Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
Well Elio could have just used a simple off the shelf motor with proven reliability and low cost but they chose to build their own whizbang VVT powerhouse. Not just the engine but other aeras they will probably try to do things to shave weight to try and up MPG potential. Not necessarily bad if it ends up holding up under day to day use.
I heard that the Dodge Bros used to work for Ford. They left and started building their own cars that were basically overbuilt. Ford went as light as possible, and as cheaply as possible, but still have good enough quality. Good enough is good as long as you hit that mark, otherwise you have a peice of crap. If you want something to be something 20 years later the Dodge Bros idea is probably better. I heard this rumor again in the musclecar years but with Chrysler vs GM. GM had the money and engineering to get things just strong enough to hold up which help them build a car that many not have had the HP of the Dodge but was just as quick as it was lighter, especially in the drivetrain. Dodge just would stick a Dana 60 and a beefy Torqueflight behind their big guns. I do believe the early Dodge stories to be true but think by the 60's everybody had good engineering. If Dodge was still overbuilding it was by design.
I personally would prefer overbuilding at the expense of some MPG or performance. I have had 2 personal watercraft, a Seadoo XP and a Yamaha Waterside. Both 1995's, both the same CCs. The Seadoo is faster but has eaten it's motor 3 times and is now gone. The Yamaha just starts every spring, runs hours in end however hard you want, gets put away wet, and has never had an issue in 20+ seasons of use.
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I visited the LeMay collection in Parkland this weekend, and they had a Model T with a Dodge engine in one of their warehouses. The docent said Dodge was actually contracted by Ford and several other manufacturers to provide engines starting in the 1910s, which was responsible for standardizing left-hand driver position in the US.