0 - 60: Ignorance or arrogance?
Is there a difference?There has been a lot of hot air coming out of the auto industry regarding CAFE's 35 mpg by 2020 - even though there are already a plethora of loopholes between here and there. So, is CAFE going to cost, as GM's Bob Lutz has suggested, about $6000 extra per vehicle?
Not if automakers are smart, according to MotorTrend's Angus MacKenzie. As an example, MacKenzie points to the Mercedes Benz BlueEFFICIENCY C-Class, which is reported to achieve about 36 mpg - a good bit more than the low 20's of a standard C-Class. So, how does BlueEFFICIENCY do it?
Reduced weight, reduced rolling resistance, reduced aerodynamic drag, and a smaller turbo-charged engine. And, most important and unflattering for gearheads, a reduced 0 - 60 time. All of this, Angus predicts, because of the smaller engine, will probably lead to an equally priced vehicle - just 2 seconds slower.
That's not rocket science, and for those just dying to have extra power, or an extra second or two off the line, hybrid technology could easily bridge the difference. A fleetwide average of 35 mpg is achievable today, but not for ignorance and arrogance, and it doesn't have to cost $5000 per vehicle.
Labels: CAFE, fuel efficiency
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:59 AM
5 Comments:
I have always wondered about these performance metrics myself. Does every driver of automotive vehicles demand outrageous sums of horsepower and blazing 0 to 60 speeds? Obviously, the auto manufacturers feel that every person walking in the door will be satisfied with nothing less!
Why can't the manufacturers make a couple of performance models and then leave the rest of their fleet dedicated to fuel economy? Today's engines are highly advanced and give us more horsepower for the same fuel economy, but the same fuel economy is simply not going to cut it in the future.
Why not use these sophisticated new engines in SMALLER forms and less horsepower in order to give us a decent 40 mpg car? As long as people can merge safely with interstate traffic, what other concerns are there?
Remember the Geo Metro? It had this little 800 cc engine with three cylinders and great fuel economy but apparently, GM did not like to sell it!
Those are the metrics most auto magazines gush about. Our trucks are more powerful than yours. My cars are faster. All this functionality that we don't really need.
I think we're just caught up in a viscious cycle of nonesense wrapped in an enigma of ignorance and arrogance - thank you JFK movie.
My friend used to drive one of those Metros - it was awesome, except on the freeway over 50! But for city driving it was fantastic. I helped him drive that car into the ground. It didn't get the ladies, though, and that's what cars are all about, right?
Jabroni, Dahc....
It astounds me every time I step outside and see the number of cars that have 250HP, 300HP, 350HP or more...in cars like SUVs, small hatchbacks like GTI R32s, Audis, etc...it's just plain stupid. All this power in cars that weight 3500 lbs or more. WHY? What went wrong?
Stupid gear heads will argue that we have made huge strides in advancement in technology. Even though today's cars get the same mileage as a Model T, they claim the new cars do it with safety, more room, more power.
Performance in cars has become a drug to people...they may as well be addicted to crack-cocaine. And believe me, their response to taking these toys away from them is no less viscous and violent.
Take a site I frequent often called VWVortex.com....and VW enthusiast site that is also home to some of the most arrogant, facist bunch of right-wing egotists this side of Fox News. Their outright hatred for people who care about the environment, want a clean future, etc is instant attacks and name-calling to the extent of being called a communist, socialist, freedom hater, etc...unbelievable stuff. This is how the arrogant, ignorant, and stupid modern day zealots work. It's about ego, about power, and control.
They feel that the "government" telling them what do drive and do is anti-freedom, anti this, that. Yet they have no problem with the government making their decisions to go to war and destroy other countries.
Why am I even bringing this stuff up? Because we need to understand the history and logic of stupid people to understand why these same idiots think it's OK to drive around in a 400HP BMW Sedan...they think it's normal. It's their God-given right somehow...somehow, it's their right and anyone like you, me, or anyone else who understands the consequences and lunacy of it all is a freedom hating, terrorist-loving treehugging liberal douchebag.
Nevermind that NONE of them would give up any of their toys for the good of THEIR kids future...oh no...when it comes to that, then we see their true colors and how insignificant their kids, and other people's lives really are.
So the biggest barrier of downsizing cars is people like these. People who think they need to go to 0-60 in 6 seconds or less...because 8 seconds or 9 seconds just won't get them to their destinations on time. These are people who are in a hurry to go nowhere.
noz-
"in a hurry to go nowhere". reminds me of one of my favorite U2 songs - "running to stand still".
Can't we all just get a long, go smoke some good erb :).
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