Nissan and Toyota's New Year's resolutions: LOSE WEIGHT

[basjoos]

All of this talk about "putting cars on a diet" reminds me about the hype being put out by car manufacturers and car magazine writers back in the late 70's when they were downsizing cars.

The FE benefits of weight reduction are most evident in stop and go traffic and when driving up and down hills. I haven't done any weight reduction on my car other than removing the front passenger's seat, mainly because I rarely carry a passenger and makes it easier to load bags of feed into the car onto the resulting low load floor.

[Who]

SVO, I drive a vehicle that has a fairly efficient engine, okay gearing if you don't mind 50-52 MPH but it's heavy (if only it weighed 1000 pounds less), and you realize just how heavy watching the ScanGauge whenever the road rises or falls and whenever you accelerate.

Just like cycling, what you lose on climbs you never gain as much back on descents, and the heavier you are, the worse the loss to gain ratio gets.

Not saying that I wouldn't mind way more gearing options as well. A 6 x 3 transmission in a vehicle could really help out as well. CVTs are an excellent concept but I have suspicions that they have a lot of friction and I am somewhat doubtful about their lifespans.

[SVOboy]

I know, I was just whining because I get the feeling that instead of making a serious and much needed lifestyle change we're going to end up paying a bunch more money for some more landboats,

[trebuchet03]

So it's the only way huh....

So 27.5 v. 35mpg

27.5 + 1.10 = 30.25 :/ A bit short

Of course, the change is welcomed.. But the "only way" is a clear cop out :/

[RH77]

I've got a big "Whatever" for this mandate.

Isn't this very similar to what President Carter implemented in the late 70's and got rolled back anyway? I don't think the requirement will last. Some lobby group will chip away at it until we're back to where we started again.

It's either up to consumer education and awareness, economic impact of fuel costs, or citizen response that will carry the torch. Otherwise, the whole mess is moot.

RH77

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by basjoos

The FE benefits of weight reduction are most evident in stop and go traffic and when driving up and down hills. I haven't done any weight reduction on my car...

Weight reduction is critical to the overall fleet because it will help "typical" drivers much more than it will help the tiny fraction of efficient drivers like ourselves.

We tend to DWL when cruising, and as much as possible avoid throwing away our momentum via the brake pedal/engine braking. Pretty much the opposite of the way a normal driver does things.

[RH77]

Sorry guys, I'll admit that my last post was off-topic a rather worthless. The topic is weight reduction...

My thoughts are that the city cycle mileage should improve with less mass to move from a standing start. But focusing on it?

Weight and size go hand-in-hand -- look at the Altima and Camry over the years -- plumped. But now consumers expect it bigger. Frankly, the latest Camry feels like a big marshmallow without the SE suspension. It could lose a few pounds.

All the rest applies -- powertrain and aero. They're just making a spectacle of the new requirement by announcing a brilliant plan to reduce weight! Forget R&D I suppose...

RH77

[dude18]

It is now 2015. Have the objectives of weight reduction been met?

[redpoint5]

I lost 10% of my weight in that time frame, by accident and by not exercising. I'm trying to gain it back.

I agree with RH77 saying weight reduction doesn't matter much. It doesn't really, unless the vehicle is going to have a proportional reduction in engine size. If a manufacturer reduces weight, they will keep the same powerful engine so the brochure can boast of faster quarter mile times, because we all run the quarter mile sprint as we take Johnny to daycare. The consumer tends to demand higher performance over fuel efficiency. Consumers will have to change their priorities for manufacturers to do anything meaningful with weight reduction.

You'll know we're headed in the right direction when you see more commercials touting efficiency or environmentalism than "Zoom, Zoom". I don't watch commercials, so let me know when this happens, please.