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Originally Posted by Hersbird
you left out #7 which is the biggest thing in trucks right now
(7) High strength, lightweight materials
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Oops - thanks for pointing that out.
Even the runt of the litter Mitsu Mirage's engineers put it on a strict diet, with high strength steel in the structure and trimmed weight throughout. Thus the sub-2k lbs weight in U.S. trim and the flimsiest plastic wheelcovers this side of DIY coroplast discs. But losing a hundred and fifty lbs from an econobox isn't as exciting as dropping ~700 from a giant pickup.
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Also I see nothing about aerodynamics.
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Yup - huge oversight in the list.
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I wonder if that is because it means so little in the EPA testing as they really don't have a 75 MPH sustained interstate mileage test even if that is what millions of cars are out there doing everyday.
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I think we need to compare the ratings of 2 vehicles that have the same drivetrain but different aero characteristics (and which
AREN'T also cheating by using the "same drivetrain = same rating" loophole that was closed because of Ford's silliness).
But the
EPA 5-cycle highway segment actually has a stretch at ~60 mph, a run up to ~80 mph, followed by another stretch at ~70 mph. Looks like aero does count, provided the manufacturers use realistic coastdown data to set up the dyno ... ahem, cough Hyundai/Kia cough.
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Originally Posted by niky
Aerodynamics do mean a lot, but they've been in focus for a long time, now... grille shutters have been around for the past few years, already... so it's not really a new thing.
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Still tons of room for improvement.