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Emissions is one thing, but performance is another big deal. Just look at a Volkswagen bug vs a modern car. Modern cars have 2-3 times the power and that comes
by 7thaccount 5y ago
Emissions is one thing, but performance is another big deal. Just look at a Volkswagen bug vs a modern car. Modern cars have 2-3 times the power and that comes at a cost. Another factor is safety.
If we agreed (not suggesting this for obvious reasons) that everyone would just build ultra lightweight and fairly low power vehicles, I think 80 mpg is feasible, but probably a lot less safe.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- csours 5y agoI work for General Motors and I occasionally do tours for employees. One of the cars I show is a 1950's era Pontiac Chieftain with an 4.4L inline 8 cylinder engine. It made about 120 horsepower. A modern, small-ish 1.4L inline 4 cylinder makes more horsepower. A Beetle from the 50's might have 30-40 horsepower. You can pretty easily get cars with 10 times as much power now.
- 7thaccount 5y agoIt's been awhile since I've looked at the stats of a beetle, so thanks for pointing out I was being overly conservative. It's all crazy isn't it? I'm curious what MPG we could get on a modern 40 HP engine?
- csours 5y agoWell, about the only place you'd see 40 HP these days is in a light motorbike, so just about infinite.
- yCombLinks 5y agoMy honda cb500x (a low end adventure style motorcycle) had 42 horsepower and got about 60 MPG
- nradov 5y agoA modern car wouldn't be safe to operate with a 40 hp engine. Even those tiny little Japanese kei cars typically have a 63 hp engine (maximum legally allowed). Fuel economy is typically rated for about 54 mpg, but real world fuel consumption is usually worse. https://jalopnik.com/i-lived-with-a-japanese-kei-car-for-a-week-and-this-is-1829130212 https://jalopnik.com/i-lived-with-a-japanese-kei-car-for-a-w...
- 7thaccount 5y agoIt would be fine if everyone around me didn't drive a F-350 or something equivalent.