Interesting article in today's WSJ - the 997 is classified as a mini-compact and is supposed to get 40mpg by 2015. All the limited production, high performance cars are going to be affected.

 

Yup...that's our government. Rather than raise gas taxes which would guarantee a reduction in our demand for foreign oil, they are legislating what we drive...which will have very little (if any) effect on oil consumption, and kill off some high performance cars in the process.

 

The other day I put the cruise control on after filling up with gas. Kept it at about 58 mph. It resulted in a consumption rate of 29.9 mpg. If the Direct Injection engines are supposed to be 20% better than we're already looking at a potential of nearly 36 mpg with the MY09 cars.

Of course, it was the opposite of fun. I nearly fell asleep!

 

I wonder how they come up with "mini-compact" for the 997: last time I checked it's kind of a big car!
What is a Mini Cooper classified as? Nano-sub-mini compact?

 

It seems it will get to a point where we will have to have a commuter appliance, and for fun, a track only car.

The problem then becomes the restrictions at tracks and the utter lack of tracks to begin with.

 

It's based on the "footprint" of the vehicle - the number of square feet a vehicle covers when parked in the driveway. A BWM 3 series has a footprint of 45 sf and will need to average 37mpg while the 5 series with a footprint of 49 sf will be allowed to average 31mpg - in this case the government has decided bigger
can averge less - interesting times for auto makers...and us as consumers.

 

Simple solution is for Porsche to increase the footprint.

 

porsche will just have to go mega widebody, maybe we will start seeing the 911s with mega hips

 

Geez, I couldn't agree with you more. Taxes need to go waaaay up on fuel - absolutely the only way to impact consumption is at the consumer level - that's where the stuff gets burned, not in the car factories.

All higher MPG does is present an appearance of progress while actually incenting higher levels of consumption.

 

Actually, us wealthy capitalist conservatives should be cheering higher gas taxes. It's a regressive form of taxation and let's the rich benefit disproportionately - just like we should cheer photo radar.

I love photo-radar - it's like a speeding "tax" or a road toll - I can basically chose to speed and pay the "tax" (break the law without personal consequences other than the fine, no "record' or insurance issues).

Yeah photo radar. Yeah higher fuel taxes. Less cars on the road to get in my way....

/tounge from cheek.

 

Things are going to get very bad with these new regulations. Right now, is the golden age of the automobile. The cars produced over the next 5-10 years will be the best ever produced.

Just look at the list of known changes to auto lineups coming as a result of these new "global warming" initiatives:

- plans for the mid engined corvette have been shelved. The C7 will have at most a 4.7L engine, versus the current 6.2L

- The Viper successor has been cancelled, the current Viper will be sold until 2012 - then its gone

- Lincoln no longer has V8s, and the Mustang will eventually not offer one either.

- GM has cancelled new V8 development for regular Cadillacs, the V6 will be the top of the line.

 

nyca, those are dire signs if true, or at least sure signs of a sea change in future autos. How confident are you in the accuracy of that information?

 

June Road & Track, page 31. It's all there, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Is this current thinking, or 1978? We went through all of this, and once we all adjusted to the prices of gasoline, we started demanding V8 engines and bigger vehicles again. I think this has more to do with our roads, distances, lifestyles and attitudes - stuff that doesn't change very easily or quickly. So I'd guess we go through a lull, then get some pretty interesting stuff again. Geez, a Tesla or Fiskar could be pretty fun cars once the range gets up, the cost comes down a tad, and the weight drops some. They're almost there...

Maybe I'm just a rosy glasses optimist...

 

The market should dictate mpg and demand for displacement, etc. Govt has no place.