| | ||||||||||||||||
  You may wonder if this is a joke...well it isn’t! It is true! The 2.0 liter diesel engine of the Bmw showed better fuel economy than the well-known eco-friendly Toyota Prius. Some of you may see this camparison between the two cars ridiculous but if we look at the CO2 emissions of the two vehicles we see that there are almost equal: the Bmw delivers 41.9 mpg while the Prius, with almost 250 kg lighter, delivers 40.1 mpg. The test between the two cars was made on the London-to-Geneva route. The Bmw equipped with a series of energy-saving features like the battery recharge when braking, good aerodynamics, low rolling resistance in a word the so-called EfficientDynamics showed no problems on the road and by the end of it also remained with a third of its tank in reserve.  The Prius ran out of gas but this happened only due to smaller tank and because the car is made for urban live. The advantage if hybrids can’t be seen on highway where the car is pushing through the wind, this can easily be seen in urban driving where the stop-and-go recaptures the car’s energy. Now if we make a conclusion we can say that Bmw showed every one that its 5-series can beat also the eco-friendly Prius but what if the test would have been made inside a town...Would the Bmw be the winner? 32 comments: Bmw 520d beats Toyota Prius in fuel economy test Actually, I was hoping to get a reaction from you, which I did. It was an excellence award by the way given to a CAR manufacturer for 3 years running, bit different from your refrigerator one.They don’t hand out awards "Willy- Nilly", you know. "How much is that Lotus?" This coming from a guy trying to justify the higher price of a BMW against a econobox. The Lotus has nothing to do with this, by the way. "Thanks for the info. It seems like you and I are the only ones in the World interested in this article." Nope, only you are the one interested in a year old link. Iam just bored.  Very impressive ak. Tell me more about that Energy Star Rating. Is that the same kind I have on my refrigerator and the windows on my home? How much is that Lotus? Thanks for the info. It seems like you and I are the only ones in the World interested in this article. The United States EPA has awarded Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc (TEMA) with a ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2007, Toyota’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fleet average of 26.69 mpg-US (8.813 L/100 km; 32.05 mpg-imp) exceeded all other major manufactures selling cars within the United States. Only Lotus Cars which sold the Elise and Exige powered by Toyota’s 2ZZ-GE engine did better with an average of 30.2 mpg-US (7.79 L/100 km; 36.3 mpg-imp). BMW Named Greenest Automaker-Again Posted: 06 Sep 2009 02:32 PM PDT The SAM Group today published its latest evaluation for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). For the fifth consecutive year, it rated the BMW Group as the leader in its industry, making it the worlds most sustainable automobile manufacturer. The BMW Group is the only company in the automobile industry to have been listed in this important sustainability index family every year since it was established in 1999. We are delighted that the BMW Group is super sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World for the fifth consecutive year.This proves once again that we are well on our way to establishing sustainability as the guiding principle for all our processes. We refined our sustainability strategy in the first half of 2009 ? this was the next logical step and another important milestone, said Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. The Board of Management of the BMW Group declared sustainability one of the companys core strategic principles back in 2000. At the BMW Group corporate sustainability is firmly entrenched throughout the entire value chain: from the development of fuel-saving and alternative vehicle concepts through clean production processes to green recycling practices. The BMW Group also accepts responsibility for its roughly 100,000 employees and is involved in social projects outside of its plants. In recent months the BMW Group has taken further important steps towards further improving sustainability. Each and every proposal today is measured against the corporate goal of sustainability. At the highest management level a Sustainability Board was established in summer 2009. This board, which comprises the entire Board of Management, determines the strategic alignment for sustainability issues. Twice a year it meets to discuss and adopt the strategies and activities proposed at operational level. Further information on BMW Groups sustainability activities are available at: esponsibility The SAM Group analyses the economic, environmental and social performance of approximately 2,500 companies and selects the best in each industry for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. General sustainability criteria are considered as well as industry-specific challenges such as climate change. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index was the first global sustainability index to be created, in 1999, and has since been published each year by the SAM Group, based in Zurich, in cooperation with Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Limited. More information is available at "Why did the Prius engineers select a gasoline engine? Was it because of public opinion brought about by all the inefficient diesels that have been manufactured in the past?" Because the Prius was intended for America and the Japanese market. Nothing to do with public opinion. Toyota does make diesel engines for Europe. A gasoline was chosen because diesels don’t sell that well in the two markets. If hybrids were all that bad, like BMWM6 said BMW wouldn’t have come up with its own versions. "Most of us know that awards don’t win competitions." You were happy enough to mention that the BMW diesel won the green engine of the year. Quality? The Prius can be bought with leather interiors, navigation and other features that usually found in a Lexus with near bulletproof reliability. They don’t hand out reliability awards "Willy- Nilly", you know. "as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for" 22K for a base Prius that gets 50 odd miles is actually quite good. In fact given that hybrids are far more complex than diesels, one might be bold enough to say it is actually quite cheap. If more quality and luxury was required, there is always the Lexus hybrids. Had you read more of my comments instead of focussing on this one, you might have seen that Iam actually a fan, as stated concerning a number of Audi engines, most notably the R8 V12 TDI which gets 39mpg highway while delivering 500hp and 738lb-ft torque. If you are really interested in learning more about diesels, wikipedia has a very good report on that technology. A few quotes from wikipedia: "Diesel engines have the highest thermal efficiency of any internal or external combustion engine....about 50 percent of all new car sales in Europe are diesel.....Diesel engines are more efficient than petrol engines of the same power, resulting in lower fuel consumption....diesel engines are much more efficient than gasoline (petrol) engines when at low power and at engine idle....Adjusting the numbers to account for the energy density of diesel fuel, the overall energy efficiency is still about 20% greater for the diesel version....The MAN S80ME-C7 low speed diesel engines use 155 gram fuel per kWh for an overall energy conversion efficiency of 54.4%, which is the highest conversion of fuel into power by any internal or external combustion engine." A lot more information on diesels, including historical data, can be found at wikipedia and many other sites. I suspect the hybrid Prius could be morphed into a near perfect hybrid if the right diesel engine was selected to replace its gasoline engine, awards and all. Most of us know that awards don’t win competitions. In addition, the Prius would have to improve on its quality, just as most cheap cars could as was pointed out concerning the VW. True, this would add to its price tag but, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for". Finally, Prius engineers would have to learn how to simplify their design and this would be the most difficult task of all. I think BMW proved its point when they won this competition, and that seems to be, "A luxury car doesn’t have to be a fuel guzzler." It is to BMW’s credit and that of their engineers that they chose a diesel engine to prove their point. In light of the information given in wikipedia and instead of going to all the trouble of manufacturing a hybrid diesel, if one is interested in fuel economy, why not just use a straight diesel powered car and save all the complication? Why did the Prius engineers select a gasoline engine? Was it because of public opinion brought about by all the inefficient diesels that have been manufactured in the past? Diesels are becoming more efficient, more powerful, and greener. Its easy to fool yourself into thinking a hybrid is better but the power to charge the battery packs must still come from fossil fuels.  exactly as AK is saying and i dont buy BMW for therre fuel economy, yeah I know thats not responsible but a BMW is a BMW sure they are aiming for more environmentaly froendly image but the havent hitthe nail on the head If diesel is so good how come BMW chose to put hybrid layouts in the 7 series and X6 ohh and one more thing so I save you the trouble I started off with a 7 letter word "Starting off with the four letter words indicates you were already at the end of your rope when you began". Actually, I believe I started off with who. Thats a three letter word. On crack?! Good deduction on your part. The ones on crack are usually the first ones to accuse others of that habit. Good to see that you haven’t tried to deny some things. So I take it you are a BMW snob, an idiot and a moron on crack. Nice word, by the way. Crack,hm.. sure you are not the one in third grade? You also haven’t denied the VW diesel losing to a Prius. And your higher quality bit was a joke. Note that BMW M6 also agrees with me and he actually happens to own a couple of BMWs. I wonder what the average person will buy, a Prius or a BMW that costs twice as much with equal mileage? Hm, must a tough question for you. Lets not even mention the new Prius that gives better mileage than every other car in its segment. Get off the "crack", stop sniffing diesel fumes and get a life. Judging by your long comments and use of a year old link, I doubt you have one.
|
| |||||||||||||||
|
|
Posted on
09.9.2009 @ 20:32