Cars - have we really moved forward?

[legrandefromage]

at the other end of the scale - my 1983 Mercedes 500 SEC AMG returned around 28 mpg from a 5 litre V8






and a theoretical top speed of 160mph




it would change into 4th at 145mph










oh god I miss that car.....

 

[hamster]

I think you are right about the manufacturing side. The extra steel that has to be smelted generates a heck of a lot of CO2, especially if a car weighs 3 tons instead of 1.

A lot of the extra weight is admittedly for crash safety, but also the auto industry's general bloating of cars. The latest Polo is bigger than a Mk1 Golf. And the extra weight is something else!!!

Lat year I had to buy a replacement gear lever knob for my 306. When I got it it was incredibly heavy - it had a huge great slug of steel inside the plastic. The Auto industry in general could save huge amounts of weight if the engineered it in from the start.

See http://evolution.loremo.com/ for some people who are going light for cars. Sadly the credit crunch will probably kill them or at least postpone the project.

 

[crud]

what pees me off is if i bought any vehicle new it would be a bike, but I cant trade in an old widow maker for a new bike with any sort of government incentive :evil:

again us bikes are seen as bloody hooligans, even where i can get 45 mpg and cause zero traffic. :evil:

 

[Easy_Rider]

what pees me off is if i bought any vehicle new it would be a bike, but I cant trade in an old widow maker for a new bike with any sort of government incentive :evil:

again us bikes are seen as bloody hooligans, even where i can get 45 mpg and cause zero traffic. :evil:

That's because it's not a green incentive at all, just something designed to get the motor industry moving. What % of new cars bought in the UK are manufactured in the UK?

 

[hamster]

About 20% I believe.

 

[REKIBorter]

Quoted mpg figures are a load of crap, my car, Volvo V70 D5 (2.4 diesel) on the Volvo spec sheet it says Urban 32.8mpg - Extra Urban - 49.6mpg - Combined 42.2mpg. Not to sure what any of these mean but the best average mpg I have done 39.6mpg on a long run (300 miles of motorway) and my average is 34.8mpg using it for the daily commute.

These days cars weigh much more than say cars from 30 years ago, all the electronics and safety equipment we have come to expect, even on the most basic of models, mean that cars use more fuel. On the other side of the coin cars these days have electronic fuel management systems which mean cars these days use fuel more economically. So the two probably cancel each other out so cars are no more econmical to run than they were in the past.

To quote from the book 'My dad had one of those' Ford Escort MK 1/2 1967-1980 best overall fuel economy 29mpg mk1 1100 super.

 

[legrandefromage]

Well, my comparison was for petrols from '81 where rudementry engine managment was creeping in. and its not the electronics that weigh much as they've got smaller!

Its just as somebody said, the current Polo is bigger than a Mk1 Golf. Have you seen the size of a Corsa these days??!! The Nissan Micra is massive, theres so much metal used.

My 1983 Merc had aluminium rear suspension, alu bonnet and boot. The back seats weighed just a couple of kilos (they just unclipped) It weighed slightly less than my 2001 Mondeo.


I think its the perceived safety aspect, loads of side impact stuff and rigid bodies with soft fronts for those gooey pedestrians.

 

[legrandefromage]

Anyway - bored now. Cars are a crap waste of money , unless its one of these:

 

[hamster]

Quoted mpg figures are a load of crap, my car, Volvo V70 D5 (2.4 diesel) on the Volvo spec sheet it says Urban 32.8mpg - Extra Urban - 49.6mpg - Combined 42.2mpg. Not to sure what any of these mean but the best average mpg I have done 39.6mpg on a long run (300 miles of motorway) and my average is 34.8mpg using it for the daily commute.

It depends hugely on driving style. I can get 41mpg over a big distance (350 miles) in my Saab 900 2.3 turbo even when fully loaded, but to do it requires intense concentration on keeping momentum up and accelerating gently. Booting it out of one roundabout and winding it up through the gears can instantly drop 1 mpg (it has a computer readout) even after 200 miles.

 

[Dr.Robotnik]

^ That is the strangest looking Escort Mark 5B I have seen....


I totally agree with the old cars thing, I much prefer them and cannot see myself getting a new one.

This is my first car (same model in blue) and the only car I have and I love it. It needs a bit of attention at the moment though as all these old girls do...