That is true. I remember Dad driving a damn Chevy Monza to save gas. That's when they started putting diesels in everything since diesel was so much cheaper. He traded the Monza on a Chevy Caprice diesel. I was the shit dating and cruising the boulevard in a diesel Caprice.
Yeah, I remember the gas V8 to diesel that GM put out then as well as the 8 cylinder engine that fired on 4 cylinders when cruising and may have gone to 6 and back to 8 when more power was needed. Reliability wasn't their strong point.
Dad's Caprice had their first diesel that was actually manufactured as a diesel so it was a good one. That car got like 34 mpg and really didn't do all that bad for power. It was just kind of noisy. Aren't some of the new Dodges set up to run on fewer cylinders depending on power needs?
The funny thing is that for years car makers have had engines for SUVs that could give up to 40mph or more, but the consumers didn't want them because they were "weaker" thatn their gas guzzling beast.
They may, but the electronics and microprocessors so common today that make that effective were just fantasy 30 years ago.
Yep, I had a Geo Sprint that got 50+ on the highway and with the 5spd wasn't slow - but people don't want a 3 cyl. Of course the car being tiny and ugly doesn't help much either. I like the gas prices, it'll get more peeps on bikes and that will get more into motorcycle sports
Werd. Yeah you are right about that. My dad was telling me about a chevy he had then, and he said it was great but like you mentioned, reliability sucked so he ended up with a fiat, then a 78(9?) Corolla, which by the way lasted forever. We believe it is still running aroung.
Yeah, not to mention that the minimum speed on most interstates is 40 to 45 MPH...you might not even be able to use it on the highway...
My mom's Cadilac Sedan Deville got 30mpg with a 310hp engine. I'm thinking that an SUV getting 40mpg and having power is well within the reach of current technology. When I still got popular mechanics there was an article about a 4 cylinder 2-stroke car engine designed by Carrol Shelby that had good power and would meet the most stringent California air emissions proposed at the time. If I remember correctly(was a long time back when I read it) it was around a 2 liter displacement. I think this was designed in the mid 70s. He couldn't get any of the major manufacturers to listen to him. They said it would never sell.
And that's just it. People don't prevent, they react. The only reason people listen now (sort of) is not due to prices, but due to them thinking the war across the pond will affect the availability, etc.
Yeah, as long as you change your idea of what a sport utility vehicle is. If your idea is a vehicle that can pull a trailer, carry people, and twenty pieces of 3/4" plywood...the weight of the vehicle goes up to have the capacity to haul and the gear reduction to get a load moving. I don't see it happening in a SUV package that's "traditional". The higher mileage SUV's of late...they are all little cars with big tires, more ground clearance...they still won't pull my trailer.
Saab had two stroke cars. They didn't take over either. So, maybe the major manufacturers were... RIGHT?
I think you're giving people too much credit. Prices are affected by supply and demand. China's demand has went up, supply interruptions... And people complain that the companies that they buy gas from are gouging them for... PRICES! I don't see people asking for an end to hostilities because they feel there is an availability problem for petroleum products. I bought a diesel to replace my gas vehicle because of prices to get places.
That's the problem. Thinking has to change. They can build powerful efficient engines. They just don't do it. The people selling the fuel have a powerful lobby that must be defeated too. American rednecks like big fuel sucking V-8s and V-10s. You don't honestly think that the Cadillac engines is the limit of what they are capable of doing do you? And the Sedan Deville isn't exactly a light vehicle. I can assure you it would tow any ski boat or small enclosed trailer will little difficulty. It's 310 horsepower and plenty of torque. Doesn't matter how you package it. There is no doubt in my mind that GM could produce a midsize SUV with a 360hp engine getting 50mpg. They just need to make it happen.
That's just it, they were comparable to the current setups. People just don't think they are strong enough, but for most people is more than enough. I know plenty of idiots with huge suvs and trucks, and when I ask them, they never haul anything, they just like the big ol' truck!
So true. There are urban cowboys running around all over Dallas and Houston Texas in dually pickups that have never hooked a trailer up to their trucks.
