Does anyone else get a little pissed....?

[ffrcobra_65]

It is all a conspiracy. If you get great mpg, means you make less trips to the gas station to buy gas, means there is less tax $ made, means the city, state, and fed get less $ and that in turn amount to billions of lost $.

[PQ]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

I wouldn't say that its complacency, just the nature of engineering. The vast majority of the work is about making what already exists better, not creating something entirely new. Refining a technology isn't being complacent, it just doesn't grab anyones attention. You remember the one thing that gets a 10% improvement, but never the 10 little things that have a 1% improvement. So with a tweak to the design of a cam, to improved mapping of the throttle, to better spark plugs, it all contributes a little bit. Over the course of a decade or two, it can add up to a lot.

I suppose.

And maybe I just haven't been paying attention but it seems largely over the pjassed 4 years or so that it's happened like this.

Our V6 Liberty got us 16 mpg and 21 highway.

Our 4 cylinder Sidekick only got 24 highway. 18 around town.

My Camaro, even blown, gets much better than the Liberty and a little better than the freaking Suzuki

[hamr56]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

It is all a conspiracy. If you get great mpg, means you make less trips to the gas station to buy gas, means there is less tax $ made, means the city, state, and fed get less $ and that in turn amount to billions of lost $.

I agree, kind of like artifically inflating housing prices, consumers and banks took the rap for that. But you didn't hear the people that were accessing the value of these houses step up and take any blame, nor the people who collect the taxes on them.

I think it is great that we have these awesome cars that can push 400HP and get almost 20mpg. I also think because of this things like the Chicago Auto Show are being dominated by the muscle cars of this era and not the tiny death traps with a battery shoved up their arse.

[UT-Engineer]

i avergae 23-24mpg with my "heavy lead" foot. But on cruise control at 65-70mph i easily get 29-30mpg.

[WadeWilson]

Originally Posted by Ject

Wow you guys are getting some great gas milage!

Im in the 12-17mpg on my Camaro... lots of stop and go.. and when there is no stopping I really give it the GO pedal... thus why i've never seen the 20's :(

The best I've seen in mine was 22.7 and that was a 530 mile all interstate trip. As of now I'm averaging 15MPG and that's with 80% city driving.

[PQ]

Originally Posted by Shardik2SS

The best I've seen in mine was 22.7 and that was a 530 mile all interstate trip. As of now I'm averaging 15MPG and that's with 80% city driving.

And at what speed were you travelling?

My run was flat the whole way and I set the cruise for 65.

[aldaron327]

On a recent trip from St. Louis back to Abilene, KS I averaged 23MPG at 70-75mph. I left Lambert Int'l with 3/4 of a tank and didn't have to fill up until I got almost all the way through Topeka. If there were more gas stations along I-70 just past Topeka, I could have made it almost all the way to Manhattan. If I'd have topped off in St. Louis, I could have made it almost all the way home, if not all the way. To say I'm impressed with that is an understatement. That same trip in my Silverado means I'm filling up 1/2 way and sometimes twice.

[TaylorRyanSS]

I wish I got that good of gas mileage. The highest I have gotten is 27 mpg, but that rarely happens. Usually its around 13 mpg

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by PQ

At the great fuel mileage they are getting from these high powered cars?

Obviously not that we are getting it, because that's great, but that it's taken this long to get it.

WTF? This isn't some new technology that is finally here. 26mpg from a 400 HP car? OMG.

Just gets me a little irritated that they didn't give it to us sooner.

I'm just curious if anyone else had felt that way.

Not at all...it's the way of things...technology is necessary before somethings can happen. It's like crossing a gorge...you can SEE the other side...but good luck getting there without a rope or a bridge or something...

There is no conspiracy, there was no 200mpg carburetor, computers weren't around until recently for precise injection control, machining tolerances and techniques weren't readily available for efficient head-design...and design alone (whether it's electronic fuel mapping or physical design of components) takes decades if not CENTURIES to perfect anything...it's a long, drawn-out process all hinging on what the technology of the time is.

Don't forget, either...it seems like every time a great advancement was made in engine design...emissions regulations cracks the whip and demands them to be cleanER....which suffocates that newfound 'thing'. And so the process starts again to overcome that...it's kinda like shifting gears.....

[CFD]

To be a politician, especially one of high position takes a lot of personal wealth, so when many politicians , a couple of well known ones like both president george w. and george h. have aquired much of their wealth through investments in oil, the fact that the production of cars that got high gas mileage would directly affect their bottom line probably has nothing to do with it.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Not at all...it's the way of things...technology is necessary before somethings can happen. It's like crossing a gorge...you can SEE the other side...but good luck getting there without a rope or a bridge or something...

There is no conspiracy, there was no 200mpg carburetor, computers weren't around until recently for precise injection control, machining tolerances and techniques weren't readily available for efficient head-design...and design alone (whether it's electronic fuel mapping or physical design of components) takes decades if not CENTURIES to perfect anything...it's a long, drawn-out process all hinging on what the technology of the time is.

Don't forget, either...it seems like every time a great advancement was made in engine design...emissions regulations cracks the whip and demands them to be cleanER....which suffocates that newfound 'thing'. And so the process starts again to overcome that...it's kinda like shifting gears.....

Don't forget the advancements made in CAD/CAE in addition to CAM. Computational fluid dynamics to improve flow, stress analysis to reduce component weight, thermal analysis to provide better cooling and reduce intake temperature, and a whole host of other analytical tools. Computer aided design and engineering software has turned much of that from what was arguably an art into a precise science.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Don't forget the advancements made in CAD/CAE in addition to CAM. Computational fluid dynamics to improve flow, stress analysis to reduce component weight, thermal analysis to provide better cooling and reduce intake temperature, and a whole host of other analytical tools. Computer aided design and engineering software has turned much of that from what was arguably an art into a precise science.

Right...I condensed all that into "machining techniques" because the names of all those processes and Physical theories weren't rolling off my tongue as easily as yours.

[GILL MAN]

HERE IN PHOENIX AZ. THE GAS IS 3:65 A GAL. FOR PRM. MYCAMARO GETS ABOUT 18. THATS NOT BAD FOR 426HP. ON THE FREWAY. LOVE THE CAR BUT HOPE THE GAS PRICE GO DOWN SOON.BUT EVEN IF IT DON'T I AM STILL GOING TO RIDE.

[RocketCutlass]

My 69 Cutlass got 24mpg on the highway. 2bbl 350, Th350, 2.56 rear gears. After headers, cam, PP heads, Holley 650, it still remained the same oddly enough. After the gear swap to 3.91's.... Remember what happened to GM's stock value? Same thing...