NationStates Jolt Archive

Okay...I know I haven't posted in a while and I doubt anyone noticed my absence...but I've observed something odd...

Has anyone noticed that as gas prices go up, so does engine size?

I mean, forget the trucks and SUVs...I've noticed that the engine size on American cars is growing like an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Screw trunk space, the front end is 4 feet long!

My examples are things like the new Dodge Charger, the latest Ford Mustang GT, and that weird Dodge Station Wagon thing the Magnum (great name for a condom, not for a car).

I'm not sure what the impact is, but I can't imagine that a larger engine is better on gas mileage. Not knowing too much about cars though I thought I would toss this out there.

It might be a bad consumer aspect of capitalism. An effort to force people to buy the same amounts of gas at higher prices.

Or it could be because more stuff is needed in the engines to make them use less fuel. That would make engines bigger and heavier, but hopefully also less gas guzzling.

I have no facts on this though, just mindless opinions.

Thanks for entering some theories though. It's possible that the higher weight could lead to a higher coefficient of traction thereby utilizing more of the car to move farther, making the gas mileage better...

Although I don't think so...:)

GM canceled the Firebird and the Camaro, as they felt the pony/muscle car market had died (stupid GM). There was no pony car option for Chrystler products. Ford made their Mustang look like a shiny rocket ship, and sold the living crap out of them. Enter Chrystler and GM with their crumby "lookalikes", but with little pony car guts other than a huge engine (really crappy suspension and drive train except for a 400hp engine = deathmobile). Nobody is being fooled, and Ford is still selling Mustangs faster than I can give away free beer. GM sells off GMAC and their bonds are devalued to Junk. GM closes 30 some odd plants.

Chrystler is bought by Daimler/Benz, because after Lee Iococa rescued them from doom, they were a good buy. Nobody is doing that for GM, and they are dwindling down to nothing.

Ford is the only one of the big three left standing.

First things first...where is this free beer and how do I get some?

I understand all the political mambo-jambo there...but the question is, why are these larger engine cars making a comeback in a market with exhoribitant gas prices? Does the engine size make a difference?

It's a cultural thing. In the US, people always liked cars with simple, big engines. That's not really changed.
Oh, and petrol prices in the States aren't really that high at all.

In Europe, most cars sold today are diesels. They also have smaller, or more efficient engines, and even traditional European sports cars have relatively smaller, more efficient engines. Of course, there are outliers (Lamborghini comes to mind).

And in Japan, nobody builds big engines anyway.

So if there is such a relationship, it would only hold for the US, I think.

I was joking that muscle cars are making a comeback on the verge of a new oil crisis, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Most of the Chargers on the road (observed, so I can be proven wrong) are of the 3.5L V6 vareity. And the Magnum and I assume the Charger have that dead cylinder system where when the car is cruising it shuts down to only four. This isn't the 8 mile to the gallon heyday. I'm too lazy to get milage figures.

Having said that, used Prius' are going for more than new ones because there is no 6 month waiting period. So...

Also, I see a ton of VW diesels. Some people are not reading the market correctly and others are cleaning up because of it.

Engine size and fuel economy do not relate directly. Take the new Dodge Charger R/T, for example. It has poor aerodynamics (bad for gas mileage), big, performance tires (also bad for gas mileage), weighs more than two tons loaded (really bad for gas mileage), and has an automatic transmission only (again, not good for gas mileage.)

Then take a new Honda Civic Si. It has better aerodynamics (good for gas mileage), skinny/all-season tires (good for gas mileage), and weighs much less (great for gas mileage). And it also has 1/3rd the displacement and half as many cylinders. And yet, all that only gets it 6mpg more. Not much. Imagine if it had an auto, performance tires, more drag, and was a bit heavier. You can chop that 6mpg in half. The Charger has almost twice and much power and torque yet fuel economy is relatively close. The reason? Planned obsolecence on Honda's part.

I was joking that muscle cars are making a comeback on the verge of a new oil crisis, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Most of the Chargers on the road (observed, so I can be proven wrong) are of the 3.5L V6 vareity. And the Magnum and I assume the Charger have that dead cylinder system where when the car is cruising it shuts down to only four. This isn't the 8 mile to the gallon heyday. I'm too lazy to get milage figures.

Having said that, used Prius' are going for more than new ones because there is no 6 month waiting period. So...

Also, I see a ton of VW diesels. Some people are not reading the market correctly and others are cleaning up because of it.

Um, 45% of Chargers sold have Hemis. And yes, all new Hemis have cylinder deactivation. Both get in the range of 17-18mpg city. Not bad for a two-ton, 350hp muscle car. Just for the record, most old muscle cars got in the range of 10-12mpg city and slightly more on the highway.

And yet, all that only gets it 6mpg more. Not much.
I think that is quite a bit, if it is in everyday usage. There is a sizable difference in whether your car uses 10l or 15l on a hundred km.

But the age of the petrol engine is coming to an end anyway. Once Audi has won Le Mans with its diesel car, even performance cars will have to change, although I don't know yet what the end result may look like.

First things first...where is this free beer and how do I get some?

I understand all the political mambo-jambo there...but the question is, why are these larger engine cars making a comeback in a market with exhoribitant gas prices? Does the engine size make a difference?
You say comeback like it went away

Not that I have seen

Um, 45% of Chargers sold have Hemis. And yes, all new Hemis have cylinder deactivation. Both get in the range of 17-18mpg city. Not bad for a two-ton, 350hp muscle car. Just for the record, most old muscle cars got in the range of 10-12mpg city and slightly more on the highway.
Dude, first-I gave the caveat that it was just what I was seeing and that I could be proven wrong, so you didn't need the "Um..", second-you do know that you technically proved me right, don't you?

And 17-18 ain't bad, but it ain't great either. On the 6 miles to the gallon game-
Lets take a standard 15 gallon tank. That's 90 more miles before filling up. Just to be arbitrary if the difference was between 20 and 26 it that would end up being around a 4 to 5 tank ratio, an extra $35 dollars a month on current prices, almost $500 a year. Not bad. I'll take the extra 6.