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A hybrid with an EPA average of 70 mpg?
(Or is that asking too much of the North American power-hungry mindset?)
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With good aerodynamics, you could get that fuel economy AND have high horsepower.
I've always fancied the idea of a midsize car with a 60 horsepower 800cc turbodiesel, a 3kWh NiMH battery pack, and a 200 horsepower electric motor/controller combo. Don't load it up with TVs and onstar and all that other useless crap to keep the weight around 2,800 pounds, without need for fancy composites. Design for a .18 drag coefficient and 22 square foot frontal area.
Such a car would get 90 mpg, seat 5 adults in the 6'4" 230 pound size range comfortably, accelerate from 0-60 mph in 6 seconds, top 170 mph, and would have more interior/storage room than a Dodge Intrepid. It could realistically be sold at a profit for $20,000.
But since the auto industry wants to slowly ration out advancements to maximize profit on each incremental gain, we can't buy such a car. They'd rather sell such a thing 50 years from now and slowly shell out everything in-between. Even the hybrids on the market today are using technology that's 60 years old, first used in 40s era diesel locomotives, and have just now surpassed the aerodynamic cleanliness of the lowest drag cars from the 1920s. Compare the .26 drag coefficient of the gen II Prius with the .27 drag coefficient of the 1921 Rumpler. The Prius is the most aerodynamic midsize car sold today in the U.S. It has yet to catch up to the 1935 Tatra T77a full size luxury car with a .21 drag coefficient or the 1953 Alfa Romeo BAT7 with a .19 drag coefficient. The most aerodynamic concept cars that could comfortably seat 5 adults have had Cd figures as low as .14!
The Prius' fuel economy is mostly from its clean aerodynamics. The hybrid drive would really only improve the fuel economy of a car by about 20% if the performance figures and everything else are kept constant. Shrinking from a 300 horsepower V8 to a 180 horsepower V6 also only improves fuel economy about 10%, same for shrinking from a 180 horsepower V6 to a 120 horsepower L4.
Realistically, without making our cars smaller, without reducing horsepower, with no new hybrid drives or fancy engine technology, we could have a corporate average fuel economy of 40+ mpg immediately.
But the auto industry has money on their mind, not delivering the best product they can. Cutting the Cd of today's midsize cars from .32 to .18 would increase highway fuel economy roughly 60% and city fuel economy about 10% with no other modifications, and due to elongating the vehicle to allow a longer taper, it would
increase storage space and interior room. Low rolling resistance tires would increase city fuel economy about 10% and highway fuel economy about 3%. Synthetic transmission oil would show gains of around 2%.
There is so much that can be done to increase fuel efficiency without anyone having to sacrifice a goddamned thing, except for the automakers who would actually have to innovate for a change...
We should have 160-180 horsepower V6 cars that get 50 mph highway and 30 city, and 35 mpg combined V8 musclecars. We could have 80 mpg midsize diesel cars that do 0-60 mph in 8 seconds and top out at 140, or 90 mpg hybrid diesel cars that do 0-60 mph in 6 seconds. Possible through better aerodynamics.
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