# Pssst . . . Want To Double Your MPG?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Tags:** fuel-economy\
**Created:** [May 23, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245 "2010-05-23T11:56:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245/21 "2010-05-25T18:32:20Z")

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It’s technically possible. But not with gas engines and current federal regulations on crashworthyness. If the administration were to spend their money wisely, like having spent the $4 Billion they allocated on Cash For Clunkers on the development of a leectric vehicle recharging infrastructure rether than having p\*\*\*\*\* the money away, and using the $27 million that they’re spending to build a new Candian border post that will only have two agents servicing 2 cars per hour, then it could be done.

The problem is the countless hundreds of billions of dollars wasted on porkbarrel projects (like the border post mentione dabove) and agricultiral subsidies that could be invested in infrastructure won’t be.

Getting there by simply mandating that it be done will not work. It possibly could if vehicles were made super light with super efficient regenerative hybrid systems, but they wouldn’t meet crashworthyness reqiurements. Or the materials to make them would be super-engineered materials, super expensive.

I ahould add that Mr. Obama has an advantage when he makes these bold statements…he can completely ignore the laws of phsyics. And the laws of economics. And he does. Perhaps it’s because he’s never studied physics. Or Economics.

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**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245/22 "2010-05-25T19:06:24Z")

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> Imagine having to pay based on the displacement of a semi-truck’s engine.

This is a strawman. There are several ways commercial vehicles can be exempted or get a tax credit.

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**Author:** ![bscar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar/32/34_2.png) [@bscar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar)\
**Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245/23 "2010-05-25T23:50:43Z")

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Yup. We’re gonna be forced into those $1,000,000 micro-cars that weigh 5 kilograms and get 294 mpg, but are smaller than the Peel p50([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpoaCtNU9ho](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpoaCtNU9ho)) and expected to hold a family of 7

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**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245/24 "2010-05-26T13:45:26Z")

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> Perhaps it’s because he’s never studied physics. Or Economics.

So, have you seen his college transcript?

I suspect he has advisers who are experts in those fields.

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**Author:** ![roguelead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@roguelead](https://community.cartalk.com/u/roguelead)\
**Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/pssst-want-to-double-your-mpg/49245/25 "2010-05-30T18:01:32Z")

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Size of a roller skate with a .5 liter engine.

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