Posted on 02/13/2007 7:38:18 AM PST by PeterPrinciple
At 3 a.m. one morning last week, 32 new cars began to roll out of Los Angeles on the first leg of a trip which twisted up the slopes of snow-capped mountains and along parched desert highways to the rim of the Grand Canyon. Purpose of the trip: to find out which U.S. cars get the most mileage and efficiency from their fuel. Every major U.S. make, except Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac, was represented. At journey's end, about 21 driving hours later, the cars had traveled from 280 feet below sea level to 7,005 feet above, had covered 840 miles. The winner: a Lincoln sedan, with 66.484 ton-miles per gallon (weight of car and passengers in tons, multiplied by miles, divided by gallons of gasoline consumed). Top places in actual miles per gallon: the six-cylinder Nash Rambler (31.053); the four-cylinder Henry J (30.109); the six-cylinder Henry J (28.860); the six-cylinder Studebaker Champion (28.621).*
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
I'd take issue with you that, while these old girls did well in new condition, the maintenance interval was probably 4 or 5 greater than today, and in terms of acceleration, etc there's no comparison.
My '61 Alfa Romeo Spider will get over 30 MPG on a trip. Wouldn't want to use it as a daily driver, however.
This is really surprising. Interesting.
Interesting, except that today you can buy a car with more than double the horsepower of the winner (Nash Rambler) with the roughly the same mileage performance. If one were to hold power and vehicle weight constant (82 bhp, and 2500 lbs for the Rambler), and apply modern engine controls, the resulting fuel economy number would probably just about double.
Add to that the ability to start instantly in hot and cold weather, and run through over 100K miles without major repair (typically), and I would say that there has been more than a little improvement in engine technology in the past five decades. These are direct results of emissions controls.
The emissions from engines today are far lower than the older engine.
If one were to hold power and vehicle weight constant (82 bhp, and 2500 lbs for the Rambler), and apply modern engine controls, the resulting fuel economy number would probably just about double.That would make 62.106 per gallon, so that's not likely. The Toyoto Prius hybrid stands alone with the highest fuel economy rating, at 60 (51 city), and that's using the 2007 figures. In 2008 the EPA will begin to use the more realistic and lower estimates.
I'm not trying to argue over details, only to indicate that the original conclusion that 50 years of automotive progress has amounted to naught.
I think there were additional test conditions in those 1951 tests, such as smooth tread tires under higher than normal pressure, and not driving at high speeds. It is still an interesting article, in that fuel economy hasn't changed much in 58 years.
What hasn't changed is the thirst for performance. Ever since the first two automobiles crossed paths, people have wanted to go faster. It has ever been thus. Car manufacturers are just producing the kinds of cars that people want.
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