"Better Call Saul" has Esteem issues

If it has an S on the front you can talk about it here.
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Firefly
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Former driver of a 2011 SLS AWD Platinum
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Ronzuki
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15-20 years from now it'll be the SX4 taking the spotlight. Interesting how an owner commented on how great a car the Esteem was but didn't get the fuel economy like he thought it would....it's a Zuk thing.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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Woodie
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It is definitely a Zuke thing, I had the same exact gripe about my Aerio.
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Ronzuki
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I still don't get it...my 1986 carb'd hard top samurai got 30+ all day long in mostly stop and go in town type driving. Only difference I can think of is the quality of the fuel.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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Woodie
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Well, that was a 1.3 litre with 63 HP and very little safety equipment. Esteem had from 80 - 120 HP over the years. My 89 Metro got 52 mpg around town, 60 on the highway, no car has reached that level since, 25 years of "progress". Of course it weighed 1700 lbs and your sneakers were your front bumper crash protection.
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Ronzuki
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More like 2300-2400 lbs. for a loaded (rear seat and A/C) hardtop Samurai. A base soft-top is 2059lbs. and my current modified soft-top tips the scale at 2860lbs., gassed and ready to go.
A fully equipped N. American AWD J20B/MT is 2903 lbs. Much smaller Sami engine pushing around a relatively hefty load compared to the SX4 configuration. I still say in this day and age, with those comparison numbers, todays fuel economy should be far better than what it is.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
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KuroNekko
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Ronzuki wrote: I still say in this day and age, with those comparison numbers, todays fuel economy should be far better than what it is.
While I'm no automotive engineer, it seems to me we are close to the limit of how efficient a stand-alone internal combustion engine can get. As folks already stated, there hasn't been much actual progress in real-world fuel efficiency. For every progressive step for efficiency, there has been some sort of safety implementation that countered it. In essence, cars are safer but heavier today so they aren't all that more fuel efficient than lighter cars of the past with more primitive engines.

I truly think the only way ICEs are going to get more efficient is with the implementation of hybrid system or technologies that make them work less. Basically, instead of trying to make combustion more efficient, it's a matter of simply using less of the engine's power. Some companies have already gone about this in various ways ranging from Mazda's i-ELOOP system to Chevy's PHEVs like the Volt.
While I think it will still take time, eventually, fossil fuels will diminish as the power source for automobiles and it will be replaced by electricity. Some companies like Tesla are spearheading that but it's still years away from affordable EVs for everyone that can cover the needs of most drivers.

Until then, it's really things like engine shut-offs, mild hybrids, small-displacement turbos, aluminum bodies, etc. that will boost fuel economy. Most of these implementations show that engineers don't really seem to be working on making internal combustion more efficient but more focused on making the engine work less.
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Moto
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Emissions control didn't do anything to help fuel economy either. It added weight and restriction the caused a loss in efficiency.

Otherwise you basically hit the nail on the head. When you really look at how an engine works it is amazing that they work as long as reliably as they do.

An electric drive system (not the electronics that control it) is simple and very efficient. As soon as someone cracks the energy density issue the switch to electrics won't take very long. I sort of think that is part of the reason for OPECs current push to make fuel prices cheaper. They are hoping to slow down progress in development.

The only problem for them is that technology has come a long ways since the 1980s when they last made this move.

You cannot compare how much better we are at working on nano scale things now than we were in the 80s, and the number of minds working on the problem would probably dwarf that time period as well.

A few things to keep an eye on.
Ultra Capacitors....
Image

I'm not expecting these things to be the primary source of energy any time soon, but they will probably go a long way in recapturing breaking and shock absorber energy soon. You never really hear anyone talk about capturing energy lost in the shocks, but there is a lot of up down that doesn't do you any good.

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/52 ... engineers/
I noticed a coupe of errors in the article above, but it still provides and idea of where things are going.

Charge cycles for most true capacitors is in the millions and the rate of charge would probably be faster then you could fill your car with gas if you had a power grid that could handle it. The grid is going to be the real problem if this technology matured quickly. The other downside is that if you get into a car accident you might turn your car into a Tesla Coil. Imagine releasing all of the energy from an entire tank of gasoline in a few milliseconds into a very small area. When a tank of gas explodes it takes place over a relatively long period of time and a very large area.

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I was unable to find the paper when I was writing this, but they were able to get energy densities on par with lead acid batteries in a lab in about 2010. If they were to release a scalable commercial product with the same specs it would be game changing for the automotive and alternative energy industry.
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