Cash for Clunkers

[The Tim]

[jon]

[The Tim]

...and the conversation comes full circle.

[TJ_98370]

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Yes, this thread does tend to wander way off topic, in an effort to rectify this :
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People, the picture of the car linked below will not qualify for the "Cash for Clunkers" program;
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The thing about aerodynamically efficient cars is that they either offend the average consumer's aesthetic tastes and/or they sacrifice a lot of interior space for their size. A super aerodynamically efficient car will not sell well in the market place. Note the rear end of the Porsche pictured in the link above. Alot of the function of all of that structure behind the rear wheels is to reduce air turbulence at high speed.
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I was involved in a project in my college days where we determined that putting a small rowboat on top of a car stern forward produced less drag than if you put the boat on the car bow forward. This contradicts common sense, but the fact is that the turbulence behind a vehicle creates alot of drag (think low pressure pockets pulling the vehicle backwards). Smoothing the flow helps reduce that problem. That's why the Porsche in the picture (and the Aerocivic) has such a strange looking rear end.
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Honda developed the Stratified Charge Engine in the late '70's. They put the CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) badge on their cars to advertise their accomplishment. I remember that other car manufacturers became totally livid about the fact that the CVCC engine could meet gas mileage standards and pollution restrictions without an electronic engine management system or a catalytic converter. The CVCC engine became a thing of history.
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[WestSideBilly]

[WestSideBilly]

[PublicEnemy#1]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[PublicEnemy#1]

[Racket]

[jon]

"The average fuel efficiency of the US vehicle fleet has risen by just 3 miles per gallon since the days of the Ford Model T, and has barely shifted at all since 1991."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... del-t.html

That's because people take the efficiency improvements and spend it on a more enjoyable experience.

Driving around in a 20-60 year old car is going to appeal only to a very small fragment of the market, so it would be over-engineering to build them to last that long.

[PublicEnemy#1]

[jon]

[rose-colored-coolaid]

[PublicEnemy#1]