Race cars hit the treadmill. Why not road cars?
If you look at the current progression of car lineage, you’ll notice a sure thing: more “stuff” and more weight. Naturally, to lug these pigs around, you need gobs of horsepower. A car with a 0-60MPH time of more than 5.5 seconds is considered to be average and will soon be considered slow. Economy cars are almost breaking the 6.0 second barrier. A VW GTI can haul itself to 60MPH from a stand still in just over 6 seconds. Compare a Honda Civic or BMW 3 Series to their respective predecessors and you’ll find the cars have almost doubled in size and gained a half ton in weight. So obviously, you need some serious power, and with great power comes great fuel consumption.
In the racing world, your goal is to have the lightest car with the most power and least fuel consumption. This will allow your car to handle better, accelerate harder, and go further between pit stops. Out of all the factors, weight is key. Removing excess fat improves the all aspects of the cars performance. Chassis designers in Formula 1 cut weight everywhere they can. The fasteners for the body work are made out of magnesium, and the entire structure is made from carbon fiber. Millions of dollars are spent researching weight reduction. While a lot of technology from racing makes its way to road cars, the weight saving diets have not until now.
Coupled with poor fuel economy, rising gas prices and reduced handling, consumers have started to voice their complaints. Auto manufactures are starting to put their models on regimented diet and exercise program. Take the BMW 3 series for example. The first two models of the 3 series weighed in the neighborhood of 2600 lbs with the most powerful one having just shy of 200HP. Now the new M3 is a portly 3700lbs with a fuel thirsty 414HP V8. It’s a masterpiece of an engine, but the car as a whole is straying from its performance roots and headed towards luxurious fatness. However, with all that power and technology of the M3, a 335i can me made to handle better and have more power than the M3 for less money than buying an M3. This is one of the main reasons the 335i was such a success.
Surely automakers have noticed this trend, but few are actually taking action. BMW’s CEO Ludwig Willisch has already stated that the new M-cars will no longer be powered by progressively larger engines in larger cars. They will instead have the same power output as the current models but will have smaller turbocharged engines and will be lighter. This means more expensive light weight metals and carbon fiber with possibly better fuel mileage and sharper handling. This is a refreshing statement to avid fans who can’t seem to break up with the E30 M3, the first ever M3 and arguably the purest M-car. However, purists cried bloody murder when they heard the news of turbo M-cars and V6s instead of in-line 6s. It seems to go against tradition, but the spirit of M is still present. Turbochargers can put out excellent power without the annoying turbo-lag, and V6s are more compact, lighter, and can be moved further behind the front wheels to improve balance.
The BMW 3 series has gotten much larger and heavier.
BMW isn’t the only one cutting the fat. Nissan just recently launched their 370Z. It’s predecessor, the 350Z, was an instant success all over the world. It was fast, nimble and affordable. Best of all, you could live with it everyday. How could Nissan improve on a car that was hailed to be perfect in its market? Easy! Make it wider, shorter, more powerful, and lighter. Not only do you have car that the fans love, the tree huggers are kept happy because helps reduce the senseless killing of more dead dinosaurs.
So, what’s the catch? Price. All that fancy metallurgy and carbon fiber is nice on the scale but not nice on your wallet. Not only that, if you ding a curb or bump a pole, you have to replace your carbon fiber bumper. In addition, the safety standards as well as the environmental standards are steadily getting tougher. Cars will need to be stronger too. Soon, auto manufactures will fight just to maintain weight let alone reduce it.
BMW and Nissan understand these problems and realize they’re behind the demand. New models for the 5 series and 3 series aren’t slated to hit the showroom until 2010 and 2013 respectively, and Nissan has only put one of its cars on the treadmill. Also, the current focus in on performance models. Automakers will soon be forced to shift attention to the rest of their fleet. US and European governments have already announced tougher standards on weight, fuel consumption, and safety. It’s just an announcement though. Definite standards need have yet to be set for the future. While automakers sweat and decide the fate of their models, we the consumers wait with eager anticipation as finally our cry for less fat is being answered.
-KF
