A- series standoff problem

[rookie]

Dave wrote,
I've kept a log of the mpg for every tank for every car I've ever owned over the last 30 years and average mpg hasn't gone up a jot. In fact it's gone down. What modern FI engined cars gain in mpg from engine efficiency they lose from the weight that central locking, crash protection, air bags, electric everything add.

As if cars are not heavy enough,
Feds' new crash-test program to go into effect in 2010 - Autoblog
Though still based on a five-star ranking, the revised 2010 ratings will include additional front-end tests and a new side-impact test meant to mimic the impact of a vehicle that collides with a tree or pole. Also new for the '10 model year is an overall rating meant to make comparisons easier between competing vehicles. More changes are possible for 2012, as NHTSA is still considering whether to make electronic nannies like stability control mandatory.

Dave wrote,
My solution is simple. A sharp steel blade sticking out of the steering column that you'll impale yourself on if you crash into anything. No added weight for air bags, side impact protection or anything else. Simple light cars with SUs and Darwinian safety features which mean if you are stupid enough to crash you get out of the game.

My thought was, replace the air bags with explosives, one sensor for light impact that would just burn all the hair off your face and head and one sensor for heavy impact, so the car would totally vaporize to keep from slowing traffic flow to save time and with no need for emergency response or clean up it would save tax payers millions.

[FlowSpecialist]

Originally Posted by FlowSpecialist

I've kept a log of the mpg for every tank for every car I've ever owned over the last 30 years and average mpg hasn't gone up a jot. In fact it's gone down. What modern FI engined cars gain in mpg from engine efficiency they lose from the weight that central locking, crash protection, air bags, electric everything add.

Dave

Looking back through my mpg logs the current car, a 130 bhp 2.0 3 door Focus, has averaged 30.3 mpg over 15000 miles. Most trips are very short, under 5 miles, with the occasional long run of 500 miles up to Aberdeen to visit friends.

25 years ago in 1983 I lived in Aberdeen and bought a 115 bhp 1.8 3 door Mk1 Astra GTE. Most trips were less than 5 miles to get to work with the occasional 500 mile run back to London to visit family. Over 21000 miles it averaged 31.0 mpg.

Similar car for its period, similar usage, similar bhp. The Focus weighs over 300kg more but has better aerodynamics. The Astra had a very basic Bosch L fuel injection and the Focus has everything invented since including a cat and 8 extra valves. Not a scrap of extra economy to show for all of that.

Now compare and contrast my old Metro mentioned above. 1380cc, extremely rorty cam, big valve head and a single HIF SU with a custom needle. Somewhere between 105 and 110 bhp. For the 1500 miles it remained standard with a measly 55 bhp it averaged 41 mpg with two tanks of 50 mpg. Even after being modified so heavily and having the arse caned off it every time I drove it it averaged 34.3 mpg over the next 20000 miles with a best tankful of 44 mpg. I'm sure I could have stayed closer to 40 mpg on average if I hadn't thrashed it every time I got in it.

That's over 10% better economy than the FI cars despite mods, especially the cam, designed to do anything but get better mpg. As standard it was over 30% better than the FI cars.

If you factor in the billions of pounds of cost of developing modern FI, catalytic converters etc and fitting them to every car on the planet have we really gone forward or backwards over the last 25 years?

If we drove small light, aerodynamic cars for the single occupant journeys that most trips consist of instead of 4x4 tanks weighing 4000 lb and with the aerodynamics of a brick we could all get 50 mpg very easily indeed. In fact a genuine 100 mpg petrol engined car isn't hard to devise. Make that 130 mpg if it were a diesel. I've done the calcs and the design work and I could build a car like that tomorrow with the right funding.

Dave