Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Let the modding begin! (How US carmakers will meet the 35 mpg CAFE target)

brucepick · 12-21-2007, 01:16 PM

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.

12-21-2007, 01:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
brucepick OCD Master EcoModder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Eastern CT, USA Posts: 1,936 Outasight - '00 Honda Insight Team Honda Gen-1 Insights 90 day: 54.18 mpg (US) Thanks: 431 Thanked 396 Times in 264 Posts	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. __________________ Coast long and prosper. Driving '00 Honda Insight, acquired Feb 2016. Last edited by brucepick; 12-21-2007 at 01:21 PM..