The Beginning of the End

[troutstreamnm]

This is the start of the end for the SRT-8 and maybe the 5.7L HEMI's.  They are proposing pushing up the standard by 4 years from 2020 to 2016.  Obama will see we buy what he wants, not what we want 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will issue new vehicle emission standards and pair them with a broader goal of reducing pollution, marking the first time limits on greenhouse gases will be linked to federal standards for cars and trucks.

Officials familiar with the administration's discussions say Obama will unveil the new standards on Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not been made.

California, 13 other states and the District of Columbia have urged the federal government to let them enact more stringent standards than the federal government's requirements. The states' regulations would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and trucks by 2016.

Officials said Tuesday's announcement moves toward the 30 percent goal by 2016, starting with model years 2011 and beyond.

Obama's move also would effectively end litigation between states and automakers, who sought to block state-specific rules. The new federal rules would prompt automakers to drop their lawsuit. Two car companies who have been part of the litigation, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, have received billions in government loans during a dramatic downturn in car sales and weakened economy

[Rare_T_A]

Well we are seeing a lot of CHANG for this pres. I hope everyone is happy now.   

[426HEMI]

I hope that the changes go well.  I thought that some of this should have happened years ago.  I know if they want they can make them happen and still have the power we want and most likely the same engines.   

[71chally416]

Too bad the whole premise of these "changes" is totally flawed. The Earth has been cooling for years. And no matter what we do here to further gut our economy, Obama has no clout in China and India where they are free to do whatever they please and steal whatever remains of our manufacturing base. We won't even need cars anymore when everybody is unemployed. Maybe I'm just a fear monger, but after hearing how we are in the "Great depression II" why would anybody with a brain want to do anything to make things worse? If you could borrow your way to prosperity than all the people with maxed out CC's and foreclosed mortages would be doing great. 

[ViperMan]

I just wonder how anyone thinks we're going to get an AVERAGE of 36mpg out of these engines...  We've tuned and retuned and detuned and done every trick imagineable - there just isn't another 5 mpg to get out of them without computer systems that'll just add another $10,000 to the price.  Aren't cars ridiculously expensive enough as it is?  All that's going to happen is people keep fixing the GAS GUZZLERS they already drive!

[71chally416]

Smaller and lighter vehicles followed by a massive increase in accident mortality rates.
"The unintended consequence of good intentions". There's just no possible way to make a 2,000lb car the size of a phone booth "Safe". But don't worry, his universal health care plan will take care of all the cripples.

[Pistol Gripper]

I think I've figured out what's going on:

Obama wants these ridiculously high standards because in his infinate wisdom, he knows that foreign countries can't possibly meet them.  But, there's a secret you all don't know,  the auto industries in the US have a new technology that will allow them to meet the standards the others can't. 

Really !

P.G.

[72hemi]

These standards can be met and we can still have our horsepower. I know of one person who took a fox body mustang (4 cylinder) modified the crap out of the engine and it now get over 100 mpg and makes over 400 hp while running on ethanol. So don't tell me it cannot be done. On top of that the world record for fuel economy with a gasoline powered engine is over 10,000 mpg (not a typo). Granted the 10,000 was acheived on a single cylinder 3 hp engine in a vehicle that only weighs a few hundred pounds, but triple digit fuel economy on a non hybrid is more than doable and still make over 400 hp. I hate it when people go off and spout off about how these engines can't make any more fuel economy, it is just untrue.

[NoMope Greg]

These standards can be met and we can still have our horsepower. I know of one person who took a fox body mustang (4 cylinder) modified the crap out of the engine and it now get over 100 mpg and makes over 400 hp while running on ethanol. So don't tell me it cannot be done. On top of that the world record for fuel economy with a gasoline powered engine is over 10,000 mpg (not a typo). Granted the 10,000 was acheived on a single cylinder 3 hp engine in a vehicle that only weighs a few hundred pounds, but triple digit fuel economy on a non hybrid is more than doable and still make over 400 hp. I hate it when people go off and spout off about how these engines can't make any more fuel economy, it is just untrue.

I agree.  Last month, Ford made headlines by performing a real-world test using a new 2010 Fusion hybrid that was driven by Carl Edwards and a number of other trained "hyper-milers" that got 81.5 mpg driving in and around northern Virginia and Washington DC.  They were able to get 1445 miles on a single tank of fuel.

http://www.automotive-fleet.com/News/Story/2009/04/Ford-Fusion-Hybrid-Team-Averages-81-5-mpg-in-1-000-Mile-Challenge.aspx

Using both the gasoline engine and electric motors, the Fusion has 191 hp available - enough to push it 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and the quarter in 16.5@88 mph.  Granted, not anything approaching SRT-8 territory, but it wasn't so long ago that only Corvettes, Porsches and Ferraris could acheive that kind of performance. 

I think hybrids are a stop-gap towards the next mode of personal transportation (I'm betting on fuel cells), but we're just at the beginning of what can be acheived.  I look at current hybrid technology as the equivalent of the '32 Ford V8 - very good for it's time, but only a harbinger of what's to come.

[71chally416]

16.5? So it'd be about as quick as my 200K mile 1992 Daytona that I paid $800 for 4 years ago? Pretty impressive for 30K. Somehow I still think I'd be much happier with an R/T Chally with a 6 speed when I pulled out the payment book every month. 

[go-fish]

I got it! Carbon Fiber bodies. Who doesn't just love carbon fiber?

Also. Rollin on some 28" rims and 20 series tires would greatly alter the gear ratio. Start making cars with big azz wheels so you can stretch th egear and have an OEM alternative wheel in the parts house that is regular sized and you can shorten the gear and make it run like a propper musclecar.