What car makers *should* be doing!

[NeilBlanchard]

Hello y'all,

I want to try to list steps that car makers could/should take to improve the fuel efficiency. The most obvious would be to mold the plastic on the front of the vehicle to be smooth and round, with grill openings that are sized (and placed) only as required to cool the engine. Similar to the original VW Passat:

...or the original Ford Taurus:

Sealing all the seams and joints (with gaskets or backing flanges) in the high pressure areas of the vehicle.

I'll add more later, when I have more time.

[Tango Charlie]

I vote for smooth underbelly trays.
With access panels for maintenance.

[MazdaMatt]

How about not selling econocars that cruise at 3500rpm on the highway? I could happily double the 5th gear ratio in my protege5.

[cfg83]

NeilBlanchard -

I agree. That looks like the 1988-1993 Third Generation Passat. I consider that era to be very "aero-friendly" in terms of car design, aka below headlight grills and such.

As Unheard pointed out, the Kia Ceed is an excellent example of what needs to be done and captures the "low hanging fruit" that we are all so fond of :

Eco modded kia ceed. factory fit eco modding!!!

CarloSW2

[Johnny Mullet]

I agree with the aerodynamics. The under belly tray is also a good idea. Fender skirts for the win!

All new cars should have instant built in MPG units (like higher line models do now) and like Ford did it years ago on a truck, they should have an optional vacuum gauge with a red/green zone.

Tire pressure monitors really suck, but they do let a driver know of an inflation problem. This is already required by law for new cars anyway, but a monitor that tells you the air pressure in each tire would be great!

Forget the honkin' 16"-22" rims and wide tires! Lets bring back the skinny tire! I'm not talking about Metro wheels on an SUV, but a tire and rim size proportioned to the vehicle.

Optional switches or programmable system that allow the driver to turn the A/C compressor on or off and other accessories like Daytime Running Lights, autolocks, entry illumination, "sealt belt minder", etc as desired. Cars being sold to the general public cannot have a "kill switch", "Alternator cutout", etc because the general public are stupid.

I would also love to see the return of the diesel here in America.

[azraelswrd]

mmmm... most of the ones I wanted to say have already been covered:

- transmission gear ratios
- aerodynamic front molding/design
- underbelly smoothing
- on-board FE feedback system

I think some car makers are doing these, but not for every car. I believe it was Mercedes who modded their C-class down to a 0.25 Cd:

I basjoosed my headlights today (sealed the surrounding gap)

[SuperTrooper]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

I would also love to see the return of the diesel here in America.

It's amazing when you look at the EPA site and go to diesels and click on 1985.

Compare Diesels Side-by-Side

Every U.S. company offered diesels at every level. From the Chevette to the Eldorado. Almost every brand for sale here offered some kind of diesel in cars, trucks or both.

OMG! The Cadillac Fleetwood got better mileage than the Mercedes 300D!

What happened to all these cars & trucks?

[Brian03cav]

Originally Posted by MazdaMatt

How about not selling econocars that cruise at 3500rpm on the highway? I could happily double the 5th gear ratio in my protege5.

i second this, some vehicles need a 7th gear. my dads mini cooper s runs so high cruising on the highway.

[Johnny Mullet]

Nobody wanted a stinkin' diesel especially after the GM 5.7L turned out so unreliable.

[MazdaMatt]

Originally Posted by Brian03cav

i second this, some vehicles need a 7th gear. my dads mini cooper s runs so high cruising on the highway.

despite its size, the cooper S is really a sports car. An economical one yes, but still a sports car. I can understand having tight ratios in that. In the base model, however, the ratios should be higher. I've always wanted a 6th gear in my protege5.

[Brian03cav]

Originally Posted by MazdaMatt

despite its size, the cooper S is really a sports car. An economical one yes, but still a sports car. I can understand having tight ratios in that. In the base model, however, the ratios should be higher. I've always wanted a 6th gear in my protege5.

well thats true, my sisters non s (regular cooper) gets high 30s low 40s no problem. its just that in his S it seems the highest gear (6th) just isnt high enough, not really any kind of overdrive. but a sports car it most positivly is

[whokilledthejams]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

Nobody wanted a stinkin' diesel especially after the GM 5.7L turned out so unreliable.

...except the nerds that buy German cars.

I wish I was a nerd with a diesel German car. In particular, a 5-cylinder Mercedes would be fantastic. They'll run with a thrown rod; as well as a whole bunch of crap thrown into the crankcase:
"So, instead of crushing said car, it was decided to take the car, remove the oil cap, run the engine at WOT, while the other team captains dropped items into the engine. Things that were put into the poor engine included New England Clam Chowder, milk-o-magnesia, fabric softener, Heiniken Beer, a loose bolt, cleanser, and other things. "

24 Hours Of Lemons: People's Curse Fails To Kill Diesel Benz, Once-Angry Mob Has Change Of Heart

Not terribly efficient, but nigh-unkillable.

[NeilBlanchard]

Hiya,

Some more items:

Tire pressure monitor.

Average & "instant" MPG displays, that are on all the time. (The xD uses the same display for the odometer, the two trip odometers, average MPG, instant MPG -- way too many things on one display! You have to toggle through them with a button that could not be a bigger pain to press...)

Fully ducted cooling system, with the intake down low on the front, and the exhaust in a low pressure zone; minimizing the size of the radiator and the reducing the drag as much as possible.

Throttle control that maintains even throttle in a user-set speed range, with minimal throttle increases to maintain the speed in that range.

Higher gearing with 6-7 speeds (smaller engines need more gears to work efficiently); or CVT transmissions.

Video cameras and screens in place of side mirrors.

Efficient and effective fresh air flow through the vehicle, with intakes on a high pressure area, and exhaust vent(s) out the back of the vehicle into the low pressure wake zone, to reduce drag as much as possible.

Automatic engine shut off and start up; at least with CVT (or automatic) transmissions -- and possibly with standard shifts, based on having both the clutch and the brake applied?

Lean burn in low vacuum conditions.

Store hot coolant in a vacuum insulated tank, to speed up warm-up time; a la what the Prius does.

Coat all the window glass to exclude as much heat as possible.

Make A/C on the defrost setting optional.

Tighten up wheel openings, and always use aerodynamically designed wheels/covers, with rear wheel skirts (at least optional).

Make roof racks removable. Years ago, I saw a "papoose" add-on storage system that locked onto the back of the car, with a single caster wheel to support the weight -- it tucked completely into the air flow behind the car; and it would be a great way to add storage space when needed; that did not affect how you drove very much.

For new 4-cylinder engine designs, the crankshaft could be split with a hydraulic coupling that can automatically disengage two cylinders completely; saving all the pumping and friction losses, for situations when 2 cylinders are enough to provide the required torque to move the vehicle.

Or, make every vehicle with a plug-in electric w/ serial hybrid ICE drive train.

[modmonster]

i want:

plug in hybrid with regen braking
engine waste heat recycling -what ever technology is best.
instant mpg and trip mpg computer
engine block heater
boat tail

[instarx]

Originally Posted by Johnny Mullet

Nobody wanted a stinkin' diesel especially after the GM 5.7L turned out so unreliable.

Yep. That truly bad GM auto-diesel would often fail just starting it up cold. It pretty much single handedly destroyed the domestic diesel movement in the US.

Other reasons diesels did not catch on in the 80's were because they were woefully underpowered (since very few had turbos), you really did have to go to truck stops to get fuel (few service stations had diesel pumps), and diesels were NOISY! None of these things apply anymore and I would love to see more diesels.

I had an 81 diesel rabbit and I wish I had it back! 50+ mpg driving full throttle most of the time.

I think the perfect diesel was that VW Passat at the top of the page - it was available as a diesel and got 45 mpg.

[lunarhighway]

diesel engines went trough a huge evolution the last 20 years, current diesels are much like pertrol engines to drive, although they're very complex, so maintenance costs could be an issue, but in terms of economy and performance they rule.

i totally love cars from the 80's, it seemed aerodynamics where put high on the agenda back than, and designers finally decided to do away with obsolete grills on favor of flat aerodynamics nose panels... wheel arches where shaped for tire clearance and ninimal aerodynamic intrusion

ford sierra 1982 Cd 0.34 (later the car got a more conventional grill, but the big headlights still dominated the front...)


citroen ax 1986 Cd 0.31 (this one will appeal to metro fans!)


opel omega 1986 Cd 0.28


opel calibra 1989 Cd 0.26


i think this proves it's more than possible to build practical cars, that don't even have to all that funny looking.

[KazukiFennec]

It's really too bad that most of the public is gunshy of any unusual design. Citroens in general have been slippery cars, and they had that brilliant hydropneumatic suspension system that you could lower for highway driving just by moving a lever, yet gave excellent handling and an absurdly smooth ride.

[orange4boy]

I'd love to see floating/articulating front wheel skirts that turn with the wheels.

I'm already designing them in my head.

I guess basjoos has the passive kind.

[Will]

I want a 6th gear!!! Sometimes, at near 3,000 rpm going only 55mph. I actually finding myself looking at the shifter. Damn! Out of gears again!!!!

[KJSatz]

I would totally like a 6th gear. Especially since car companies are making 5-speed automatics with lower gear ratios than their standard counterparts...!!!