Wait, Weight, Don't Tell Me

              A few decades ago, people didn’t ask too much of cars. Cars fulfilled their roles as fine means of transportation, but they offered few technological options and advancements, and were quite ‘plain-Jane’ by today’s standards. American automakers such as Ford, GM, and Chrysler, had a long and glorious reign of power, but there were newcomers on the scene. Around the 60s, Datsun (discontinued, merged with Nissan) arrived to be part of the big picture, and was followed by other Japanese brands such as Toyota and Honda. Foreign automobiles were often inexpensive, but suffered at the hands of the public, mainly because of poor build quality. Early generation import cars had many issues; a ubiquitous complaint was rust, though domestic manufacturers dealt with frequent complaints as well.

               Let’s go back to Datsun, and have a look at the 1970 240Z. I’m interested in a few numbers; the pony count (which was roughly 150), the weight (which was roughly 2,400 lbs.), and the basic engine layout and displacement (it was a 2.4L inline-4). Though it has struggled over time, the Z is still being made today, although its evolution makes it difficult to relate to its older brother, the 240Z. Nissan, which is just Datsun with a different public image and name, now makes a sports car called the 370Z. Before the 370Z, the last model was the 350Z, which I had the pleasure of testing a few months ago. For the sake of comparison, we’ll use the 370Z’s numbers against those of the old 240Z. So what’s the weight of the 370Z? Closer to 3,300 lbs. The horsepower has shot up, too, to 332. Of course, even though new technology has made this kind of power available from a rather normal-sized engine, “normal-sized” has grown significantly for Japanese automakers since the era of the early Zs. Figure around 3.0L (Toyota’s fleet average) for the average mid-size car from Japan, with bigger engines in more luxurious or sporty models, and smaller engines in economy cars.  Ford is up slightly for average engine size, with some hefty base truck engines pulling up its 15 vehicle average to 3.5L.  For America, a fleet average of three and a half liters doesn’t sound like much, maybe because of the 427s (7.0L) and still-common 350s (5.7L) that produced this country’s horsepower for decades.

               Maybe you’re wondering “Why do all of these numbers matter?” Simply put, horsepower and weight are two very large determinants of a car’s performance. Engine displacement and weight are crucial figures when related to fuel economy. Lower weight will equal measurably better performance in almost all performance aspects, including fuel economy.  Still, why do these things matter? The average driver cares mainly about getting from point A to point B, and doesn’t necessarily need a sub 6 or 5 second zero to sixty dash. The problem lies in the fact that Americans can’t seem to decide what they want. When gas is expensive, hybrids and alternative fuel cars are what get the public into a buying frenzy. Knock fuel prices back down, and the public demand curve shifts back towards GM sport utes with 6.0L Vortec V8s, and fuel guzzling Toyota (yes, you read right, Toyota) Sequoias.

               A recent article on MSN posed a good question; what role will the subcompact car market play over the next decade or so? Unless U.S. gas prices rise to meet European gas prices (the equivalent of $5 to $9+ per gallon), demand for very small cars that average 40 mpg or more may grow stagnant. 

Regardless, you don't have to buy one of these to get good fuel economy, as I'll explain later...

               Back to American automotive indecisiveness. I very frequently hear people complain about how all carmakers have it wrong, and public demand isn’t listened to. Why can’t we just get our 60 mpg cars that seat 14 adults comfortably, and can run a Corvette-like quarter-mile times at the dragstrip? Well, for one thing, physics don't let massive hunks of metal do all that, generally. But another annoyingly clear point here is that automakers do listen to you. It’s pretty clear that they want to sell as much as they can to you, so they’ll do their utmost to create what you want. Some people will always be dissatisfied, but most rational people should be  able to find something that appeals to them in the massive selection that is available from a plethora of manufacturers. Let’s take an example of a brilliant car that really does nearly everything. The V6 Mustang has been the car to scoff at for most of its life. The GT models, with the V8 and rumbling American exhaust notes often garner the praise of the automotive world, but the V6 is for non-purists who only care about the looks. Whether or not those assumptions are true, they’ve changed with the 2011 Mustang. The Mustang now comes standard with a 3.7L V6, which pumps out a very impressive normally-aspirated 305 horsepower, and 280 lb.-ft of torque. The 2010 GT (with the aforementioned rumbley American V8) put out just 315 horsepower, and 325 lb-ft. of torque. The big number is, surprisingly enough, not exactly the power of the new base Mustang. The bigger surprise is the fuel economy that it manages; a whopping 31 miles per gallon on the highway. Now, that’s the EPA rating, but don’t think you can’t get more; Ford tested a V6 Mustang at the Bristol Motor Speedway on June 24^th, and averaged just over 48 mpg. The car was tested in very controlled conditions at the most fuel efficient speed possible, but the powerful 2011 Mustang V6 can probably manage closer to 40 mpg when driven conservatively on back roads. For something that can pull of the sprint to sixty in 5.1 seconds, that’s unheard of. All of these accomplishments almost outshine the fact that the Mustang is, as one Ford video advertisement says, the first car to have over 300 horsepower as well as over 30 mpg. Another key factor in the performance and fuel economy of this car is that it doesn’t weigh much by today’s vehicular standards. This is one special car, and I’m looking forward to the possibility of driving one sometime soon for a more detailed review (if Ford will get back to me).

               So, to sum up what I just said about the Mustang; yes, America, you can have it all. There are plenty of technically brilliant cars on the market, and all of them are there because of consumer demand…though I really want to know which consumers demanded cars like the Scion iQ, or the Kia Soul (there’s no legitimate excuse for wanting something that looks like either of those cars).

               The market will always change with fuel pricing and availability, but automakers will continue to listen. Ever heard anyone complain about the fact that their SUV weighs between 2 and 3 tons, and drinks gasoline like any famous heiress or Hollywood star drinks alcohol? That’s not primarily because of the automakers. Safety standards are ever-tightening the seat-belt on car companies, with roughly one more mandated airbag per knee per day. Oh, and that GPS unit that you may never need? It’s heavy. So is that glass sunroof. Trying to save weight by going with a convertible? Forget it; the average convertible weighs 200 pounds more than its coupe or sedan counterpart. All of the weight that’s ruining your dignity at the stoplight (and wallet at the pump) can be attributed to government folk with their safety standards, and you, the buyer.