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Cars we don't get to drive

The car makers we all know only give us a smattering of the models available word wide.

My rental here in Italy is a Citroen C4. It has a diesel engine, five speed manual, all sorts of options and electronics in the dash display. Comfortable seating, covered cargo hatch, and handles and rides well. Filled up today and I was getting 46 mpg. Diesel was $7.80 a gallon.

Hyundai has a few small models, but they have not made the inroads here as in the US. I've only seen one Kia so far.

This morning I drove SR65 from Florence to Bologna. It goes through the Futa Pass and twists and turns all the way. A great trip!

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The road from Florence to Bologna cuts through the Apennines like a silk ribbon blown on to a rockery. In the Second World War, the German army defended the Gothic Line from the American advance up there and the graves bear witness to the fierce fighting. Long before that, however, the Futa Pass had been identified as one of Italy's greatest driving roads. Between

1927 and 1957 it was part of the Mille Miglia race, when vast crowds of enthusiastic spectators would assemble on each of the wide, sweeping corners to cheer the drivers.

The retrospective Mille Miglia still tracks north on the Futa Pass, although these days the field has to mix it with a weekend armada of leisure bikes and sports cars. The time to enjoy the Futa is early in the morning, when you will share the road with a select few; Lamborghini test drivers have been known to set their alarms and so, too, Ducati testers.

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Reply to
Ed Pawlowski
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US or Imperial gallon?

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

US gallon

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

You sure, you getting the translation right ????

Remember, you are driving a French car (Why not a LAMBO ????), that measure things in Km and Liters, and you pay in Euros, not $, way too many conversions.... Last time I was in the old country, gas was 0.93 euros/Liter, diesel was

0.89 .... of course, 6 years ago....

BTW, forget about Bologna, or Rome, Florence is the BEST part of Italy.

Reply to
Vic RR Garcia

The Euro is down to 1.356. Diesel is 1.49 to 1.59 Kilometer is still .621 miles

That 7.80 is 5.73 euro per gallon or 1.51 per liter. Diesel is running 1.45 to 1.59 depending on brand and location.

Last time I was here it was 1.24, about 4 years ago.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I am getting 23 mpg in my Sonata in the city. Gas is $3.60 today. So it's basically a wash, price wise. I heard diesel engines do not last as long. Is this still true, generally speaking?

DK

Reply to
DK

Where did you hear that? Diesel engines typically outlast gasoline engines at least 2:1 and often more. Sounds like you are still playing the Oldsmobile tape from 3 decades ago. Those weren't really engines designed to be diesels, they were gasoline engines that were converted to be diesels and the conversion was really poorly done.

Matt

Reply to
Voyager

It is a wash apple/oranges, but think how much you potentially save if you got 40 mpg. I get about 28 on my Sonata, about 2/3 highway and I drive

23,000 per year. 821 gallon versus 575 or a savings of 246 gallons or $885. Diesels do cost more to buy so that is another factor.

The old GM diesels of the 70's were crap; they were converted gas engines with poor engineering.. My 5 cylinder Mercedes just sounded as good as the day it was new when I sold it with 200,000. A good diesel will last much longer than a gas engine. Trucks often get 1 to 2 million miles.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

5 cylinder diesel engine? My first driving lessons were on a van with 3 cylinder Perkins diesel engine. The whole van would rock'roll when starting up, but ran very smoothly once it was warmed up and on the road. Picture of this type of van is here.
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Reply to
Irwell

"Irwell" wrote

Nifty looking truck.

Mercedes came out with a 5 cylinder turbocharged engine about late 70's or so.

Looks like it has been used often

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Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

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