Bigger engines, two-car households and school runs on rise

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 18 Feb 2010, 07:04

The Ecologist - 16/02/10

Far from downsizing, Government transport statistics reveal a trend towards multi-car households and bigger engines as well as more children being driven to school

The number of cars on British roads with an engine size of more than 2 litres has doubled from around 2 million in 1999 to 4 million today, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

At the same time there has been continued growth in the number of households with access to two or more cars, from around 2 per cent in the 1950s to more than 30 per cent in 2008.

Article continues ...

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 18 Feb 2010, 07:26

In Lincolnshire, the Local Education Authority is responsible for transporting school children 16 million miles per year. After school buildings heating this is the largest source of CO2 emissions that the County Council is responsible for.

The policy of parental choice regarding which school is attended has greatly increased the need for transport.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 18 Feb 2010, 09:14

My last three cars have gone from 1.0l to 1.2l to 1.6l

Seating has gone from 4 to 5 to 7.

Family size has gone from 1 to 2 to 4

My next car will probably be hybrid, and a lot smaller.

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 18 Feb 2010, 09:24

mmm from when are they extrapolating the data, pre-recession I suspect! (if current trends continue....)

Post by **clv101** » 18 Feb 2010, 09:35

My car is a 1.9L. It replaced a 1.2L. However the fuel efficiency improved from ~40mpg to ~55mpg. Petrol to diesel (and it's twice as powerful). The other point is that over the study period VAG (VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat) replaced their standard 1.9 diesel engine with a 2.0 version. This wasn't associated with a drop in efficiency though.

Adam1 · Post by **Adam1** » 18 Feb 2010, 13:33

Mine is an eight year old, 1.6 petrol auto, not very fuel efficient but with only 35k miles on the clock. We do about 6k a year, maybe less now. We are trying to displace more car journeys with alternatives but it doesn't seem worthwhile replacing it. Plus it would be expensive. The cheapest alternative is to use it less.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 18 Feb 2010, 14:36

Adam1 wrote:Mine is an eight year old, 1.6 petrol auto, not very fuel efficient but with only 35k miles on the clock. We do about 6k a year, maybe less now. We are trying to displace more car journeys with alternatives but it doesn't seem worthwhile replacing it. Plus it would be expensive. The cheapest alternative is to use it less.

Spot on. Ours is ten years old now, still gets +50 to the gallon, is there when we need it.

But we hardly use it.

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 18 Feb 2010, 15:22

We went up from a 1.6 estate to the MPV (2.0) when we got the 4th child. The MPV does about 25-35 mpg, we do about 5K miles a year and run on 30% biodiesel. I don't think we are a typical UK family!

We'll be keeping this car going as long as possible, now we have shelled out for it. By the time it starts to fall apart, a couple of the kids at least should have left home so it will be a smaller car.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 18 Feb 2010, 15:42

clv101 wrote:My car is a 1.9L. It replaced a 1.2L. However the fuel efficiency improved from ~40mpg to ~55mpg. Petrol to diesel (and it's twice as powerful). The other point is that over the study period VAG (VW, Audi, Skoda, Seat) replaced their standard 1.9 diesel engine with a 2.0 version. This wasn't associated with a drop in efficiency though.

Chris, will the VAG 1.9L turbo diesel run on bio-diesel?

I'm currently getting around 47-48 mpg but would be happy to run on bio if the engine was capable of it.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 18 Feb 2010, 15:58

goslow wrote:We went up from a 1.6 estate to the MPV (2.0) when we got the 4th child. The MPV does about 25-35 mpg, we do about 5K miles a year and run on 30% biodiesel. I don't think we are a typical UK family!

We'll be keeping this car going as long as possible, now we have shelled out for it. By the time it starts to fall apart, a couple of the kids at least should have left home so it will be a smaller car.

And do you live up to your screen name?

Seriously, it is pathetic that personal vehicles that only do that type of mpg are allowed to be sold - though I know yours, gs, isn't actually that bad, comparatively speaking. How's about the Bentley Azure, 14.5 mpg combined? And that's not the worst by far.

The EU has let us down on that score. Yes, things have improved slightly and are improving slowly but most extra efficiency has gone into bigger cars, more miles faster driven and more frippery.

It would be a case of insisting on an increase in mpg across the board every year, taking the worst performers off the road if necessary. If they'd started doing that during the seventies we might have achieved the 100mpg car by now.

Oh, I forgot, it's a free market. You have a right to pollute. Translation: the EU is hog tied by industry.

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 18 Feb 2010, 16:19

emordnilap wrote:
And do you live up to your screen name?

ha, well yes I am tenacious about keeping under the speed limit at least!

Some of these MPVs have had decreasing mpg partly because of all the safety features they have these days. Yer takes yer choice...

BTW Aurora, I have one guy in my biodiesel group happily running his skoda on biodiesel, at 50% blend or more. Its a complicated issue, depends precisely on what model of VAG engine you have. Pre-2003 makes are often reported as being ok at high blends.

VAG themselves have backed away from officially approving biodiesel use in their cars. Certainly the post-2003 ones are approved at no more than 5% blend (which you can manage in any diesel car anyway).

In contrast Peugeot say officially that 30% blend is ok in all their diesels since 2003, and that is what I run on.

emordnilap · Post by **emordnilap** » 18 Feb 2010, 16:54

goslow wrote:Some of these MPVs have had decreasing mpg partly because of all the safety features they have these days. Yer takes yer choice...

I know. Heated seats, power steering, air conditioning, electric sunroofs, electronic seat positioning, dvd players, they all protect the occupants!

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 18 Feb 2010, 17:15

you ain't seen the half of it

ours has electric sliding doors

welcome to the 25th century, Buck Rogers!

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 18 Feb 2010, 18:55

emordnilap wrote: Heated seats,

Essential to protect my health on a cold and frost morning!

Our Focus 1.7ltr turbo diesel does about 50mpg even commuting. The last car was a 1.7 Astra non turbo diesel but the milage on that was lower. The Discovery diesel does about 20mpg but is usually off road or towing a heavy cattle or tipping trailer for about 4000 miles per year.

The family has gone from 2 to 4 to 2 to 4 and now back to 2 as kids have come and gone to uni and come back with a boyfriend, now hubby and moved into a cabin next door. The cars have been at 2, then 3 now 4 as work has required hubby to have a car as well. His car is a 1ltr which is only used on days when he needs to travel. Daughter's is a 1.7 or 8 diesel used for work as an EHO, so she travels around the district quite a bit.

We've used up to 50% veg oil in the Discovery with no problems during the summer but wouldn't use that much in winter; too viscous. Only about 10% then. I haven't tried biodiesel yet, apart from the standard EU 5% blend from the garage. I've been thinking about checking on the price and getting a 1000ltr IBC container in and mixing it in or using it 100%. I would only use biodiesel made from waste oil as, otherwise, it would most likely come from palm oil plantations in the far east rain forest (by the way, have you signed my petition yet? http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/foreignbiofuels/)

goslow · Post by **goslow** » 19 Feb 2010, 09:04

that's exactly our set up. 1000 l IBC with biodiesel made by a commercial company from WVO. Paid for by a group of us on a co-op basis.