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You guys tried to beat me up over the weight issue last weekend. I only stressed weight because it looked to me that everyone already had a handle on aero enhancements.
I was just trying to give some cheap and in most cases free ways to improve mpg. Most people I know only drive short city cycles where extreme aero-mods are not practical and stop and go eats into their economy. I just thought there needed to be a little balance.
Anyway, I ran into RMI about 5 years ago and have been fascinated with the work they do. I encourage anyone and everyone to research more about them. RMI does a great job at being able to break everything down to simple concepts that can be understood and applied by every level of society; me, you, small business, big business, governments, and continents.
One of the last events we had with Mr. Lovins really concentrated on the whole weight issue. We discussed many concepts and facts about how weight affects nearly every aspect of the auto. The video in the link just touched on this point. They brought in samples of materials that were extremely light, cheap to produce and mold and had very specific characteristics so they could be used for many different purposes.
As an example of the many things Armory talks about in the video is how the OTR industry could benefit. WalMart has begun to incorporate many of these ideas: better aero, hybrid drivetrains, reduced idle times, bio fuels, more efficient logistics. Large corporations realize that they can 'green' their bottom line just by conserving.
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