If gas reaches $X I will sell my 4runner

[SuperSavage]

Yeaaaahh... I won't sell it lol I'm in California and gas was over 5, at the top end of $5 and I still drove it daily unless I felt like riding my motorcycle which is strictly track now and I still drive the runner on the daily my wife works with her mom so they carpool andy wife has a Nissan Sentra SER and it gets worse mile per gallon than my 4R haha so yea it will always be my daily haha

 

[wadle5]

wife has a Nissan Sentra SER and it gets worse mile per gallon than my 4R haha so yea it will always be my daily haha

Little confused by this but,
A. What is wrong with the Nissan
B. How are they driving the Nissan

 

[T.Rock]

No, but there is a limited supply of oil. They are pumping it out faster now, so it will run out faster. I have no idea how long it will last, maybe 10 years or 100. But the price has to go up eventually. From what I've read it sounds like it will be low for the near future, maybe even a few years. But the oil producing countries/companies will probably get greedy and do whatever they can to raise the price.

No worries....nobody alive today will have to worry about running out of gas because there's much more than a 100-year supply. I think it was Popular Science magazine who had an article on this subject last year.

The theory that pumping it out faster equates to it "running out" faster doesn't hold water. It's supply and demand, basically. They only pump out what is demanded by the market. This is carefully balanced and always will be.

Anyway, one thing you need to understand is that "easy" oil is obviously the first oil to harvest. What I mean by that is the fact that the oil that is easiest to extract is what our forefathers have been extracting for many, many years. The oil that was difficult for them to extract is easy for us today. And the oil is that is difficult today will be easy to extract in the future, all thanks to technology. Last I read, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the earth's original petroleum deposits to be somewhere between 7 and 9 trillion barrels. 2/3s of that is still in the ground. The real question isn't when we are going to run out (we won't), but actually, have cost-effective will it be to extract the oil that is harder and harder to extract. At some point that will drive up the price of oil, but no worries there either because we're obviously moving more towards renewable energy sources. That's also a big political move as well, to reduce our dependence on oil-rich countries. So you should smile every time you see a Nissan Leaf on the road....or a Tesla, for that matter.

 

[nevada]

the people saying they would sell at $8 or however much...



how much do you think it would be worth on the open market? if fuel gets that high, the lower economy vehicles will quickly loose their value. you would be better off keeping it, and using it sparingly.

 

[wkeryder4]

I'm still hoping they come out with some sort of service to convert your gas vehicle to an electric one. I'd like to try offroading without having a torque converter.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I'm still hoping they come out with some sort of service to convert your gas vehicle to an electric one. I'd like to try offroading without having a torque converter.

I don't know how practical it would be to convert an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle to electric. It would be very expensive and much of the design of the ICE vehicle is to accommodate the various ICE components that wouldn't be needed on an electric.

My guess is that the first electric off-road vehicle will be a 4 wheeler of some type, possibly similar to a Razr or other side-by-side. I could also see a dedicated rock-crawling electric built on a tube chassis with 35"+ tires and electric motors on each wheel. That would eliminate the need for CV joints and allow maximum articulation on a 4 wheel independent supension, since all you would have to have is a sturdy wire going to each wheel-mounted electric motor. Mount the batteries low in the chassis since they are so heavy and it should have a low COG. Put a battery charger on the trailer and then tow it to your favorite 'wheeling spot, rock crawl all day and then drive it back home on the trailer.

For highway-bound vehicles I think we are stuck with Hybrids for the time being, simply because carrying enough batteries to give a vehicle sufficient range is going to be problematic, and recharging time is crazy.

But an all-electric hybrid system (that is, a system where the ICE engine is never actually connected to the drivetrain) would eliminate the need for a transmission, CV joints, driveshafts and axles.

Basically you could have a similar arrangement with electric motors on each wheel, an ICE engine with a gas tank to charge the batteries and a bank of batteries underneath. The ICE engine would run on gasoline (or whatever) and charge the batteries while the electric motors do all the work. If you have a sophisticated enough computer, the fact that you have 4 separate motors can give you 4 wheel drive, 2 wheel drive, and full traction control. It could also use regenerative braking to help charge the battery and on long drives, the engine would shut off once the batteries were charged and would not start up again until the batteries hit a certain threshold.

 

[SuperSavage]

Little confused by this but,
A. What is wrong with the Nissan
B. How are they driving the Nissan

Well, she claims she's the best driver ever. Yet she backed up into a curb and pinched the exhaust in the middle of the whole system and there's a small leak but to replace the whole thing it'll be more than its actually worth doing.. and I told her we are selling it anyways here real soon. And I said either we get another 4R of her choosing or we can get that Lexus suv she's been wanting (can't remember the name of it for the life of me) anyways she's owned this car since the day she got her license like 2004 or 03 idk, on a side note. . I raced a Toyota FRS last night with my 4R on Beach Blvd in OC and spanked it 3 times literally by 4-5 car lengths each time hahah how embarrassing for him especially when he tried to race an M5 just before I pulled up and they wanted nothing to do with him. Hhaha Mr SidewaysFlatBill poor fella, how much horse power are those pulling anyhow? Seemed slow imo.


EDIT: My 4R gets 19mpg btw.

 

[wadle5]

Well, she claims she's the best driver ever. Yet she backed up into a curb and pinched the exhaust in the middle of the whole system and there's a small leak but to replace the whole thing it'll be more than its actually worth doing.. and I told her we are selling it anyways here real soon. And I said either we get another 4R of her choosing or we can get that Lexus suv she's been wanting (can't remember the name of it for the life of me) anyways she's owned this car since the day she got her license like 2004 or 03 idk, on a side note. . I raced a Toyota FRS last night with my 4R on Beach Blvd in OC and spanked it 3 times literally by 4-5 car lengths each time hahah how embarrassing for him especially when he tried to race an M5 just before I pulled up and they wanted nothing to do with him. Hhaha Mr SidewaysFlatBill poor fella, how much horse power are those pulling anyhow? Seemed slow imo.


EDIT: My 4R gets 19mpg btw.

Haha key word CLAIMS to be a good driver. Lexus rx330? don't do it those things are worthless and have no space, and you are better off tricking a t4r for the money of those. Also the FRS stock has about 200hp. . .and yeah they are pretty much dogs especially automatics, but are mainly bought for the auto-x and agility not so much speed, they are a not as horrible miata.....:barf:

 

[YetiX]

If gas gets too expensive, I'll just ride the motorcycle more. I bought the 4Runner to haul our two large (Rhodesian Ridgebacks) around, the haul my surfboards, and take the family camping. A Nissan Leaf or Prius won't work for those things, and the bike is fine for commuting here in SoCal if I need it.

 

[SuperSavage]

Haha key word CLAIMS to be a good driver. Lexus rx330? don't do it those things are worthless and have no space, and you are better off tricking a t4r for the money of those. Also the FRS stock has about 200hp. . .and yeah they are pretty much dogs especially automatics, but are mainly bought for the auto-x and agility not so much speed, they are a not as horrible miata.....:barf:

Yea haha the 330 is what she wants hahaha yea, so my Co worker laughed at me when I said I beat a FRS he said that's impossible he must've not been racing and if I didn't record it, it didn't happen.. so I told him I'd race his 325i. Idk if I'd win or not but we shall see.

 

[SuperSavage]

If gas gets too expensive, I'll just ride the motorcycle more. I bought the 4Runner to haul our two large (Rhodesian Ridgebacks) around, the haul my surfboards, and take the family camping. A Nissan Leaf or Prius won't work for those things, and the bike is fine for commuting here in SoCal if I need it.

Is that Delmar beach right there?

 

[YetiX]

Is that Delmar beach right there?

La Jolla Shores.

 

[MikeInNH]

Deciding what vehicle to buy based on the price of gas is foolish. Gas prices fluctuate so much over any 5-year period since the early 70's you can't make informed decision on gas prices. When I buy...mpg is always a consideration...that way if prices triple it won't hurt me.

SUV sales are way up because of gas prices. If you couldn't afford owning an SUV when gas was $3.50...then you can't afford one now. This slump in prices will be short lived. But mark my words...gas prices WILL rise again...and based on 40+ year history...it'll jump to 2-3 times it's current price in the next 5 years.

 

[CookieRoe]

I bought mine for safety. It WILL protect myself but more importantly my wife, little daughter in a crash. My DD is an 07Civic (average 34-38mpg). Higher gas prices? Bring it.

 

[wadle5]

Just got my daily driver this weekend to keep the horrible city miles off the 4runner. . . .plus cops dont look for speeding wagons

 

[paddlenbike]

I think people really underestimate how much fun an electric car is to drive. Even our new Acura feels a little archaic compared to our LEAF, simply because there's an engine with a bunch of soup cans rattling around even when you're not moving. The instant torque of the electric motor is very satisfying. From a stop our LEAF has embarrassed many modded diesel trucks (my favorite thing to beat) and my dashcam serves as proof that it will beat newer V8 Silverados and even a V8 Mustang to about 50 MPH. Above 50 MPH other cars do catch up, but driving electric is very satisfying and makes me never want to buy another gas car. That said, I recognize their current limitations and the 4Runner will always be in my stable and always be my favorite vehicle.

 

[28.]

Honestly I'd just drive the WRX more often.. Anytime me and the wife go somewhere it's in my 4runner or the Landcruiser.. We rarely use the WRX when we go somewhere together..

 

[m85476585]

I think people really underestimate how much fun an electric car is to drive. Even our new Acura feels a little archaic compared to our LEAF, simply because there's an engine with a bunch of soup cans rattling around even when you're not moving. The instant torque of the electric motor is very satisfying. From a stop our LEAF has embarrassed many modded diesel trucks (my favorite thing to beat) and my dashcam serves as proof that it will beat newer V8 Silverados and even a V8 Mustang to about 50 MPH. Above 50 MPH other cars do catch up, but driving electric is very satisfying and makes me never want to buy another gas car. That said, I recognize their current limitations and the 4Runner will always be in my stable and always be my favorite vehicle.

I want a Tesla X that's built like a 4runner. Having separate drive motors on the front and rear axles eliminates all the disadvantages of a mechanical 4wd system. The only downside is that you can't get 100% of the power to the front or rear, but if the front and rear motor are at least a few hundred horsepower, that's plenty. Not like the AWD Highlander Hybrid that only had a ~60hp motor in the rear that tended to overheat if you pushed it/took it offroad.

I also like the new Accord hybrid. It generates most of its power with an engine, but drives the wheels with a motor. That gives it most of the advantages of an EV, but with the range of a gas powered vehicle. They call it an electronic CVT, but it's way better than a CVT.

 

[paddlenbike]

m89416161361.21686613541--
as big of an EV advocate as I am, I agree with you and think it will be quite a while before someone makes an electric SUV that does what our current rigs will do. That's why extended-range EVs (EREV) are a great transition technology for right now. Note that I didn't say hybrid, as most hybrids have a tiny battery and tiny electric motor that offer very few of the advantages that pure EVs have. A Plug-in Prius (not a regular Prius which is even less capable) takes 27 seconds to hit 60 mph in EV mode, and that's with careful feathering of the throttle to try and keep the gas engine from starting up), while a Chevy Volt uses the electric motors as its drivetrain and has all of the nice attributes of an EV. A 4WD SUV with this configuration would be really nice, with a 30-50 mile all-electric range for getting us to work everyday without burning gas.

You won't be able to get me out of my 3rd gen until I can replace both my LEAF and my 4runner with what I just described. (The year 2025, maybe?)