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Mr. Luddite

On 1/15/2016 5:08 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 15 Jan 2016 16:42:35 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Fri, 15 Jan 2016 12:30:44 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 1/15/2016 12:22 PM, Keyser Söze wrote:
On 1/15/16 12:19 PM, True North wrote:
Keyser Söze
- show quoted text -
"About six months ago, we got my wife a new car, maybe one step up from
your basic compact. We shopped five or six dealers, looking at several
brands of four door sedans, including two "fancy lines." She ending up
liking the Toyota Camry best because "it's a simple car, well-made, nice
ride, and peppy." I was pretty surprised at how well it performs, since
she opted for the naturally aspirated four cylinder engine."

Too bad Toyota discontinued the V6 when they redesigned the Camry four
or five years ago. It's a nice engine...plenty for my Highlander, the
way I drive. Not sure if Camry has gone to the CVT type transmission
yet. That seems to be the future but I'm not convinced the slightly
better gas mileage is worth any negative traits...such as when towing
etc.

I think you can get a V6 in the Camry but once my wife test drove the
Camry with the 4, she was "decided." On a recent long drive on I-95, she
was able to average 38 and 40 mpg at 70 mph.

Assuming they have a history of being reliable, I think the best
combination is a small 4 banger with a turbo. The turbo adds plenty of
pep when you need it but you don't have to get on it when you are just
driving normally. Some of the turbo 4 cylinders can challenge the
performance of a V8 in some cars.

My driving habits have changed a great deal in the past few years.
I don't drive fast ... I don't accelerate any faster than necessary ...
and I am not in a big hurry to get anywhere anymore. Had my fun with
the M5, Porsche and big old American muscle cars but I am over them.

Like my wife's VW Jetta. 1.4L Turbo-diesel. Quick little bugger.

===

Diesels have huge torque when the turbo kicks in. My wife's M-B is a
3.2L turbo diesel and it's amazing. Torque peaks out at something
like 400 ft/lbs which is more than the V8 in my Tundra.

I've often wondered why a diesel-electric for cars hasn't been explored.
Diesel engines are most efficient running at a constant RPM which is
optimized by it's load. It was never really intended to be a varying
RPM engine like a gas engine. Think diesel-electric locomotives where
the engine is constantly at a given RPM, regardless of speed. If it's
running RPM was optimized for the average draw of an electric motor
(which develops max torque at zero RPM) it should be very economical to
run. VW has done some research and has a prototype (although very
small) that can get 261 mpg. Seems like a goal of 50 to 60 mpg in an
auto that could carry a family of four would be realistic. The diesel
engine itself would not be very big.