Greenness Is Overtaking Muscle-Car Culture At Shows

Well, why not a green muscle car? If electric drive is potent enough for locomotives it should be able to satisfy any road-warrior wannabe.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Nov 23 2007, 07:22 AM) [snapback]543195[/snapback]</div>

A true hybrid version of the C5 Corvette would be sweet. They already get 30mpg highway and run 12s in the 1/4mile. The C6 is a bit worse but drop the engine size a bit and BOOM! MPG!

 

For all of the whinging on this board (the environmental board here at PC) about all and sundry (and it's warranted), I think that there really has been a tremendous shift in the way people are thinking about things now vs 3 years ago. It's quite palpable. It's not enough, but I really think that people are starting to come around.

 

my 07 C6 Z06 has an aluminum frame, engine block, and carbon fiber front hood & fenders. It also gets around 25 mpg & will do near 200 mph

I plan on adding more carbon fiber to drop the weight some more which will increase mpg

 

Warhorse, have you ever thought about how much energy goes into the manufacture and distribution of those composite body parts? Not to mention the nasty chemical processes involved with carbon fiber.

If you're doing all this for more mpg or to help the environment, don't bother! It's a net loss; enjoy the performance and stop there.

 

For what it is, the C6 is a masterpiece, including fuel efficiency. Far too many everyday vehicles, including plenty of smaller ones, get similar or worse mpg.

As far as the main story goes, I have been amused for years with the Jones' "thinking" they need 300hp family sedans and 400hp SUVs. Just laughable, especially when most people where I reside spend much of their commute in these gas hogs doing 15-20mph in heavy traffic. It's like I'm back in 1970 all over again.

I'm a gear head and enjoy my other set of wheels as much as the next guy, but sparingly on a nice weekend. The last thing I want for the daily grind is an over-powered, under-braked, wallowing sedan or SUV. The perfect daily ride for me has always been a compact to mid-size sedan or hatch with good road manners, four cylinders, 35mpg+ hwy, and good crash test results.

 

Pinto, have you thought about the energy that goes into producing a hybrid of any make? Have you seen the pictures of the nickel mines for the batteries? The process for producing lightweight composite materials fades by comparison. Hybrid drive systems are a great technology for reducing fuel consumption and reducing emissions, but they do have their downsides. Food for thought.

 

Anything you can do to reduce reciprocating mass in an IC engine will improve power and economy. The C6 Z06 already utilizes a lot of that technology.

 

Well I was driving a 12 mpg Navigator and now my Z06 gets 25 mpg so I would say thats a huge step in the right direction

Carbon fiber may use nasty chemical processes but a lot less than a car full of nasty lead batteries

+ the Corvette also helps to make any environment more beautiful

The Prius, not so much

 

You are referring to a report by CNW (not CNN but CNW) referring to a nickel mine in Canada even though the environmental damage was done before the pen hit the paper to draw the first Prius and in fact has been improving for the last 15 to 20 years since the plant cleaned up its act.

CNW is a marketing company who may have been commissioned by any manufacturer who felt threatened by hybrid technology, for some reason GM springs to mind. I should add that the Nickel used in Prius batteries accounts for about 1% of this mines production. A lot of nickel is used in stainless steel and chromed components.
We have been over this here about 100 times so some people may become agro at this point.

Now if we are going to rave about how efficient the Corvette is compared with smaller cars, we should look at how useful they are. Does the Corvette have 4 or 5 seats? 4 doors? Usable boot space? Easy to park in a shopping mall? Or will it only do 3 times the legal speed limit? I'm left wondering about how useful or efficient that really is.

 

But you could have done so much better. You could be getting about double that and have a back seat that is usable.

The lead acid battery in a Prius is very small, about half the size of the one in the Corvette. Lead is very easy to recycle and the acid isn't hard to neutralise.

I don't think so, I think the Prius is a better looking car because I don't mix up big and beautiful. That's why I would rather sleep with Kylie Minogue than Roseanne Barr.

Edit: I just went and looked at the Corvette on line, you got ripped off!
For that money you could have got a Prius for commuting and going out with friends and a Mazda MX5 Miata for the weekends. Hahaha that's funny. The Corvette only gets 16mpg around town too while the Miata would return about 20 at worst or 22 with the 5 speed manual. A real sports car driver would want the 6 speed manual though. During the week you could be driving a Prius at 46mpg.

 

You are missing the point of the 'vette, the same as most 'vette owners miss the point of the Prius. Apples and oranges, my friend. And nickel mining has a nasty impact no matter where it is mined. As does most mining. It is still necessary for our way of life, like it or not.

 

I am saying to blame Toyota and Prius owners for that damage when most of the damage was well before Toyota started making Prius and even after Prius was born only 1% of the plant's production went to Prius batteries. Environmental standards have improved and the mining operation has improved. Mining is by nature taking from the earth so it nust do some harm but to lay all the blame at 1% of the customers over the last 10% of the life of the mine is rediculous.

My point is still valid, for the price of a Corvette you can have a real sports car instead of a overpriced 2 door monster sedan with a cramped interior and you can buy a 4 door mid size car for the days you want something practical. I guess you could invest the change in carbon offsets. Last time I looked the speed limits apply equally to Corvette drivers and MX5 owners or anyone else for that matter so a 200mph car seems a little silly.

 

I'm not blaming the Prius or the owners for anything. Nor am I talking about just the Prius. All hybrids use the same kind of battery. This is not to say they are evil, they are just a machine doing what they were designed to do, as is the Corvette or any other car.

Nor is the Corvette overpriced. In the sports car world, it is something of a bargain. Speaking of which, what would you consider to be a real sports car? I'm not being condescending, I'm actually curious. Remember, the true definition of sports car is a two seater with a performance intent. A four seater such as an Audi S4 or the like is not truly a sports car, at least by the real definition.

As for a 200 mph car being silly, not so much. A lot of owners of cars like that participate in club "track days" and SCCA autocross events as well, so they are using them for what they were designed for. May not be your cup of tea, but for many people striving for 60 mpg seems a little silly as well. Each to their own.

 

Dear god, not the nickel mine baloney again. Those pictures were taken in 1994, long before a Prius had ever been made.

This myth stems from an article published the fall of 2006 by The Mail on Sunday newspaper, titled "Toyota Factory turns landscape to Arid Wilderness." The article was so fact free, it used a stock photo you can buy online taken in 1994 to illustrate the pollution (visible here http://www.photoboy.com/bin/Cklb?vmo=1173985067754 ). There were, of course, no Prius in existence or being manufactured in 1994.

The Mail on Sunday article was so fact free, it was retracted. You can read the retraction here:
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/pages...ews.html?in_article_id=417227&in_page_id=1770

Furthermore, Sudbury is no longer this polluted, as INCO and the city have planted over 8 million trees there since 1979. The best history online of the Sudbury devastation/reforestation comes from GM Canada -- that's GM, maker of the Hummer, ahem, bragging about how Sudbury was polluted and how it has come back. Really, one should blame Chicago more than Toyota, as Sudbury's trees were all cut down in 1871 to help rebuild Chicago after the fire. GM provides telling photos of some of the reclamation from 1979 to present.
http://www.gmcanada.com/inm/gmcanada/english/about/MissionGreen/Daily/Sep22.html

Canadian news recently broadcast a show on Sudbury's regreening:
http://www.cbc.ca/clips/rm-hi/mackinnon-sudbury070312.rm

Oh, and Toyota has recycling bounties on the batteries. Battery refurbishment is also being developed. And Nickel is at high prices these days, so there's a genuine incentive to recycle the batteries.

 

Megan, I'm not blaming Toyota for the mining. I'm not "blaming" anyone. Nevertheless, that is a real picture, regardless of when it was taken, and it illustrates what nickel mining can do to the area around it. Obviously, it's not Toyota's fault. My car has a battery in it too, remember. If trees are planted around the mine, that's fantastic. I'm all for planting as many trees as an area can support. It's good for everyone. More mines need to take that avenue.

 

As for Pure Sports Car, You cant get more pure than a Z06
I'll remind you that Corvette won the LeMans 24 hr race 6 years in a row now
of course you probably dont know what that is
and btw a sedan has 4 doors, not 2

 

That ZR-1 is gonna be freakin bad@SS when it comes out. I've been looking at grabbing an 06 GTO. Went and drove one yesterday and put a down payment on it. Soon as it hits my garage I'm gonna tweak it a bit, Headers, Cam, And a good exhaust system.

I need to increase my Cylinder index a bit!
www.garagelogic.com
CI Index seen here
http://www.am1500.com/gl/lexicon.shtml