Dan Minette wrote:
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
>> Behalf Of Charlie Bell
>> Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2007 3:09 AM
>> To: Killer Bs Discussion
>> Subject: Re: This is not a False Alarm...
>>
>>
>> On 12/04/2007, at 6:58 AM, Dan Minette wrote:
>>
>>>> Newer cars use less fuel to travel further than older cars.
>>> Lighter newer cars might...but I don't think the same sized new
>>> cars. In a
>>> real sense, a small car is more efficient than a large car, but
>>> that's not
>>> what I was thinking of. I was thinking of the energy requirements
>>> of the
>>> anti-pollution equipment on autos. As a result of this equipment,
>>> the power
>>> train is less efficient than it use to be.
>> No. There are small losses through the cat, and there are more losses
>> if you have AWD, but engine management, direct injection, and
>> materials have meant the net efficiency of drivetrains is far better.
>
> Here, AWD means all wheel drive....but I know I have much more than a
> catalytic converter on my car. Googling the details is harder than I
> expect, so I don't have the exact details. But, I know that my
> anti-pollution system does take power, via a belt connection to the engine.
> My recall is that this is a significant power drain and involves the
> recycling of exhaust gas.
>
> I searched again, and the first 30 or so hits for many combinations, are not
> related to the question...so I have to go on memory.
>
> One thing that strongly influences my memory was my ownership of a car that
> _actually_ got 50 mpg on the highway (or at least 48) and about 40 in town.
> It was a 1979 VW Diesel Rabbit, and seated 4. Diesels were not subject to
> restrictions at that time, but gas powered autos were. The comparable gas
> Rabbit got ~30 mpg//25 mpg. We don't see widespread us of this option
> now...certainly less than in the late '70s. I recall reading that this was
> due to the difficulty of both having the pollution control equipment
> required in the US and the superior mileage.
>
> Since I haven't been able to find anything on the web to confirm or deny
> these memories, I will stand corrected if someone has harder data than I do.
>
> Dan M
Man, those Diesel Rabbits were sweet -- I learned to drive stick shift
with one, and it had the advantage of not stalling out on me in
situations where a gas engine certainly would have!
Julia
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