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10 Techno-Cool Cars
mrv writes "The IEEE Spectrum picks their '10 Techno-Cool Cars'. The article picks vehicles from the 2003 or upcoming model years, that feature significant jumps in performance, convenience, or comfort, are technologically bold, and otherwise cool (for engineers, not just the 'motorhead' type)."
Doesn't speak well for American engineering. Mostly European and Japanese makes it looks like. Maybe when GM gets their fuel-cell cars in production, America will look a little more updated. Or maybe the Ford Model U.
Scott, Keeper of the Crystal Flame
Glad to see that the BMW-Windows hybrid is NOT on the list....showing these guys are impressed by well thought out, practical solutions, not gimmicks and gadgets
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
Man that just ticks me off that they are not putting the RX8 in there. I mean the Rotary engine is coming back and it is suppose to be pretty nice with the RX8. These engines are amazing....why not point that car out?
Because there is nothing technically interesting in high output high rev gasoline engines. That's just development, putting well established racing technology on the road unlike the cars in the article which have genuinely new technology, at least for cars.
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
Well as cool as the S2000 and Enzo are, they either are just very refined (S2000) or are priced in such a way that most people will never benefit from their hi tech (Enzo).
There really isn't anything all that groundbreaking tech wise with the S2000. Honda just paid a lot of attention to detail and applied what their extensive engine know-how to create a very highly tuned motor mated to a firm and responsive chassis. Hardly hitech, but definitely way cool from a gear head point of view.
Actually, cars WILL benefit from technology on the high tech cars. Sequential gearboxes are starting to make their way onto more accessible (in terms of price) cars. Basically it's a trickle down effect in a way. Also, what allows the S2000 to be refined? Technology and engineering.
WWJD.... for a Klondike bar?
So when the computer crashes, so do you? No thanks.
sulli
RTFJ.
1.) Smokey Diesels.
Diesels do not have a history of being smokey. 1 diesel engine, the 70s GM diesel V-8. It was an America only engine. EU doesn't have a problem with diesels.
2.) 8/4 Cylinders.
Lets hope it fares better than GMs infamaous 8-6-4 of the 80s.
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
Actually, cars WILL benefit from technology on the high tech cars.
Right, but if you notice the cars they chose are all geared toward the general consumer, vs 200 unit annual run more expensive than the average house (excepting Bay Area) type vehicles.
Also, what allows the S2000 to be refined? Technology and engineering.
Right, but nothing ground breaking. That's what makes the S2000 so damn cool. It doesn't rely on massive amounts of high tech "drivers aids" to get at its performance. It's just tried and true automobile engineering taken to a very high level.
It just makes me laugh when people talk about 'penis envy' or 'penis replacement' when someone has a sports car/high horsepower car. Get over yourselves and your own shortcomings.
Building or owning a high-performance/high-horsepower car is for most people, a fun and rewarding hobby. You own something a small percentage of the population 'gets' or understands. Dropping the hammer on a 500hp Camaro or Mustang is an adrenaline-pumping experience. So is being the passenger, for that matter!
Let me put in geek speak: Do you really need a GeForce4 4600Ti for your video games? Really? And an overclocked Pentium 4 2.4 GHz? 1GB of RAM? No, you really don't. You may step in here and tell me about 'frame rate' and 'playability', etc., etc., but I'll put it this way. If you want more and more framerates, that's your power/speed addiction. Yeah, a freakin' VW Bug will get you there, but a Corvette will get you there in style and with some fun along the way.
Most of us don't drive our high-performance/high-horsepower cars daily - they're too expensive, and we don't want the speeding tickets and wear & tear.
Talking about a car as a penile replacement is stupid. Yeah, I've seen the Corvette/BMW/Mercedes owners that think they're God's gift, but most people just like a cool car that they find fun/sexy/exciting/good looking.
"If there's hope, it lies in the proles..."
The Honda CBR600F4 and Yamaha R6 both produce
120hp at the crank, for 200hp per liter. They are
both normally aspirated, water cooled engines, which
rev to 14500 and 15000 rpm respectively. They both
do the 1/4 mile in around 10.80.
Yes, I know this article was about cars, but your
'more horsepower per liter then [sic] any other
naturally [sic] aspirated engine in production'
needed refutation.
--=:: Wings and tail and snout and scales of blackest night
Car size is very much related to gas prices. That's why GM, being the money grubbing scum-fucks that they are, tried to get away with putting those horrendous Diesels in their full sized cars in the early 80's, engines that were basically 350 gas motors with cheap Diesel heads on them. Didn't work worth a damn, and Diesel in North America still suffers from the bad image that these engines produced.