The future of cars according to BP

[spock1]

The future of cars according to BP(Your car isn't probably part of it).
If you own a gas guzzler,sell it soon.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/02/28/bp-predicts-the-future-of-cars-hint-yours-probably-isnt-part/

 

[Bluestream]

Good article and all true. I've been says for years that SUV's and PU's are dead and will be hard to sell going forward.

Future will be an electric car for local use, and maybe Nat Gas for longer distance.

 

[sciphi]

Decent prognostication. Although not news to anybody reading the tea leaves for the past few years. It'll come as a shock to a bunch of my pickup-loving neighbors, though.

 

[matrass]

Do you neighbors do any towing ? I need my larger SUV for towing my bassboat. will be interesting to see how many people are selling boats this year with the price of gas at or over $5 a gallon this summer.

 

[MarkM66]

Doom and gloom, doom and gloom. Our future sucks... tired of hearing it.

 

[BISCUT]

Not exactly a profound revelation, but I don't see the PU going the way of the dinosour. Technology will find a way to keep pace. The economic incentive is huge in the PU market. When consumers stop buying them, manufacturers will find the way to get back in your pocket.

 

[sasilverbullet]

Hmmm, a foreign oil company, that doesn't have a clue what kind of vehicle is needed in rural America, telling us what the future holds? [censored]. Pickups and large SUV's are the work horse of rural America - until someone figures out how to alternatively power them they're here to stay, even at $5 a gallon.

 

[cwing6]

Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
Hmmm, a foreign oil company, that doesn't have a clue what kind of vehicle is needed in rural America, telling us what the future holds? [censored]. Pickups and large SUV's are the work horse of rural America - until someone figures out how to alternatively power them they're here to stay, even at $5 a gallon.


+1

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

Hear is my News Flash BP! Trucks of all kinds built this country & continue to do so! Without the service of trucks our economy would be shut down! Trucks trickle down to the guy who tows his boat to make a days pay on the water fishing! BP, trucks are going nowhere! There will always be a market for them! Do you hear me BP!

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Not exactly a profound revelation, but I don't see the PU going the way of the dinosour. Technology will find a way to keep pace. The economic incentive is huge in the PU market. When consumers stop buying them, manufacturers will find the way to get back in your pocket.



With hybrid and cylinder deactivation technology, we'll be able to cruise around on 3 cylinders + hybrid stuff and when loaded, turn on all 6 or 8 pistons for POWER.
There's just no reason to see a V8 truck sipping fuel down the highway with all 8 pistons working generating 300-400tq... towing nothing! could easily get away with 100hp with 3-4 cylinders active, pushing the truck down the freeway while netting 30mpg

 

[Jimmy9190]

Originally Posted By: cwing6
Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
Hmmm, a foreign oil company, that doesn't have a clue what kind of vehicle is needed in rural America, telling us what the future holds? [censored]. Pickups and large SUV's are the work horse of rural America - until someone figures out how to alternatively power them they're here to stay, even at $5 a gallon.


+1


+2

If any auto manufacturer would make an affordable electric or hybrid pickup truck, I would buy one. My Dakota is paid for and I do not want to go into debt on a $35,000.00 electric or hybrid vehicle. Debt is a big problem with a lot of people and a lot of countries right now. Until there is an alternative that I can afford, I am keeping my pickup truck.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Artem
There's just no reason to see a V8 truck sipping fuel down the highway with all 8 pistons working generating 300-400tq... towing nothing! could easily get away with 100hp with 3-4 cylinders active, pushing the truck down the freeway while netting 30mpg

Even without cylinder deactivation, a V-8 truck doesn't generate max power just cruising down the highway. In fact, at 5-10% throttle, it's probably only generating 20-50 horsepower. Whether it's a hybrid or not, X amount of power is required to push N pounds with a K cross section through the air at M speed.

 

[MarkM66]

GM has had Displacement on Demand/Active fuel management out for awhile. It doesn't seem to have much of an impact on fuel economy IMO.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Chrysler has used it for a while as well, as has Honda.

 

[SuperDave456]

The real shocker will be when people realize that $5 a gallon gas won't due much to America.... but cause another Global Recession.

Just in time for Summer too!

I've spoken at length with the President of a local bank. The last recession wasn't caused by a housing collapse. The trigger was $4 a gallon gas.
You can give up everything but paying (for gas) to go to work...the trickle down effect was all kinds of businesses closing their doors, people getting laid off, and continuing to buy gas. However their house payments could not be made.

According to this President, America will withstand $5 a gallon gas for a couple months. At $4 things will start to slow down, but as the pain increases and people's savings give out, a double dip will happen.

All of his numbers are actually $4 a gallon. America can tolerate something like 6 months at that price point. It increasing to $5 almost guarantees a double dip from the presentation I saw.

 

[javacontour]

I don't think expensive fuel is the sole cause. But it may be the thing that pushes highly leveraged (spelled in debt) folks into a bad situation.

So of course, if you are a banker, making money by loaning money, anything that makes it more difficult for folks to borrow and pay back the loans will be viewed as a problem.

Did the banker suggest that perhaps his customers shouldn't carry so much debt that a change in energy prices puts them in financial peril?

Probably not.

 

[bigmike]

 

[cchase]

Meh.

The scenario BP outlines insinuates that if you own a car right now, you won't own it in 18-20 years. I seriously doubt that assertion.

Seems that stories about how gas will never go down crop up every time prices shoot up. Then, when they settle down the stories go away.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Artem
There's just no reason to see a V8 truck sipping fuel down the highway with all 8 pistons working generating 300-400tq... towing nothing! could easily get away with 100hp with 3-4 cylinders active, pushing the truck down the freeway while netting 30mpg

Even without cylinder deactivation, a V-8 truck doesn't generate max power just cruising down the highway. In fact, at 5-10% throttle, it's probably only generating 20-50 horsepower. Whether it's a hybrid or not, X amount of power is required to push N pounds with a K cross section through the air at M speed.


Alright... let me try that again...

Even at part throttle, it's still 8 cylinders working when it could easily get away with 4 (even if you have to give more gas to make the same amount of power, it's still more efficient)

A Ton of energy is wasted during the combustion process (which we know is very inefficient and only like 20% of the energy is used to turn the wheels) so it's better for 4 cylinders to do the work vs 8 tiny explosions going on)

That's why Honda is doing it. It might only be worth a few MPGs but for cars to be truly efficient, ALL the technology has to be implemented into each engine in order to squeeze out every drop of energy and waste as little as possible.

 

[67Customs]

Originally Posted By: cchase
Meh.

The scenario BP outlines insinuates that if you own a car right now, you won't own it in 18-20 years. I seriously doubt that assertion.

Seems that stories about how gas will never go down crop up every time prices shoot up. Then, when they settle down the stories go away.

Most people don't keep vehicles more than 10 years now. I can't see how BP asserting that people won't own a current vehicle in 18-20 years is unbelievable.