I noticed something interesting while looking through my old car magazines. A road test of a 1970 Chrysler 300H which got about the same fuel mileage as a 1973 Mercedes... even though the Chrysler 300 is heavier, has a much larger engine and is a lot faster than the Mercedes. I also included specs of a 1970 Cadillac Eldorado because even that 2.5 ton car got similar mileage of that Mercedes! (Tests by Car Life and Car & Driver.)
---------------------------------------- 1970 Chrysler---------------- 1973 Mercedes----------------- 1970 Cadillac
---------------------------------------- 300H--------------------------- 450 SLC-------------------------- Eldorado
Price as tested--------------------- $5,192------------------------- $15,094-------------------------- $9,003.60
Wheelbase/length----------------- 124"225.1"------------------- 111"/186.6"--------------------- 120"/221"
Overall width------------------------ 79"----------------------------- 70.5"----------------------------- 80"
Curb weight------------------------- 4,440 lbs---------------------- 3,875 lbs------------------------ 4,895 lbs
Engine/rated horsepower-------- 440 V-8/375 (gross)-------- 275.8 V-8/190 (net)----------- 500 V8/400 (gross)
Rated torque------------------------ 480 lbs-ft (gross)----------- 240 lbs-ft (net)----------------- 550 lbs-ft (gross)
Compression ratio------------------ 9.7:1-------------------------- 8.0:1----------------------------- 10.0:1
Axle ratio----------------------------- 3.23:1------------------------- 3.07:1--------------------------- 3.07:1
Transmission------------------------ 3-speed auto----------------- 3-speed auto------------------ 3-speed auto
0-30 mph----------------------------- 3 secs------------------------- 3.8 secs------------------------- 3.7 secs
0-60 mph----------------------------- 7.1----------------------------- 9.8------------------------------- 9.6
0-100 mph--------------------------- 17.8---------------------------- 29.1----------------------------- 24
1/4 mile------------------------------- 15.30 @ 94.43 mph-------- 17.5 @ 82 mph---------------- 16.3 @ 86 mph
Top speed---------------------------- 127 mph---------------------- 125 mph (observed)--------- 125 mph (est.)
Speed in gears @ mph
1st------------------------------------- 44 mph @ 4250 rpm-------- 60 mph @ 5800 rpm---------- 56 mph @ 5000 rpm
2nd------------------------------------ 76 mph @ 4500 rpm-------- 95 mph @ 5800 rpm---------- 94 mph @ 5000 rpm
3rd------------------------------------ 127 mph @ 5200 rpm------- 125 mph @ 5200 rpm-------- 112 mph @ 4000 rpm
Fuel mileage------------------------- 12.9 mpg (ave.)------------- 10-13 mpg---------------------- 9-11 mpg
Topic: Fuel Mileage Comparison: 1970 Chrysler 300H and 1973 Mercedes (Read 724 times)
