BMW #1 in 2005 US CAFE fines

Kirby

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The Detroit News reported yesterday that BMW leads the way in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fines, which aim to punish automakers for violating the mpg regulations put in place. BMW's share of the $32 million the National Highway Traffic Administration fined the auto industry as a whole in 2005 is $12 million. The fear here is that the automakers see the fines as a cost of doing business, not an incentive to engineer more fuel-efficient cars. Or, to be more specific, we're not talking about automakers in general as much as we're talking about companies that manufacture predominantly or exclusively high-performance vehicles without lower-end, more fuel efficient vehicles available to even out the average. The automakers under fire include DaimlerChrysler (the $8.2 million in fines penalized the company for faults mostly within its Mercedes-Benz division), Porsche ($6.4 million in fines), Ferrari and Maserati ($1.5 million), and Volkswagen ($3.5 million for light trucks).
 
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epj3

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That is only because they sell more cars than anyone else. BMW's generally get very good gas mileage, I'm not sure what the problem is.
 
Kirby

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AFAIK they take the fuel economy of each car/engine combination, add it up and average it, and it has to meet a minimum Gov spec. My guess is that the M5, M6 and the 7 Series suck it down. Too bad they can't average the bikes in with the cars!!
 
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epj3

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Kirby said:
AFAIK they take the fuel economy of each car/engine combination, add it up and average it, and it has to meet a minimum Gov spec. My guess is that the M5, M6 and the 7 Series suck it down. Too bad they can't average the bikes in with the cars!!
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The thing is, they get the same gas mileage as most V8 GM's, and have LOTS more power (plus the same gas mileage). That gas tax is a scam anyways. The real gas guzzlers are the suv's which of course most dont have the tax.
 
jcz1987

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It doesnt make sense to me at all... Its interesting how BMW has to pay the biggest fines yet out of all my friends who drive Infinits and Mustangs, I get teh best gas mileage out of them... hmmm
 
Average Jae

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what doesn't help bmw is the fact that their fleet has an i-6 or bigger engines. most car manufacs have econo 4 banger cars that can offset their gas guzzlers.

but as the article mentions, it could be seen as cost of doing business, meaning prices of bimmers already reflect the fines.

i think global warming and greenhouse gases fears are greatly exaggerated. i just read Michael Crichton's State of Fear. quite an interesting read regarding the environmental movement and recent scientific findings imo.
 
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gpoints

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epj3 said:
The thing is, they get the same gas mileage as most V8 GM's, and have LOTS more power (plus the same gas mileage). That gas tax is a scam anyways. The real gas guzzlers are the suv's which of course most dont have the tax.
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Ya sure about that? Go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov and compare the new M5 to the new Z06. It's surprising.... Now, you could say GM cheats because they use something called CAGS - "Computer Assisted Gear Shift" (or something like that) where your are forced from 1st to 4th gear in their manual tranny.

What's funny is chevy's 7.0 litre v8 (z06) gets better milage than my I6. [ohcrap]

BTW, I'm just being difficult as I don't really agree with the gov ratings.
[:D]
 
Kirby

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Average Jae said:
i think global warming and greenhouse gases fears are greatly exaggerated. i just read Michael Crichton's State of Fear. quite an interesting read regarding the environmental movement and recent scientific findings imo.
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I read that book about a year ago and also found his documented research quite interesting. I agree - we MAY be causing Global Warming, but his data makes it clear that anyone who says they can PROVE we are causing Global Warming is full of crap. We simply do not have enough long term data (100,000 years would be a good start) to know. This could be a natural cycle.
 
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epj3

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gpoints said:
Ya sure about that? Go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov and compare the new M5 to the new Z06. It's surprising.... Now, you could say GM cheats because they use something called CAGS - "Computer Assisted Gear Shift" (or something like that) where your are forced from 1st to 4th gear in their manual tranny.

What's funny is chevy's 7.0 litre v8 (z06) gets better milage than my I6. [ohcrap]

BTW, I'm just being difficult as I don't really agree with the gov ratings.
[:D]
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That's an incredibly stupid comparison. I could easily get 30+mpg in my 3.5l SOHC E34 with the proper gearing, but currently I get around 20-22.

But comparing a 507hp V10 to a 5.7 liter 400hp V8 is kind of stupid. Not to mention the corvette's 6th gear IS an overdrive - its top speed is only reachable in FIFTH GEAR. Otherwise it would get 15 mpg highway. Plus the M5 weighs a few HUNDRED pounds more. Sorry, you'll need a better comparison than that.

How about my 15 year old 3.5l that puts out around 222hp and 247 lb-ft of torque with a 3.91:1 rear end (stock is 3.46:1) and gets better gas mileage than GM's CURRENT 3.8 liter V6 200 hp and 225 lb-ft torque?
 
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Kirby

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The new Z06 is 505+ hp, not 400. The M5 and the new Z06 are a GOOD comparison since we are talking about fuel economy. So what if it has overdrive? The new Z06 has BOTH 5th AND 6th as OD, and the M5 has OD as well in 7th, so they are, or could be on equal ground as far as OD AND fuel mileage goes.
 
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gpoints

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epj3 said:
That's an incredibly stupid comparison. I could easily get 30+mpg in my 3.5l SOHC E34 with the proper gearing, but currently I get around 20-22.

But comparing a 507hp V10 to a 5.7 liter 400hp V8 is kind of stupid. Not to mention the corvette's 6th gear IS an overdrive - its top speed is only reachable in FIFTH GEAR. Otherwise it would get 15 mpg highway. Plus the M5 weighs a few HUNDRED pounds more. Sorry, you'll need a better comparison than that.

How about my 15 year old 3.5l that puts out around 222hp and 247 lb-ft of torque with a 3.91:1 rear end (stock is 3.46:1) and gets better gas mileage than GM's CURRENT 3.8 liter V6 200 hp and 225 lb-ft torque?
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[rofl]
Please re-read (or just read) that I made reference to the Z06.
Z06: 7.0 liter, 500+ hp, 7000 rpm redline, hand made monster getting 20mpg. Sorry, but the LS7 is more efficient and more powerful than the M5's v10.

Who wins this comparison (Mileage/Efficiency):
BMW S54 vs GM LS2

*S54 = Gas Guzzler (per the epa)
*LS2 = Not a Gas Guzzler

*333 HP vs 400 HP

I'll spare you the torque comparison.


[paranoid]
 
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