Ben,
Ever wonder that the reason American car builders cater to the weak,
might be because it caters to the opposite sex?
Technology, and all the frills might be the Great Equalizer-surely, a
power door and power fold down seats make it easier for soccer moms,
no?
just a thought.
Vincent
On Jan 26, 2006, at 8:03 AM, Ben Pender wrote:
> David,
>
> Its obvious you're not picking on me, because you
> are making my point! Cars, in general, are getting
> bigger and heavier. That was my point the whole time.
> Granted, some of the weight gain is due to cars
> getting bigger and bigger (why do we need this?), but
> its also due to more and more stupid accessories, and
> all the extra strengthening that has to occur because
> of the growing weight. Its a viscious cycle!
>
> In America, we have vehicles with power DOORS! The
> doors themselves are power driven! We have vehicles
> with rear seats that fold down, UNDER POWER! As big,
> fat, lazy Americans, we can't be bothered to actually
> put a bit of muscle into folding a seat down or even
> opening a door. I guess that's how we got fat and
> lazy! Not sure how Americans got so stupid, but I'm
> working on that! :^)
>
> Anyway, the point is, cars are getting bigger and
> heavier and have more and more superflous stuff in
> them. We didn't have that sort of stuff in the 60's
> and we got where we needed to go quite well! James
> Bond's cars were a novelty, now they're considered
> necessity. On the other hand, I guess the owner of a
> model T might wonder why Americans have gotten so lazy
> that we have to have effective weatherproofing and
> climate control, as well as being too lazy to get out
> and manually crank the engine!
>
> None of my cars have television screens in them,
> none have GPS or any of that other crap. None have
> power doors or anything like that. Granted, my Audis
> have power windows, but if I could have gotten one
> without, I would have. Otherwise, the rest of my cars
> are basic, no "frills" transportation that still
> manage to be comfortable and effective, if requireing
> attention and input from the driver.
>
> Regards,
> Ben Pender
>
> --- David Owen <d_j_owen2002@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > Honestly Ben I am not picking on you but here are
> > some figures.
> >
> > The 405 which I previously had (figures courtesy
> > of Peugeot.org) these are general for the 405 range
> > as I do not have any books relating to the car
> > anymore.
> > 4408 mm length, 1714 mm width, 1406 mm height
> > Unladen these figures vary for model and spec.
> > Weight 1030 to 1100 kg. 1769 turbo diesel engine.
> >
> > The Skoda Superb I have now.
> > Weight unladen 1465 to 1567kg.
> > 4803 mm length, 1765 mm width (not including door
> > mirrors) 1469 mm height.
> > 1896 Turbo Diesel injection engine producing 96 Kw
> > energy.
> >
> > So yes it is bloated as it is a bigger car hence
> > more weight but not all the weight is due to toys
> > but extra size.
> > Crash test figures for the car are pretty good
> > unless you are a pedestrian who is unfortunate to be
> > hit by one of these.
> > It is classed as a small limousine as the
> > passenger space is huge and the boot cavernous.
> > For what I have gained I would say the few extra
> > kg was worth it, though I have sacrificed the throw
> > it down the road through a few twists and turns for
> > a buzz. The 405 was quicker through the gears and
> > more fun in that respect handling well but this
> > holds the gears for a wider range and can still be
> > fun.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Dave
> >
> > peugeot-L@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> > There are 17 messages in this issue.
> >
> > Topics in this digest:
> >
> > 1. Re: Electrical Quality/ Bloated cars
> > From: Ben Pender
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Mon, 23 Jan 2006 08:39:39 -0800 (PST)
> > From: Ben Pender
> > Subject: Re: Electrical Quality/ Bloated cars
> >
> > Dave,
> >
> > Sounds like you made a good choice. However, you
> > can't argue with my point about weight. Just pick a
> > car and look how it has become bloated over the
> > years.
> > First gen Honda Civic? I don't know for sure, but
> > I'd say it weighed about 1400 pounds or so. The new
> > Honda Civic? Again I don't know for sure, but it
> > wouldn't surprise me if it was getting close to
> > 3000#.
> > Not convinced? First gen VW Golf/Rabbit. About
> > 1700#, A2 Golf-about 2200#, A3 Golf? 2600#, Current
> > (new) Golf? Again, approaching 3000#.
> >
> > What was the average weight for the average car 20
> > years ago? What about 10 years ago? What about now?
> > In most countries, like the USA, Great Britian,
> > France, Germany, it has steadily increased. Weight
> > is
> > weight. A ton of feathers weighs the same as a ton
> > of
> > lead. More plastic and aluminum? Less steel/iron?
> > Doesn't matter. Cars weigh more now than they ever
> > have. Period.
> >
> > More weight requires more power to acheive the same
> > performance. Fortunately, technology has been good
> > and allowed more efficient engines so that more
> > power
> > is produced without increased fuel consumption. But,
> > for every gain in efficiency, there has been a
> > penalty
> > in terms of weight. Can you imagine what kind of
> > milage you would get with something like a 1.9 TDI
> > in
> > a first gen (A1) Jetta? You probably wouldn't need
> > the whole 1.9l! You could make the much more
> > efficient engine something like 1.3l and get
> > phenomenal milage, much like the VW Polo or
> > something.
> >
> > Just imagine the fuel efficiency we could be getting
> > if we kept developing the engine technology, but
> > kept
> > our cars from becomming big fat, bloated things.
> > 50mpg in a gasoline car would not be the exception,
> > but rather the rule by now. But, we're too lazy and
> > driven by the desire to be stylish for that to
> > happen.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Ben Pender
> >
> > --- David Owen wrote:
> >
> > > As to Ben's comments on toys in the car. The
> > > materials used in todays cars are much lighter and
> > > so do not add greatly to the weight, the engines
> > > produce more power for their size and operate at
> > > greater efficiency giving more miles to the
> > gallon.
> > > On my 1.9 TDI the book states 40 mpg round town
> > and
> > > 60 mpg on a run. On most of the tanks I have put
> > in
> > > so far the lowest mpg I have acheived is 47.6 mpg
> > > the best 56.3 mpg. This is from a car the same
> > size
> > > as an Audi A6. I did not opt for SatNav as I could
> > > not justify £1800 for it and the Leather seats
> > with
> > > heaters did not appeal to me and again would add
> > to
> > > the price.
> > >
> >
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Received on Thu Jan 26 09:34:51 2006
