you probably would have had faster and yet more fuel efficient car.

My Octy delivers good FE yet lets me drive fast !
three cars which I have driven where FE meant Refinement

WRX, Skoda 1.9 TDI, Skoda 1.8 TPI

FE is efficient engineering

RX135 · 29th June 2005, 12:20

@v1p3r, nice analysis and very well put up thoughts!

Samurai · 4th July 2005, 11:38

I saw this the What car section of latest BSM. One guy is trying to decide between Mondeo and Honda Accord and his main criteria is FE!!! Go figure that one.

I can understand A/B or C segment car owners worry about FE. However when D segment car owners worry about FE, it doesn't make sense.

raja_ys · 23rd August 2005, 16:05

FE is realy an important factor on indian roads as well as indian minds. Because of very bad or rather worst roads present in india maintainance costs go up also lack of traffic sense amongst majority citizens results in traffic jams, choas, some bump falling n ur car or an auto bruising u while the auto driver tries to show his idiotic driving skills to god knows whom and also people rushing at every direction unwilling to wait for a few minutes at signals makes riding a hell in india. So the only thing in our hands to control saving money on cars is looking at Fe

turbo_lover · 23rd August 2005, 16:23

Quote:

I can understand A/B or C segment car owners worry about FE. However when D segment car owners worry about FE, it doesn't make sense.

even D segment car owners bother about FE ..the sale figures of the 1.9TDI Octavia is an example ...
FE is a major criteria even in the D segment ..even merc owners prefer the CDi's to the Kompressor ..threatened with the petrol price hikes no one is willing to risk incurring more expense .. certainly not indian buyers ..

hyundai with its sonata embera is very confident about their product which will compete with the Accord 2.4 ,they claim it will be more FE than most of the D segment petrol cars ..so even at that segment a car which has an edge over its rivals on FE ground will fare a better chance of survival ..

cream · 25th August 2005, 21:36

since i sell consumer products as well, maybe i have the answer...

a car has a running cost - so people are always thinking in those terms...now, if 1 has to constantly spend on the car - it is for the fuel. every 3 days he goes to the pump to fill up, so his perception is if he spends less at the pump, he is actually spending less totally. this of course is the short term thinking mentality of indians as reported survey after survey - it's obvious because every car manufacturer only makes cars for FE.

so who cares if he has to spend on the suspension once in 2 years instead of 4 - even though that could well be the cost of his fuel for a whole year - who cares if he has a back problem which develops after 5 years and causes him to spend 5 lakhs in a hospital - these are all 'intangible long termers' and nobody in india can see beyond their pretty noses...

so FE it is!

chandan · 26th August 2005, 21:10

A year ago I was in The US.Everyone out there calculates the total runing cost of a vehicle than FE,which includes cost of fuel,depreciation,oil change,tyre wear,insurance,cleaning costs etc etc.That made so much sense.Infact,most people rent vehicles to do long drives as it costs less per mile !!!.

redarrow · 28th August 2005, 12:10

FE FE FE................ I AM FED UP OF HEARING THIS why the hell don't these companies get it!! they shoul'd increase on the creature comfort safety power and the way it is delivered, interiors ,exterior .... all what matters is FE , even for 2 wheelers , it's the same case , when i got my cbz some butt heads criticised it!! saying that it's average is the lowest ,BUT it has power and delivers it very well , same is the case with cars i rearly drive my lancer but whenever i drive it i drag it it's fun.....MY friends keep on telling me that this will reduce the FE of my car and i know that very well , i think there is no point in buying a good car if ur not gonne pull it upto it's limits!! GUYS FORGET ABT FE ONCE IN A WHILE AND GO ON THAT WILD RIDE OF UR LIFE !!! U WILL RESPECT UR CAR MORE !!

turbo_lover · 28th August 2005, 19:25

heres something i have observed thought i should ask ...
i have seen a lot of people switch their A/c on and off manually while driving i mean keep it on for say 5 mins then turn it off and just let the fan running..does it really help get a better FE ?
isnt turning the a/c compressor on/off that often harmful to the engine or air con ?

pranil · 28th August 2005, 22:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbo_lover

heres something i have observed thought i should ask ...
i have seen a lot of people switch their A/c on and off manually while driving i mean keep it on for say 5 mins then turn it off and just let the fan running..does it really help get a better FE ?
isnt turning the a/c compressor on/off that often harmful to the engine or air con ?

Unfortunately most of the cars do not have a temrature control but only allow you to change air tempraure coming out of the grill/vent by mixing hot and cold air.

This effectively means that whenu use any setting than extrem cold u are loosing part of the efficincy of the compressor.

Hence most of the time people resort to turning AC on and OFF.

And No it does not cause a problem unles u do it excessively or everytime at high speeds. the Car air compressor is designed to do that. Only thing is u will loose your coupling solonoid faster.

paharino1 · 9th September 2005, 12:36

Friends...

Went to the IOC Petrol Pump today....Xtra Premium @ Rs.50.69/ltre now ...

"Papaji, ki karan, petrol khatam hi nahi honda ".....

M800 anyone ???

Gosh, with such costs, its but natural to think of Fuel Efficiency as Priority 1,2 & 3 before buying a car....!!

Boom Shiva · 9th September 2005, 12:58

I'm a bit like Viper. I stay under 2500 revs for most of the week, and then let her rip on the weekend.

Here's why i think everyone should care about FE:

1. Fuel is seriously expensive. I think we have one of the highest rates in the world.

2. Fossil fuel is not some unlimited supply from God. It's getting over fast. We may scoff at FE, but the people who save fuel for whatever reason, be it economic or eco-friendly, are doing the world a bigger favour than we are.

3. Less FE = More pollution.

4. People are getting killed for oil. Wars are being fought, so rich folk can drive their SUVs. A little less revving could save some lives.

Damn now I sound like some tree-hugging NGO...

sandev · 6th December 2005, 20:41

we care ONLY about Fuel Efficiency cause you could never earn much to fullfill all ur dreams...driving car is one of them!

Shan2nu · 6th December 2005, 20:52

Quote:

1. Fuel is seriously expensive. I think we have one of the highest rates in the world.

Didn't you read this month's "Cannonball Run" article in Autocar? They had to pay 80 rupees for a litre of gas (I think it was in Germany).

Shan2nu

adya33 · 6th December 2005, 22:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

Didn't you read this month's "Cannonball Run" article in Autocar? They had to pay 80 rupees for a litre of gas (I think it was in Germany).

Shan2nu

I have said it before and I will say it again
you can not compare fuel prices directly
you have to consider ratio of avarage income to money spent on fuel

29th June 2005, 00:01	#46
WRXXX BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: bangalore Posts: 290 Thanked: 388 Times View My Garage	I do worry about FE only because it is an health indicator for the cars There is nothing wrong in worrying about FE, If your car manufacturer worried the same way as Indians did, you probably would have had faster and yet more fuel efficient car. My Octy delivers good FE yet lets me drive fast ! three cars which I have driven where FE meant Refinement WRX, Skoda 1.9 TDI, Skoda 1.8 TPI FE is efficient engineering
	() Thanks

29th June 2005, 12:20	#47
RX135 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: pune Posts: 2,106 Thanked: 75 Times	@v1p3r, nice analysis and very well put up thoughts!
	() Thanks

4th July 2005, 11:38	#48
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,828 Thanked: 45,532 Times View My Garage	I saw this the What car section of latest BSM. One guy is trying to decide between Mondeo and Honda Accord and his main criteria is FE!!! Go figure that one. I can understand A/B or C segment car owners worry about FE. However when D segment car owners worry about FE, it doesn't make sense.
	() Thanks

23rd August 2005, 16:05	#49
raja_ys BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Delhi Posts: 177 Thanked: 226 Times	FE is realy an important factor on indian roads as well as indian minds. Because of very bad or rather worst roads present in india maintainance costs go up also lack of traffic sense amongst majority citizens results in traffic jams, choas, some bump falling n ur car or an auto bruising u while the auto driver tries to show his idiotic driving skills to god knows whom and also people rushing at every direction unwilling to wait for a few minutes at signals makes riding a hell in india. So the only thing in our hands to control saving money on cars is looking at Fe
	() Thanks

25th August 2005, 21:36	#51
cream BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: mumbai Posts: 159 Thanked: 3 Times	since i sell consumer products as well, maybe i have the answer... a car has a running cost - so people are always thinking in those terms...now, if 1 has to constantly spend on the car - it is for the fuel. every 3 days he goes to the pump to fill up, so his perception is if he spends less at the pump, he is actually spending less totally. this of course is the short term thinking mentality of indians as reported survey after survey - it's obvious because every car manufacturer only makes cars for FE. so who cares if he has to spend on the suspension once in 2 years instead of 4 - even though that could well be the cost of his fuel for a whole year - who cares if he has a back problem which develops after 5 years and causes him to spend 5 lakhs in a hospital - these are all 'intangible long termers' and nobody in india can see beyond their pretty noses... so FE it is!
	() Thanks

26th August 2005, 21:10	#52
chandan BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: sakleshpur Posts: 251 Thanked: 47 Times View My Garage	A year ago I was in The US.Everyone out there calculates the total runing cost of a vehicle than FE,which includes cost of fuel,depreciation,oil change,tyre wear,insurance,cleaning costs etc etc.That made so much sense.Infact,most people rent vehicles to do long drives as it costs less per mile !!!.
	() Thanks

28th August 2005, 12:10	#53
redarrow BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 31 Thanked: 0 Times	FE FE FE................ I AM FED UP OF HEARING THIS why the hell don't these companies get it!! they shoul'd increase on the creature comfort safety power and the way it is delivered, interiors ,exterior .... all what matters is FE , even for 2 wheelers , it's the same case , when i got my cbz some butt heads criticised it!! saying that it's average is the lowest ,BUT it has power and delivers it very well , same is the case with cars i rearly drive my lancer but whenever i drive it i drag it it's fun.....MY friends keep on telling me that this will reduce the FE of my car and i know that very well , i think there is no point in buying a good car if ur not gonne pull it upto it's limits!! GUYS FORGET ABT FE ONCE IN A WHILE AND GO ON THAT WILD RIDE OF UR LIFE !!! U WILL RESPECT UR CAR MORE !! Last edited by redarrow : 28th August 2005 at 12:12.
	() Thanks

28th August 2005, 19:25	#54
turbo_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,377 Thanked: 9 Times	heres something i have observed thought i should ask ... i have seen a lot of people switch their A/c on and off manually while driving i mean keep it on for say 5 mins then turn it off and just let the fan running..does it really help get a better FE ? isnt turning the a/c compressor on/off that often harmful to the engine or air con ?
	() Thanks

9th September 2005, 12:36	#56
paharino1 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hyderabad, India Posts: 299 Thanked: 29 Times	Friends... Went to the IOC Petrol Pump today....Xtra Premium @ Rs.50.69/ltre now ... "Papaji, ki karan, petrol khatam hi nahi honda "..... M800 anyone ??? Gosh, with such costs, its but natural to think of Fuel Efficiency as Priority 1,2 & 3 before buying a car....!!
	() Thanks

9th September 2005, 12:58	#57
Boom Shiva BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,055 Thanked: 18 Times	I'm a bit like Viper. I stay under 2500 revs for most of the week, and then let her rip on the weekend. Here's why i think everyone should care about FE: 1. Fuel is seriously expensive. I think we have one of the highest rates in the world. 2. Fossil fuel is not some unlimited supply from God. It's getting over fast. We may scoff at FE, but the people who save fuel for whatever reason, be it economic or eco-friendly, are doing the world a bigger favour than we are. 3. Less FE = More pollution. 4. People are getting killed for oil. Wars are being fought, so rich folk can drive their SUVs. A little less revving could save some lives. Damn now I sound like some tree-hugging NGO...
	() Thanks

6th December 2005, 20:41	#58
sandev BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kharghar/Navi M Posts: 112 Thanked: 101 Times View My Garage	we care ONLY about Fuel Efficiency cause you could never earn much to fullfill all ur dreams...driving car is one of them!
	() Thanks