Reality check: 3% of U.S. interviewees know what a "start/stop" system does

[MetroMPG]

Sometimes it's useful to be reminded that when it comes to things automotive, our reality is very different from the average person's.

Today's reminder:

Consumer research by Johnson Controls [...] found there's little consumer awareness of the technology that shuts off a car's engine when the brake pedal is depressed. Only three out of 100 people interviewed during focus groups this year knew about start-stop technology

Johnson Controls battery halts idling, saves fuel - JSOnline

[gone-ot]

START & STOP - isn't that what *happens* when a rookie attempts to drive a manual transmission for the first time (wink,wink).

[ecomodded]

like me with my hydrogen car knowledge, more precisely lack of it. Bear with me as i trudge along learning as i go.
Funny though I know more about feul economy/ new technology then anyone i personally know, yet i am a beginner at it on this site..

[Piwoslaw]

I'm sure that more than 3% of US interviewees know what 'horsepower' is, or at least can tell you that "more is better".

If among those who don't know what start&stop is are owners of vehicles with that function, then that means that the system works well enough to not be noticible by the user, which is what car companies are aiming for.

[jamesqf]

I wouldn't know either, if you called it that. It's autostop, at least to anyone who's owned a Honda hybrid, and I think Toyota too.

[drmiller100]

how many people think "torque" is what accelerates a car???

[ecomodded]

I'll bite, I think torque is what accelerates my car.
It would make sense also if you said horsepower is what accelerates the car but in my mind its the torque that gives it the pull.

[Flakbadger]

Originally Posted by ecomodded

I'll bite, I think torque is what accelerates my car.
It would make sense also if you said horsepower is what accelerates the car but in my mind its the torque that gives it the pull.

It's my understanding that torque is your 0-60 MPH time, and horsepower is your 60-120 MPH... IE why Semi trucks have 500 HP and 1,500 lb/ft torque. Semi trucks aren't necessarily going to win any 0-60 contests because they're not geared for it, but still.

[niky]

Torque doesn't accelerate your car. Wheel torque does. And the maximum wheel torque you can put down at any road speed is a function of gearing, torque and rpm. And what do we derive from torque and rpm? Horsepower.

The reason people say that "Horsepower sells cars, Torque wins races" is that peak horsepower is a meaningless figure... because your car is not at peak horsepower at all times.

Instead, 0-60 mph is determined by how much average horsepower you can put down in each gear going up to 60 mph. Average horsepower which must be calculated from dyno readouts, but which can be estimated by looking at peak torque and peak horsepower together.

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While it's true a car accelerates faster at torque peak than horsepower peak (assuming the two are separate), two cars with the same peak torque figures will not accelerate the same if one makes peak torque at a lower rpm. Why? Because the car making peak torque at a higher rpm is making more horsepower, and can use torque multiplication more effectively than the lower-revving car.

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I'd go further and talk about the additional torque multiplication of smaller tires, the effects of drivetrain loss and tire slip, and aerodynamics... but since tire size has a relatively minor effect compared to gears, tire slip is variable dependent on condition, drivetrain loss is a whole bunch of fudged-up estimation and the equations for aero drive me batty... I won't.

[ksa8907]

Torque is a more useful measure. Honestly, how often do you hit redline in your car? Most engines make peak power at redline.