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Not only in the USA. Germany also has a growing number of big SUVs. What's interesting is that it was possible 25 years ago to build a 3 litre/100km car. The A
by nisa 2y ago
Not only in the USA. Germany also has a growing number of big SUVs.
What's interesting is that it was possible 25 years ago to build a 3 litre/100km car. The Audi A2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A2 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A2
Now a modern SUV has at least double the weight and a worse wind resistance value and uses 6l/100km of fuel.
And while there are limits what physics will allow it seems it was possible to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by at least 50% 25 years ago. With modern computer simulations and technical progress over the last 25 years something like this should be at least possible? Yet it's difficult to buy a car like this today.
Somewhere something went really wrong.
- namdnay 2y agoThere was also dieselgate :)
- nisa 2y agoDieselgate was about NOx emissions and avoiding using so much AdBlue. I'm not sure that a bigger tank for that would have a big impact. As it's happening in the exhaust system there shouldn't be an impact on fuel consumption.
- WirelessGigabit 2y agoThere is regeneration that happens to burn the soot from the filter, which increases fuel consumption a little bit, but I will still take a BMW M340d xDrive station wagon over a BMW X3 M40i any day. Except I can't get the diesel here. Nor can I get a station wagon here.
- speedgoose 2y agoYou could buy the hybrid fossil i3 for many years, which was kinda the successor of the Audi a2, but better. Or also the electric i3 which was arguably better than the hybrid version if you have a charging network where you live. I think it’s trivial to buy a better car than the Audi A2 nowadays. But not with an ICE.
- nisa 2y agoSure but that's not the point. Reduced fuel consumption using hybrid technology works in the city. EVs are even better. It's just fascinating that the technology was there and wasn't improved upon in 25 years. We could drive non-hybrid ICE cars were a big chunk of cars is using 50% less fuel now if we would have avoided that SUV trend.
- speedgoose 2y agoMy point is that the technology has improved. We ditched the ICE for electric motors on the way. Those very lightweight fancy cars didn’t sell very well (~150k A2, ~250k i3) but that’s another problem.
- Grimeton 2y agoVW - GOLF I - Average weight: 800kg, 1.8l, 112bhp, average fuel consumption: 10 litres/100km VW - GOLF 8 - Average weight: 1450kg, 1.0l, 110bhp, average fuel consumption: 4.6l/100km So the car is nearly twice as heavy and uses less than half as much gas. And there were no optimizations?
- nisa 2y agoMy point is that it could use 2l/100km if that would be the optimization target. Golf 8 is nowadays a few classes above what the Golf 1 was. It's also a rather big car compared to the Golf 1.
- Grimeton 2y ago>My point is that it could use 2l/100km if that would be the optimization target. No it cannot. There are more things involved than just air drag when it comes to fuel consumption in a car. >Golf 8 is nowadays a few classes above what the Golf 1 was. It's also a rather big car compared to the Golf 1. Exactly. It's way heavier and uses less than half of what the Golf I used back in the day. This to me demonstrates that you don't understand the basics behind all this. Maybe you should read up on stuff.
- mytailorisrich 2y agoCarmakers build what sells. So what went "wrong" is that people prefer powerful cars with plenty of space, comfort, and bells and whistles rather than "3l/100km"...
- korhojoa 2y agoConveniently forgetting that the SUV trend started due to a shitty workaround to fuel economy requirements. There are so many unnecessarily large cars around nowadays.
- lionkor 2y agoThis is the drug dealer argument; if it wasn't me, someone else would
- mytailorisrich 2y agoWhatever you want to call it that's the reality.
- mbostleman 2y agoI thought it was an observation of a market that is primarily free.
- roughly 2y agoThe entire article this comment thread is attached to is a liturgy of all of the policies affecting this market, and all the distortions created by the various actors.
- Freedom2 2y agoDespite tariffs and regulations that restrict how "free" the market is compared to other vehicle markets overseas?
- mytailorisrich 2y agoCorrect. While there are many rules and regulations that affect the auto markets, ultimately cars, including Europe, have grown in size because of market forces (I.e. what consumers prefer)