You guys ever read Confessions of an Economic Hit Man? If not, you should. It will answer some of your questions about oil and our continued dependence on it.
So, all we have to do is find a way to take away the smell? I have some ideas.
Enlighten us on how to get rid of the smell, Over.
ā¦or ever seen the documentary āWho Killed the Electric Car?ā
Canāt do it. I just applied for the patents today.
My 2 cents:
I believe that the car industry is going about the efficiency process all wrong. Instead of looking to build a more efficient engine, why not attempt to introduce more efficient cars? How? By eliminating excess and unnecessary weight. The original Toyota Camry weighed 2200 lbs, the 2010 weighs 3483. Thatās 1/2 a ton more. The amount of force necessary to keep that extra weight in motion is insane. Granted the shape and size of the Camry has changed drastically, however car companies have consistently focused on engine efficiency while overlooking things such as unnecessary body weight. To me this is one of the great flaws of the automotive industry.
They can build racecars with the power to go 250 mph at weights of under 2000 lbs, yet a 2 door smart car coupe weights 1900 lbs? I understand that Indy race cars are one seaters and have very limited luxuries, however they also have massive engines capable of 600-800 hp. The engine is the heaviest of all car components. For me lighter cars just make more sense. Less weight also equals less force of impact. Force being mass * acceleration. So lighter car = safer car. I would like to see some type of government regulation forcing companies to gradually reduce the weight of cars produced yearly. Even if it was a 50 lb restriction, in 10 years, carās would be on average 500 lbs lighter and fuel consumption would drop dramatically. My opinion.
[quote=ā49or bust, post:7, topic:23237ā]My I-4 puts out 200 HP. Love my RSX!
And it gets (relatively) great gas mileage.[/quote]
RSXās are the Sh!t
Honda/Acura messed up getting rid of them
Canāt do it. I just applied for the patents today.[/quote]what kind of patent? a giant can of lysol behind every exhaust pipe?
[quote=ā49erFan1, post:26, topic:23237ā]My 2 cents:
I believe that the car industry is going about the efficiency process all wrong. Instead of looking to build a more efficient engine, why not attempt to introduce more efficient cars? How? By eliminating excess and unnecessary weight. The original Toyota Camry weighed 2200 lbs, the 2010 weighs 3483. Thatās 1/2 a ton more. The amount of force necessary to keep that extra weight in motion is insane. Granted the shape and size of the Camry has changed drastically, however car companies have consistently focused on engine efficiency while overlooking things such as unnecessary body weight. To me this is one of the great flaws of the automotive industry.
They can build racecars with the power to go 250 mph at weights of under 2000 lbs, yet a 2 door smart car coupe weights 1900 lbs? I understand that Indy race cars are one seaters and have very limited luxuries, however they also have massive engines capable of 600-800 hp. The engine is the heaviest of all car components. For me lighter cars just make more sense. Less weight also equals less force of impact. Force being mass * acceleration. So lighter car = safer car. I would like to see some type of government regulation forcing companies to gradually reduce the weight of cars produced yearly. Even if it was a 50 lb restriction, in 10 years, carās would be on average 500 lbs lighter and fuel consumption would drop dramatically. My opinion.[/quote]
The public/government has been adamant about added safety features. Add in noise reduction materials, amenities, environmental requirements, etc. and itās easy to explain the added weight.
Also, racecars are purpose built machines made of lightweight materials, which can be very, very expensive.
Lighter cars does not always mean safer cars. A lot of that added space around you is your crumple zone, protecting your body from taking the brunt of whatever impact youāve encountered. This all goes back to the safety regulations, of course.
Personally, I think the biggest hindrance to car companies putting out more efficient automobiles is that people in this country have shown for a long time that they prefer powerful engines. Small and slow cars typically didnāt do well in this country, nor would they create a lot of buzz. Of course, this has been changing, and itās reflecting in the fleet of small cars becoming available over the next year.
[quote=āJ Felt, post:29, topic:23237ā][quote=ā49erFan1, post:26, topic:23237ā]My 2 cents:
I believe that the car industry is going about the efficiency process all wrong. Instead of looking to build a more efficient engine, why not attempt to introduce more efficient cars? How? By eliminating excess and unnecessary weight. The original Toyota Camry weighed 2200 lbs, the 2010 weighs 3483. Thatās 1/2 a ton more. The amount of force necessary to keep that extra weight in motion is insane. Granted the shape and size of the Camry has changed drastically, however car companies have consistently focused on engine efficiency while overlooking things such as unnecessary body weight. To me this is one of the great flaws of the automotive industry.
They can build racecars with the power to go 250 mph at weights of under 2000 lbs, yet a 2 door smart car coupe weights 1900 lbs? I understand that Indy race cars are one seaters and have very limited luxuries, however they also have massive engines capable of 600-800 hp. The engine is the heaviest of all car components. For me lighter cars just make more sense. Less weight also equals less force of impact. Force being mass * acceleration. So lighter car = safer car. I would like to see some type of government regulation forcing companies to gradually reduce the weight of cars produced yearly. Even if it was a 50 lb restriction, in 10 years, carās would be on average 500 lbs lighter and fuel consumption would drop dramatically. My opinion.[/quote]
The public/government has been adamant about added safety features. Add in noise reduction materials, amenities, environmental requirements, etc. and itās easy to explain the added weight.
Also, racecars are purpose built machines made of lightweight materials, which can be very, very expensive.
Lighter cars does not always mean safer cars. A lot of that added space around you is your crumple zone, protecting your body from taking the brunt of whatever impact youāve encountered. This all goes back to the safety regulations, of course.
Personally, I think the biggest hindrance to car companies putting out more efficient automobiles is that people in this country have shown for a long time that they prefer powerful engines. Small and slow cars typically didnāt do well in this country, nor would they create a lot of buzz. Of course, this has been changing, and itās reflecting in the fleet of small cars becoming available over the next year.[/quote]
Felt. I recognize that some of the safety features naturally will add more weight however, I feel that options are available to potentially reduce weight. For example. Most of the car body is still manufactured with steel. Is it possible that at least some parts could be manufactured with titanium which can be 45% lighter. Obviously Titanium is more difficult to manufacture. However the price could potentially be reduced as more producers/suppliers entered the market to fill the need. Or how about the seats in the car. A simple weight reduction feature would be making the seats lighter and removable. Yet removable seats are only found on minivans. Are there ways of making all seats lighter, and removable (including the rear seats)?
I feel that there are ways that car weights can be reduced. I just donāt feel that car companies have any incentive to do so. I feel that some type of regulation or initiative to reduce weight would have to be enacted for them to seriously consider ways to reduce weight in cars.
To me itās like training an athlete. You can make him to plyometrics, speed drills, explosive weight liftsā¦but if he weighs 300 lbs he will only be so fast. If you put a 175 lb person under the same regimen you are more likely to see better results.
[quote=ā49erFan1, post:30, topic:23237ā]Felt. I recognize that some of the safety features naturally will add more weight however, I feel that options are available to potentially reduce weight. For example. Most of the car body is still manufactured with steel. Is it possible that at least some parts could be manufactured with titanium which can be 45% lighter. Obviously Titanium is more difficult to manufacture. However the price could potentially be reduced as more producers/suppliers entered the market to fill the need. Or how about the seats in the car. A simple weight reduction feature would be making the seats lighter and removable. Yet removable seats are only found on minivans. Are there ways of making all seats lighter, and removable (including the rear seats)?
I feel that there are ways that car weights can be reduced. I just donāt feel that car companies have any incentive to do so. I feel that some type of regulation or initiative to reduce weight would have to be enacted for them to seriously consider ways to reduce weight in cars.
To me itās like training an athlete. You can make him to plyometrics, speed drills, explosive weight liftsā¦but if he weighs 300 lbs he will only be so fast. If you put a 175 lb person under the same regimen you are more likely to see better results.[/quote]
People have shown with their purchases that they donāt want lighter seats with less cushion. They want ones with electric motors and heaters. They want to be comfortable on their hour commute to work. What youāre suggesting is to make cars simpler and take away amenities, people donāt want that. If they did, then the top selling models would be the basic models.
The govāt is forcing car companies to be more efficient. Car companies have to improve the average mileage on their overall fleet within the next few years (Iām sure ChevEE knows more about this), so weāre going to see more efficient engines. But people will not give up safety and comfort.
[quote=āJ Felt, post:31, topic:23237ā][quote=ā49erFan1, post:30, topic:23237ā]Felt. I recognize that some of the safety features naturally will add more weight however, I feel that options are available to potentially reduce weight. For example. Most of the car body is still manufactured with steel. Is it possible that at least some parts could be manufactured with titanium which can be 45% lighter. Obviously Titanium is more difficult to manufacture. However the price could potentially be reduced as more producers/suppliers entered the market to fill the need. Or how about the seats in the car. A simple weight reduction feature would be making the seats lighter and removable. Yet removable seats are only found on minivans. Are there ways of making all seats lighter, and removable (including the rear seats)?
I feel that there are ways that car weights can be reduced. I just donāt feel that car companies have any incentive to do so. I feel that some type of regulation or initiative to reduce weight would have to be enacted for them to seriously consider ways to reduce weight in cars.
To me itās like training an athlete. You can make him to plyometrics, speed drills, explosive weight liftsā¦but if he weighs 300 lbs he will only be so fast. If you put a 175 lb person under the same regimen you are more likely to see better results.[/quote]
People have shown with their purchases that they donāt want lighter seats with less cushion. They want ones with electric motors and heaters. They want to be comfortable on their hour commute to work. What youāre suggesting is to make cars simpler and take away amenities, people donāt want that. If they did, then the top selling models would be the basic models.
The govāt is forcing car companies to be more efficient. Car companies have to improve the average mileage on their overall fleet within the next few years (Iām sure ChevEE knows more about this), so weāre going to see more efficient engines. But people will not give up safety and comfort.[/quote]
I guess I could see that. I am one for giving up some amenities. Or at least having the option to do so. I disagree about giving up safety. I would never advocate making a car more dangerous. My point is simply this, if we can reduce weight without reducing the strength of the vehicle, why not do so? Iām not saying that itās possible. What Iām saying is that I would like more research to be done to see if and how we can make the overall car more efficient, not just the engine. I would like to see more outside thinking done. The problem is that carās are boxed in by the fact that a modern car must also be able to deal with collisions from a car from the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc or from a big rig. Is there something that could be done to stop that or reduce that?
I guess what Iām saying is that it seems that all innovative thinking goes towards 2 things. 1 how to make the engine more efficient. 2 how to make the car more luxurious. What Iām saying is that someone should take a look at the car structure, internally and externally and ask is there a way to make this more efficient without trading off safety. Or how about finding a way to improve traffic patterns to separate more weighty vehicles (Trucks, Work Vans, Etc) from smaller class ones. Things that if developed could potentially allow a car to be less resistant and yet not make them unsafe.
Although I cannot recall the name, there is a car company focusing on making cars almost entirely out of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is 5x stronger the steel and much lighter. They had an SUV similar in size to an Escape, but it got over 100 miles per gallon. The car was super aero dynamic and was built in what was essentially a few large pieces instead of hundreds of small pieces that all have to be bolted together.
Good call. I googled it and got this link to a Lotus Study
Dude is a con man and should have criminal charges.
Musk may be a sensationalist hype man, but he has delivered real tangible products unlike this clown.
1 Like
Kinda shocking news, but holy thread necrophilia!!
Would love it if all fraudsters deleted their twitter accounts.