From: black.hole.4.spam{at}gmail.com (Don Hills)

In article , "Geo"
 wrote:
>
>Even if I assume best case of 30mpg, that's only 10mpg more than a full
>sized 4wd V8 300hp pickup truck, what most people consider a gas guzzling
>SUV.

That's 50% more. 50% further per gallon. Different viewpoint, that's all.

Going back to the point about a 200 odd hp car not being capable of
reaching 150 mph, the 2003/2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 had a 500 hp engine and a
top speed of 154 mph. The 2003 Chrysler Crossfire had a 215 hp engine and a
top speed of 150 mph. Both speeds were electronically timed on a test oval.
When you see the two vehicles side by side the aerodynamic drag potential
difference is obvious.

That only tells part of the story, though. The power required to overcome
drag increases as the cube of the speed increase. This means that the power
required to maintain 60 mph is only about 32 hp for the Ram and 14 hp for
the Crossfire. Vehicle weight and thermal efficiency become the major
economy factors in city driving.

Crossfire:    17/25 mpg city/highway 3174 lbs

RAM SRT-10:   13/17 mpg city/highway 5150 lbs

(Manufacturer figures - would they lie to us?)

I did note that the RAM SRT-10 will get as low as 3 mpg when being driven
hard (on a track)... that's only 80 miles on a full tank of gas.

--
Don Hills    (dmhills at attglobaldotnet)     Wellington, New Zealand
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