What Car Sold In The Usa Would You Like To Have?

[Nicola]

The yanks have big engines but the petrol is low graded.

regular is 87 ron

premium is 89 ron

super premium is 93 ron

It's no wonder I didn't see many performance jap cars there.

[nrgizerbunny]

The yanks have big engines but the petrol is low graded.

regular is 87 ron

premium is 89 ron

super premium is 93 ron

It's no wonder I didn't see many performance jap cars there.

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This is incorrect. Americans run on ROAD OCTANE NUMBER (I think - this is definitely used in Canada), the UK is on Research Octane number, the two scales are different.

hence 93RON in the USA is not the same as 93RON in the UK.

I would like a dodge Intrepid :D or whatever car KITT was on knightrider

[scionic]

That's Carbs for ya!!  :P

Hmmm 30mpg... I only get 8.7 more out of my Yaris!!! That's very good!!! 

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We haven't put carbs in our engines in aeons. The only think low-tech about American engines really, is the OHV (pushrod) design and that's only some V8's and the lack of variable valve timing on most.

A new 2005 Chevrolet Corvette with a 405 horsepower 6 liter V8 gets 28 mpg highway / 18 city

Compare that to my 108 hp 1.5 liter I4 that gets 35 and 31 respectively.

4 times the engine with 4 times the power, but certainly not 4 times the consumption. Not even twice the consumption.

[Rookey]

I would like a dodge Intrepid :D  or whatever car KITT was on knightrider

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Wasn't it a Trans-Am?

[scionic]

The yanks have big engines but the petrol is low graded.

regular is 87 ron

premium is 89 ron

super premium is 93 ron

It's no wonder I didn't see many performance jap cars there.

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You use a different system of measurement than we do (RON vs MON I think), but our octane is still slightly lower by one or two points. Japan and Australia both have a bit higher than we do.

Our "midgrade" is about the same as your "regular" Some stations carry 93 or 94 here and that is almost equal to your premium. Lets not forget that more octane than is required by the engine does not, will not, can not improve performance. That's a scientific fact.

We also get some of the worst diesel fuel on the planet. Low cetane, around 40 average and often high in sulfur.

That is the price you pay for having very cheap fuel I guess.

[scionic]

I would like a dodge Intrepid :D  or whatever car KITT was on knightrider

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Wasn't it a Trans-Am?

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Pontiac Firebird I beleive, but there is very little difference between the Trans-Am, Camaro and Firebird. All mechanically identical for the most part. Just slightly different appearance.

[Bibbs]

I would like a dodge Intrepid :D

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Drove a "new" on a few years back ..

Dodge Insipid .. one of the worse cars I've ever driven .. and I've driven Vauxhalls ..

[Bibbs]

There is a 4.0 liter V6 version of new Mustang, that might get almost acceptable fuel economy for the UK. 

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I get 18 mpg .. can't be much worse ..

But then I do get over 200bhp per ton .. something those cars never seem to be able to do ..

[scionic]

There is a 4.0 liter V6 version of new Mustang, that might get almost acceptable fuel economy for the UK. 

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I get 18 mpg .. can't be much worse ..

But then I do get over 200bhp per ton .. something those cars never seem to be able to do ..

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Oh... Corvettes and Vipers do.

We aren't very good at building small cars though. Never have been really. :(

[Bibbs]

There is a 4.0 liter V6 version of new Mustang, that might get almost acceptable fuel economy for the UK. 

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I get 18 mpg .. can't be much worse ..

But then I do get over 200bhp per ton .. something those cars never seem to be able to do ..

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Oh... Corvettes and Vipers do.

We aren't very good at building small cars though. Never have been really. :(

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Don't get the wrong Idea .. I love the big cars .. Hmmm, Monaro ..

Chevvie V8, proper sports handling .. and it's OH so nice ..

[scionic]

I like the smaller cars better for sprited driving. I'd love an MR like yours actually, but I would have to have more than one car, thats not a practical daily driver for me, I need 4 doors and a roomy hatch area for everyday and it's not feasible for me to have more than one car right now.

[Leeky]

Wasn't it a Trans-Am?

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Yes, it was indeed

[RedAE102]

The yanks have big engines but the petrol is low graded.

regular is 87 ron

premium is 89 ron

super premium is 93 ron

It's no wonder I didn't see many performance jap cars there.

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We use the average (Research Octane No. + Motor Octane No.)/2 Octane Rating. This results in an octane rating that is 5 points below the RON.

Our regular is nominally 87 octane, but it's really RON 92.

Midgrade is nominally 89, but is RON 94.

The premium I see around here is 91, which is RON 96

Octane Rating 93, which I never see in this area, is RON 98.

A number of the petrol stations near my parents' vacation home in Lake Havasu City, Arizona even carry 100 octane (RON 105) fuel and up. I've also seen RON 91, 93, and 95 fuel available at stations in Colorado's higher elevations.

Oh, and for Leeky who cited the Pontiac GTO... You actually can buy that over there at your Vauxhall dealer as the Vauxhall Monaro. Like the GTO, it's a rebadged Holden Monaro! Not sure whether the Monaro comes with the 400 bhp 6.0-litre LS2 engine though.

[Bass junky]

Shelby GT500 - The fast Ford pick up

that classic Olds coupe oh and the Charger

I love the V8's but wish they had more power

[Puls]

Wow. And I willingly chose a 1.5 liter in a country where fuel is 1/3 the price and 4 liter engines are considered 'bout average.

WTF is wrong with me, eh? 

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3.6 liters is the average to be exact! The Datsun I plan to reel in this summer has a mighty, rampaging 1.5l engine. If that deal falls through, I've got a certain car with a 7.5l V8 that I may buy *evil ******* grin* The way I see it is that if my daily driver has me pootling around with about 2 liters, I have no guilt about having a 7.5l toy that I can burninate roads with on the weekends! :D

I have 4 vehicles which total 9.8 liters, which sounds impressive, until you look at my friend, who has 4 vehicles totalling 23.4 liters

[scionic]

Ah I was close then. 3.6 liters, eh? I think that's what the Porsche Carerra GT has. :D

WTF has 7.5 liters? Old Cadillac?

[Puls]

An old Pontiac to be precise. 455 cubic inches!

If you want an old Cadillac with a nutjob motor, get a '70 Eldorado. 500 cubic inches/8.2 litres. 400 hp and 550 ft. lbs. Don't let the giant displacement fool you though. Its smaller and lighter physically than a 4.2l Jaguar inline-6.

Thats the thing. I hear lots of People who think that physical size and weight of an engine are related to displacement. Has nothing to do with it. A dressed 5.7l LS1Corvette engine is smaller and lighter than an all-aluminum BMW 4.0.

[Twincam.GTi]

Puls Posted Today, 04:28 AM

  An old Pontiac to be precise. 455 cubic inches!

A trans am 455HO ?

Puls Posted Today, 04:28 AM

  An old Pontiac to be precise. 455 cubic inches!

If you want an old Cadillac with a nutjob motor, get a '70 Eldorado. 500 cubic inches/8.2 litres. 400 hp and 550 ft. lbs. Don't let the giant displacement fool you though. Its smaller and lighter physically than a 4.2l Jaguar inline-6.

Thats the thing. I hear lots of People who think that physical size and weight of an engine are related to displacement. Has nothing to do with it. A dressed 5.7l LS1Corvette engine is smaller and lighter than an all-aluminum BMW 4.0.

The old alloy 3.5 Rover V8 (which was originally a Buick engine) they put in the MGBGT V8 in the 70's was lighter than the MGB GT 1.8 Four Cylinder engine.

[Puls]

No. A big GrandVille Brougham sedan :o The 455 would end up a bit warmer than it was when it left the factory though ;)

Ah yes...the old 215 lol. A favorite for swaps into smaller old Japanese cars since its so light. There are a lot of Datsun 510 sedans running around with that engine.

I know that if someone jams twice the displacement and horsepower into a motor the same physical size that its the one I'd pick

[scionic]

An old Pontiac to be precise.  455 cubic inches!

If you want an old Cadillac with a nutjob motor, get a '70 Eldorado.  500 cubic inches/8.2 litres.  400 hp and 550 ft. lbs.  Don't let the giant displacement fool you though.  Its smaller and lighter physically than a 4.2l Jaguar inline-6.

Thats the thing.  I hear lots of People who think that physical size and weight of an engine are related to displacement.  Has nothing to do with it.  A dressed 5.7l LS1Corvette engine is smaller and lighter than an all-aluminum BMW 4.0.

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AH... that's the car I was thinking of! Ridiculous.

You should be required to dress like Elvis or a 1970's Texas oil tycoon to drive one.

I'm aware of the whole engine size paradigm you're refering too, though I bet it will surprise alot of people here. Some of that has to do with the good old OHV pushrod design. A pushrod V8 or V6 is far more compact and narrow than a DOHC example. I'd still choose the DOHC any day but Detroit is still proving that the OHV block isn't entirely without use.

Incidentally my engine (1NZ-FE) weighs only 171 lbs (78kg). The Toyota NZ series motors are the lightest in their class in the world supposedly.

[RedAE102]

Don't let the giant displacement fool you though.  Its smaller and lighter physically than a 4.2l Jaguar inline-6.

Thats the thing.  I hear lots of People who think that physical size and weight of an engine are related to displacement.  Has nothing to do with it.  A dressed 5.7l LS1Corvette engine is smaller and lighter than an all-aluminum BMW 4.0.

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I'm aware of the whole engine size paradigm you're refering too, though I bet it will surprise alot of people here. Some of that has to do with the good old OHV pushrod design. A pushrod V8 or V6 is far more compact and narrow than a DOHC example. I'd still choose the DOHC any day but Detroit is still proving that the OHV block isn't entirely without use.

Incidentally my engine (1NZ-FE) weighs only 171 lbs (78kg). The Toyota NZ series motors are the lightest in their class in the world supposedly.

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And the 4.0-litre 1UZ-FE Toyota/Lexus V8 in my mum's LS400 weighs slightly less than the 2.2-litre 20R SOHC 4-cylinder in my 1977 Corona! Toyota's new 1.0-litre 1KR-FE 3-cylinder in the new Aygo and slated for the 2nd generation Yaris is actually the lightest production engine in the world!

Also in defence of the old-tech pushrod engines, while GM's 3.8-litre V6 fell well short of the newer DOHC 3-litre V6s in terms of specific output (ratio of output per unit size), overall performance is not that far off, and fuel consumption is just as low, if not lower than the benchmark Toyota and Honda 3-litres. Even my mum's last company car, a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi Supercharged, which was capable of just over 7 seconds to 60 mph, returned as much as 36 mpg (Imp., US 30 mpg) on a long-distance trip, running 80-85 mph and air conditioner on the entire time. Mind you, this was in temperatures between 100-115ºF (38-46ºC), and the car was rated at 18 mpg city and 28 mpg highway (22 and 34 Imperial mpg, respectively). It was also quite a porker, weighing in at 3800 lbs, nearly as much as the RWD LS400. BTW, about the U.S. EPA fuel consumption ratings... the "City" number is usually about 25% higher (numerically) than the EEC Urban number for the same car, while the highway rating is usually at least that much lower than the EEC Extra-Urban number... just to give you a basis for comparison. Again, I'll shut up now!