Test drive: 2006 Hyundai Accent
Today's test drive comes from Colin Hefferon, and it's about the new-for-2006 Hyundai Accent. Colin gets a little political in this review, pointing out - and rightfully so - that small cars like the Accent are an important factor in solving our current energy woes, until something better comes along.
I take exception with the "until something better comes along" part. Remember when hydrogen fuel cell cars were hailed as the wave of the future? Now that gas price gouging has gotten bad enough to affect the way that people vote, you'll notice that no one's talking fuel cells, they're talking ethanol-gasoline blends like E85. Perhaps because the reality of hydrogen isn't as practical or efficient as people think. Don't worry about ethanol catching on too soon; I'm sure it'll eventually fall victim to a bad-press campaign the way compressed natural gas and battery-electric vehicles did. Someone will find some other carrot to dangle in front of us while we continue to line the pockets of oil-company stockholders everywhere. No, small cars like the 2006 Hyundai Accent aren't just an interim solution: They are the solution. Useful alternatives will remain in the headlines, gasoline will remain at the service stations, and our best bet will be to consume as little of it as possible. -- Aaron Gold
You guys should stick to reviewing cars. Your lack of understanding of the petroleum industry and basic economic principles in general is a little embarrassing. I think Exxon-Mobil killed JFK and Jimmy Hoffa on 9/11 with the same dissolving bullet…
Come on — Explain to me how our high gas prices can be due to “refining costs” or whatever when the oil companies are making record profits – not just record profits for oil companies, but the highest recorded profits of any business in recorded history. I understand supply and demand perfectly. I also understand price gouging. Price rises have been “in anticipation of…” but so far it is the consumers bearing the brunt of the economic damage, not the oil companies. An economic disaster seems inevitable.
Fact: Every electric car from a major manufacturer had a waiting list when it was taken out of production (yet the common belief is that there was no demand for battery EVs). Fact: More than half of US homes are heated by natural gas, and Los Angles runs one of the nation’s biggest transit bus fleets almost entirely on CNG (yet the common belief is that CNG-powered cars are impractical for lack of infrastructure [but hydrogen fuel cells aren't]).
Wake up and smell the gasoline. I am not an economics expert, but I do know more than the average bear about alternative-fuel vehicles, enough to know that many viable alternatives are getting buried under heaps of bad (and usually inaccurate) press. I also know as a middle-class American the disastrous effects fuel prices are having on my ability to support my family. Plain and simple, we’re getting screwed.
What electric cars from “major manufacturers”? What major car company has sold an all-electric car? Here in upstate NY, we see a lot of those GM electric cars – but they were never sold, they’ll all wearing dealer plates and driven by GM employees. As far as I know, the only commercially-sold all-electric cars are little cottage-built things that Ed Begley Jr drives but noone else does.
Unless you’re speaking of golf carts – and you’re welcome to drive a golf cart to work if you like!
The problem with electric cars is that they need electricity, which had to be provided by a power plant (hence more pollution, so they’re not entirely “green”), you’re left with a bunch of toxic batteries after a while (and no doubt will have to pay to dispose of – I have a big stack of dead laptop batteries here that have the same problem), and they’re heavy and take a long time to charge and don’t go all that far. I don’t think an all-electric car is the answer, without enormous leaps forward in battery design.
You can’t compare city busses to regular cars, as busses follow the same route every day and are not making a quick trip to Disneyland or the Grand Canyon for the weekend. It’s easy for them to run on whatever they need to. No doubt they’re also subsidized to help pay the price of running an alternative fuel, to cut down on the tremendous LA smog.
Oh, and you misspelled Los Angeles.
Oh boy, I’ve been out of town, and missed all this fighting!
In a perfect world, small cars are the answer. In the real world (you know, the one we live in), it is IMPOSSIBLE for everyone to drive a small car!!! Farmers, construction workers, and real people need trucks and SUVs to get their jobs done. I applaud those manufacturers who understand this concept, and are trying to make the bigger vehicles as fuel efficient as possible. But don’t relegate the rest of us into 2-liter econoboxes. And Aaron, stop being such a bleeding heart liberal!!! Capitalism works for everyone….
Jeff — Toyota sold (as well as leased) the RAV4. Anyway, your point is taken; my point is that the EVs from GM, Honda and Toyota all had waiting lists when they were pulled from the market. As did the Ford THINK, which Ford says they were not going to sell due to lack of demand.
CNG is a fantastic fuel. Keep in mind that city buses get, what, 6 to 8 MPG? And have to drive for hours on end between refueling. And CNG cars can now be refueled at home. Last NGV I drove had a range of around 200 miles. 200 miles x 365 days = 73,000 miles per year, or more than six times the national average. Yet the reasons given for the NGV’s lack of popularity is short range and lack of infrastructure. More BS.
BJ: Millions of Europeans seem to be doing just fine with smaller cars, and have been for several years. Last I checked, they have farmers, construction workers and real people in Europe.
Aaron
Europe? Bunch of diesel sucking, MINI driving low lifes!
Aaron, explain to me how a waiting list for a car that was never publicly sold (like GM’s EV) is supposed to mean a damned thing? What’s your definition of waiting list? One guy in Nebraska telling his dealer that he wants one? Or maybe just Ed Begley Jr again? How can a vehicle be pulled when it never existed in the market?
And you’re really dipping into new math with your NGV thing. So there’s a 200-mile range on one. (Not that much worse than my blue car.) What does that have to do with 365 days a year? What does that have to do with the infrastructure? Why not throw in a few other unrelated numbers, like the price of tea in China or 666? You’re very confusing sometimes.
As for BJ’s comment – very, very few “real people” or workers need SUVs. Trucks? Sure. SUVs? Hell no. SUVs are for people who are too uptight to drive minivans, or are into style over substance. You might make an argument for tow capability, but that’s about it.
Kyle
If you have a family of 4, 5, or 6 kids and need to tow a boat or trailer, an SUV is way more comfortable than a truck anyday!