I agree. I think that a power/weight ratio of around 20 is good enough for most vehicles....except for cargo carriers?
That means a 2500 lb car would be limited to around 130-135 HP....(2500/130 = 19.2) Power over this should be taxed? Or the CAFE standards should be raised?
I realize this is
UN-AMERICAN...where 5% of the worlds population uses 25% of the worlds energy...we are god's chosen people and are meant to have all the energy we want....just ask the right? No matter if we steal it or trash the planet? God is on our side and that is just that.....
In fact...no matter what we do as a country...it is just plain....AOK!
Quote:
Originally Posted by brucepick
IHMO the biggest improvement would be to wean American drivers off vehicles that have twice the power needed.
My '89 Euro-beast weighs about 3070 lb and the engine is 115 hp. Any car currently on the US market has a much higher hp/weight ratio - '07 Camry 4-cyl is 158 hp/3263 lb. And the V6 is 268 hp!
True that before mods, I rarely would win the stop light derby in this car, but so what? It always gets me where I'm going.
I have to admit that turning all cars into total gutless powerless slugs would turn the public against the industry. It happened in the '70's; people couldn't wait for more powerful cars to be available again. But 268 hp for a 3300 lb car? People actually think they need that to do battle with freeway traffic or something. Let them learn other ways to get through life.
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