Quote:
Originally posted by FrayAdjacent911
I think we have plenty of room to squeeze more out of gasoline... in terms of power and efficiency.
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I've often looked at this from another angle. Using basic physics (no, I'm not a physicist but I had to endure alot of it in college), a certain amount of energy is always going to be required to accelerate a given mass at a given rate.
The problem we have these days is that cars (and SUVs) have gotten very heavy. The laws of physics dictate that if we want to accelerate these things quickly (and we seem to enjoy doing that), then it's going to take alot of energy - no way around it. Heck, today's 911s weigh 1000lbs (!!!) more than they did 30 years ago. That's shocking.
Gasoline only has so much energy in it. There are limits to how efficiently we can extract that energy. IMHO, we need to focus on building lighter-weight (but safe) cars that don't require so much energy to move around.
My very first car - a 1978 Mazda GLC - got 40mpg. 40mpg!! In 1978! And it was nothing special. How many cars get 40mpg these days? I previously owned a 1983 Toyota 4WD pickup. 96hp out of a 2.4 liter engine. It got over 26mpg on the interstate and was perfectly acceptable. Now, Toyota (catering to the *needs* of the US drivers) is hard-pressed to offer a 4WD pickup with less than 245hp. The fact that you can get around 20mpg out of today's Toyota on the interstate is a testament to increases in efficiencies, but it also hints at what is possible if 200+ hp wasn't *required* in today's market...
I think we need to shift our focus to smaller, lighter-weight vehicles that have reasonable power outputs.
Mike