Vehicle makers say US fuel economy standards put a million jobs at risk

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

We'd have been running sintered ceramic engine cases and water/ethanol 'go juice'

It does really surprise me that water and alcohol (either methanol, ethanol or both according to the availability) supplementary injection didn't get more widespread as an emissions-control aid. Makes more sense than the DEF. Considering that most of the industrial-grade urea used in DEF production relies on Natural Gas both as a feedstock and as a source of energy for the process, even a simple CNG fumigation system is worth a try.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Yeah all those things happened; except 1999 isn't 'right up to modern times'

The past isn't dead. It isn't even past.

[freebeard]

I see your point, but...

Many of us are still driving cars made before that year.

My weekly driver is 45 years old but 1999 predates electric and semi-autonomous vehicles, so I consider it to be a different era.

Ford is also culpable. Nazi trucks and Pintos.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Ford is also culpable. Nazi trucks and Pintos.

Not to mention that Henry himself was very supportive of the Nazi doctrine.

[aerostealth]

I guess fuel efficiency is in the eye of the beholder. I was watching videos on the 2018 Ford's the other day and I see no way the cork can be put back in the bottle. They are expanding their line of Ecoboost engines as well as introducing a 3.0 liter Duramax Diesel.

Why would anyone go back to driving a 17 mpg truck when they can have a 25 mpg truck that can do the same stuff. Start stop Tech is going to be mainstream now. If they begin introducing hybrid drive Tech watch these mpg numbers go up even more.

We ought to be doing what we can to improve efficiency regardless. It is good for both the consumer and the country. By the way, my last mpg logged in my C Max Energi garage was just over 61 MPG. I think it is a joke to say it can't be done.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by aerostealth

Why would anyone go back to driving a 17 mpg truck when they can have a 25 mpg truck that can do the same stuff. Start stop Tech is going to be mainstream now. If they begin introducing hybrid drive Tech watch these mpg numbers go up even more.

Even though the prevalence of automatic transmissions in the American market sounds like a good excuse for a full-hybrid system, also considering the so-called "scalability" pointed out by Toyota in regard to the HSD layout being suitable to many different vehicle classes, I am convinced that in 10 or 15 years there will be no brand-new car in the developed markets without at least some mild-hybrid features such as the BAS-Hybrid system currently badged eAssist when applied to GM vehicles.

[freebeard]

Bucky Fuller always said 'don't reform the people, reform the technology.'

I agree about Hybrid Synergy Drive. Shifting gears is so last century. We will have a data point on an Ecomodder's Prius drivetrain in a [3/4 ton?] truck. What could a Lexus V-6 install push down the road?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I agree about Hybrid Synergy Drive. Shifting gears is so last century.

It's not about shifting gears being "outdated" at all but, as long as the technology of batteries evolves enought to make their cost and weight penalties less noticeable, going the HSD route seems to be a cost-effective move for the manufacturers. The planetary gearset is actually quite simple and lightweight compared to a conventional automatic transmission and torque converter setup and has fewer internal frictions to waste energy, even though the electric motors might not be cheap at all. Eliminating the drag and the accessory belt of an alternator is another obvious advantage.

We will have a data point on an Ecomodder's Prius drivetrain in a [3/4 ton?] truck.

That project is actually interesting as it leads to a reflection on how the American vehicles in general got oversized through the decades. Some of the most popular JDM commercial vehicles are still as narrow as an early Prius and at the same time retain the same level of functionality of a bigger American full-size truck.

What could a Lexus V-6 install push down the road?

Who knows...

[freebeard]

It's not just HSD. Tesla uses a single speed fixed reduction, 7.[something]:1. Wolftronics has a planetary reduction gearbox that will bolt to Siemens and UQM motors and pass 500hp at 2:1.

My Lexus rear drive has technological magic in the buried permanent magnets that reduces back EMF.

A vote for re-jiggering a classic, the Golf GTI W12 650:



I like the bodywork, but don't require the 202mph top speed. You could even use the Prius four in back instead of the V-6, with an MGR replacing the gas/diesel front engine, and unbalance the gas/electric ratio.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Nowadays that even exotic sportscars are resorting to hybrid drivetrains, something like that wouldn't be totally out of question.