OPEL ECO SPEEDSTER - WHERE HAS IT GONE ??? WHY ISN'T THE US LEARNING ????

Ok, I checked it out and liked what i saw. The question is if they make this will anyone but the super rich be able to afford it?

It may cost more than an average car presently, that gets 20-35 mpg, but probably would be way cheaper than buying the big SUV's and four door trucks, that us americans seem to be soooooo proud of, sitting in our driveways.

Where do you put the grocries? How do the child seats fit in? Where do the 3rd and 4th passenger sit? What USA safety equipment does it have as standard equipment? Does it meet emission standards? How good is the air conditioning? Does it have a heater and defrosters? One or two off race cars that get extensive maintenance every few miles are not even the same subject as everyday transportation. -- JHF

Groceries: in the trunk, dumbnut

Child Seats: Its pretty much an axium that a child will NOT be entering this kind of vehicle until they make the engine type standard for SUVs, this also helps with groceries, considering you are clearly an american, and hence probably eat hundreds of dollars worth of groceries a week.This also explains the 3rd and 4th passenger problem. As for USA safety standard equipment thingy or watever, have you ever considered that USA safety equippment is NOT the best kind in the world? And that this vehicle is probably alot safer than the american equivelent, as in a 1920s muscle car, aka a screaming metal deathtrap. Other countries have safety features too, and its racist for you to think its only in america where you find the latest safety technology, considering the fact that Volvo is one of the best, and is Swedish, I beleive. As for emmision standards- how fricken stupid are you? it cant create more emmissions than a car that uses 5 times the gas, genius. As for the last two im not sure, but seriously, this is just a start. If you and the rest of the Americans refuse to have fuel efficient cars to make way for some 5 gallon per mile muscle-SUV freak hybrid, Greenhouse gasses will increase, and we will all be screwed. Get over the fact that America sucks at making cars, your not gonna get any brownie points from people for being ignorant.

Thank you for that very objective comment. Did I miss something or did you reply to my serious question? It looks like a fun car, but not very practical. I do believe that there must be research vehicles and that the technology will and should find it's way into everyday life. But, why the title of the thread-"OPEL ECO SPEEDSTER - WHERE HAS IT GONE"? Why is it not the #1 selling car in the world if it is so practical? Is the USA the only market for automobiles in the world? My point was and still is that a one or two off experimental car or can't solve the worlds problems. The OP made it look like this was a production everyday driver. It is not. -- JHF

P.S. just hurling insults not solutions is no more constructive than being totally closed minded, which I am not.

P.P.S I do not drive a SUV.

Your comments might have some credibility if you were not hiding behind the guest status.

this car is really a diamond in the rough, and the same techknowledgy should be used for everyday cars.

That's nothing, take a look at what some students built and ran in a mileage contest. Over 2,800 MPG.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24111771/

The Opel Eco Speedster may do 140 MPH but will not a 112 MPG at that speed.

It all boils down to Weight, Speed and MPH.

According to the advertisement video, the Eco Speedster AVERAGED over 140 MPH over 24 hours WHILE getting over 113 MPG INCREDIBLE

Actually, the 112 mpg was at max speed, at most efficient speed who knows how many miles it can squeez per gallon

How well do you think any of these vehicles would do in the crash tests that your legislatures have decided you needed to pass?

I would imagine the oil companies would stand to loose profits if such a vehicle hit the market here in the States.

The Oil companies have the money and power to prevent such a vehicle from being allowed in the United States as a mainstream vehicle.

They have stopped other fuel economical break throughs in the past. Chevron bought out an eight cylinder engine made in the 1930's that got well over 50mpg and buried it.

I have no reason to believe they wouldn't do something similar in this case.

It's not the people of the United States that is the problem, it's the companies with that stand to loose and have the power, are the ones that are the problem.

Enough of the conspiracy. The economy did to oil prices what no invention ever could. Puleeeze.

That's right. The Economy.

Money talks.

They who have the money have the control.

They lowered the prices because people weren't spending. They lowered the prices to increase the demand. It's price that dictates demand on a commodity.

They need people spending to get that money to maintain control.

When something comes along that threatens your profit margins, you do what you can to protect your profit margins. Why, because as CEO of your company it is your primary responsibility to please the Board of Directors that hired you and all they are concerned about is their stock holdings.

There is no conspiracy theory, that is the name of the game.

Phil,

I have to agree with you on the principle here.

It's just a shame that the US car industry has been allowed to develop in the way that it has. The reason that they're in trouble is that they have been producing innappropriate vehicles for too long. It's entrenched the wrong mindset in the heirarchy of the companies. And it won't change soon enough.

Of the cars I've owned it is the small ones which I have enjoyed most, to this day.

180 and counting.

Tucker was ahead of his time, and he could not sell enough cars to survive. Rambler Motors made safe economical cars, and they died also. Studebaker made some good cars. What happened to them. Why did the American public buy these big SUVs instead of the Cavaliers, and Focus that were in the showrooms at the same time?

Better marketing to the Apathetic population. The better mouse trap was expected to sell itself but a gullible public took what they thought was the best deal. Never underestimate the greed of the player, or some sales men.

Brad

So, the Opel Sco Speedster, if it were to be sold at an affordable price, would still need to have a good marketing plan.

The failure of the Corvair was credited to Ralph Nadar. Was that car any worse than similar cars of the era? VW, Falcon, Renault, Fiat.

Are we saying the American car buying public are poor car buyers?

No ignorant ones. Their buying is done on an emotional level not a logical one.

Commercials show a feel good image and music while inserting the insinuating catch phrase in the audio.

Sex, comforts of childhood or food, excitement, pleasure or shock tactics.

The gecko is just irritating enough to make you remember him thus brand naming the real intention.

I have several friends who wanted me to explain how commercials work in detail. All but one have voiced their regrets at now finding them very irritating.

The salesman works on much the same level. My father sold High end Lubrication even to lubrication companies. My learning began very young and I can find some salesman quite morel less.

Brad

You and I are on the same page. Did you ever notice that you never hear about a shark eating a car salesman. Professional courtesy.

Sharks, car salesmen, and lawyers oh my

Bob,

Nader was also having a 'downer' on BMW at the time too. I guess it's a testament to the tenacity and motives of the company leaders that it succeded to the prestige global conglomerate it has now become.

I reckon it was only the GM honchos who got it wrong and were allowed to get away with it (a few too many long lunches). I know Smokey Yunick had developed several ways out (of the problem of engineering an appropriate vehicle for the masses) for them, only to have them soundly reject his ideas. Remember what they said when the VW 'beetle' was first introduced to the US? "That funny-lookin' furrin car won't ever sell here".

Tucker's problem wasn't his engineering. He was just too much of a snake-oil salesman to have all of the t's crossed and the i's dotted where he needed. Confidence is not always well placed. That said, he was a genius at conceptualising.

We had the failure, here, of a brillianly concieved car through, ultimately, just the very same reasons. Damn shame too. I couldn't get anyone to look back at history and see the factors being repeated over again.

I think along the lines you do: If we could rid the system of the 'negative mass' ( those opposed to change only because it upsets their stick-in-the-mud comfort) we, as a populace, could do the 'impossible' and actually embrace more products, transport included, which are appropriate to their use, and more firendly to the planet than the ones we currently use.

Keep up the good work,

Cheers,

Stu.

Thanks for the kind words. The Corvair before 1965 had the same swing axle rear drive as the VW. The improved 65 design was superior to most of the cars at twice the price sold here, but it was too late.

Can you name the only GM car sold in the US without a steering column lock in 1969?

That's right the Corvair.

So where can you buy the engine, I would like to replace gas engines?

You can buy it right over there.

This Opel has my attention, I work near the only Tesla elecric car dealer in Menlo Park CA, and there are no more lines waiting for these cars at $120K per unit. This Opel is based upon the same spartan design, simple and as little mass as possible, ya gotta love the simplicity.

For the record, GM Ford and Dodge sold the main stream what they would buy, heck I bought a Diesel Ram Cummins during the Dot Bomb.

The cattle lined up for the slaughter, Note: Never stand in line for anything.

Now we want sophisticated fuel economy, my understanding is the Opel Eco Speedster is about $48,000 Euros. That is more than a Corvette at $50K USD.

And a BMW 520d is about the same price, with a four cyl diesel engine, which would your wife drive for 3 years?

Hello,

I have a question regarding the issue of importing this engine into the U.S. Besides the possibility of not passing california emissions test, does anyone forsee any other obstacles? And how hard would it be to modify the engine for california requirements?

Why is the government so worried about the emissions of a motorcycle or a economy car that both can achieve 45+ mpg, when a suv that passes emissions gets only 12-15.

What vehicles put more actual pollutants and co2 into the air per mile driven.

For the same reason there are emission standards on lawn mower engines.

The politics surrounding auto Diesel engines and offerings are often not a sinister as they seem, they are simply business decisions. How many bread and butter cars can a MFG sell, what are the criteria that drive buyers, how can we keep Diane Feinstein & Barbara Boxer happy with no more Diesel cars in California. (Even though the infrastructure of California's Disaster Recovery Plan has increased the number of stationary diesels by X to the 10th power in the Public Sector).

So since you will be panelized for buying a gray market car by your insurance company, and by your state government, you can buy a mass produced legal California vehicle and convert it. You get the best of both worlds, the crush panels are approved, air bags work and you can get insurance, you'll just get 35% Better fuel economy than your neighbor.

I have a BMW 325I that has a 330D engine in place, which was never offered by BMW in the USA but attaints 35% better fuel economy.

I also plan to do a conversion on my '09 Jeep Wrangler to a current MBZ Diesel next year, from the CDI Grand Cherokee or MBZ E series. "Just remember you can put any engine from the same MFG family, that is the same year or newer than the vehicle you put it into."

Build your own dream out of mass produced offerings to display the truth about demand, and run it on Bio Fuels.

Hondo78-