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Old 09-07-2010, 09:28 PM   #16 (permalink)
RobertSmalls
Left Lane Ecodriver
 
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
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Prius C - '12 Toyota Prius C
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aspera View Post
I agree. What's the magic ratio? I bet the VW is better than lots of other vehicles on the road.

Besides, even if VW 'ruins' the production version of the L1 and makes the lower body a foot wider...it will still be the most efficient car on the road by a wide margin. Maybe *only* 100MPG.
There is no magic ratio of track width to CG height. The minimum ratio depends on how stable you need the vehicle to be. All I can tell you is the Ford Explorer and Geo Tracker are too high and/or narrow, and the Lotus Elise is not.

Does anybody know the CG heights for the Tracker, Explorer, or any other topheavy SUV? Or perhaps what the threshold is for the "This is a rollover-prone vehicle" warning on the sun visors?
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