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Originally Posted by evolutionmovement
I'd hope Apple's car would be more reliable than the electronics I've bought off them! Love the software, though.
As an interesting note on how bloated new vehicles are, look up the weight of a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner and the weight of a 2003 Toyota Camry V6. I think the difference was 50 lbs. Can't remember which was the heavier one. I'm sure similar comparisons could be made with other models, but that's just one I happened across doing research.
Good point about the government intervention. I've thought for a while that another reason for the rise in popularity of trucks and SUVs was the lesser regulations for safety and emissions vs. cars allowing their much greater profitability due to being so cheap to make (at least with the body on frame vehicles, which is where this all began). This allowed a similar business model to the cars of the old days. Trucks especially took over the dead muscle car segment. Low end torque, similar dubious handling qualities, and loads of options to make anything from a cruiser to a factory hot rod. How many cars, even 15 years ago, could be ordered with multiple engines, a couple transmissions, and multiple rear end ratios? You might have gotten two engines (base and higher trim level) or two transmissions (manual and auto), but the rear end ratio was whatever was specced with that particular transmission. If you wanted, you could order a small V8 truck, short bed, stripped, short rear end, and manual transmission in a similar manner to the muscle cars of old. For a certain group of people, that's a huge attraction. There's also an intimidation factor that goes with it that appeals to a lot of insecure people and when trucks/SUVs began to become more popular there weren't really any angry car alternatives that fit that desire either.
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That was more or less before aluminum was heard of as a chassis or body work component. It was before the invention/implementation of composites(non-metallic). It was before the development of CF monocoque and. . .what is it space frame design? It was before aluminum became a component to make engines out of. It was before ECUs. Manufacturers had just stopped putting "stabilizer fins" on their cars.
Lotus Elise curb weight of 1520 with 118 horses. It's 300 pounds lighter than the Insight chop off half the engine block and I am pretty comfortable with its FE. . .or maybe just press the gas very gently