Joe, > Anyway, all this meandering aside, I guess what I'm trying to figure is > whether or not, with the technology available today, would it be possible > to build an economy car running strictly on gasoline, AND meeting modern > standards for crashworthiness, that could meet or exceed what the Saturn > Project did in 1982? I wouldn't expect it to be fast, but fast enough to > be useable on public roads (by way of comparision, my CRX HF was rated at > 58 SAE Net HP and 90 SAE Net ft-lbs, at 4400 and 2400 RPM respectively). > I'd say maybe the worst thing to add to it that most people would want > would be air-conditioning, from a weight-penalty point of view. It's an > economy car, so I wouldn't imagine a laundry-list of power gizmos would > come standard. > > Could it be done today strictly from a technical point of view? Up until > a > few months ago, I'd've said unlikely, until I found out what was achieved > in 1982.
Yes! It is extremely possible, if there was a will to do it. That will actually doesn't exist in the automotive corporate offices. The aerospace industry has the technology to drastically cut the weight. Even without using aerospace composites, the Olds powered CRO-SAL CAN-AM race cars did it 48 years ago. That same metallurgical technology could have been used on passenger cars then, but it wasn't, for no logical reason. The Bricklin used some of it, and that car failed, unfortunately, for it was outstanding. Always remember, cutting weight equals higher speeds or quicker acceleration or improved fuel economy or all 3 at the same time. Milton Schick 1964 442 Cutlass [EMAIL PROTECTED]
