Evolution of Cars
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 79
Likes: 0
Evolution of Cars
It seems like every new model that comes out from car manufacturers seems to get bigger or increased engine/horsepower.
MB S500 to S550 and is a lot bigger (I see a s600 coming)
Lexus LS 400 to 430 to 460 (I foresee an LS 500 on the way)
Ferrari 360 (~400hp) 430 (~490hp) 458 (560hp) (I mean what next 750 horsepower replacement in 2015)
It just seems that if the car isn't bigger/ has more space and doesn't have an increase engine size/ more horsepower than the previous models, then consumers will complain. At what point does it stop. I mean an accord can only get so big and a corvette can have so many horsepower stock.
Is there a point where the directions will change?
MB S500 to S550 and is a lot bigger (I see a s600 coming)
Lexus LS 400 to 430 to 460 (I foresee an LS 500 on the way)
Ferrari 360 (~400hp) 430 (~490hp) 458 (560hp) (I mean what next 750 horsepower replacement in 2015)
It just seems that if the car isn't bigger/ has more space and doesn't have an increase engine size/ more horsepower than the previous models, then consumers will complain. At what point does it stop. I mean an accord can only get so big and a corvette can have so many horsepower stock.
Is there a point where the directions will change?
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,781
Likes: 1
From: So Cal
Things will change in 2014 when/if CARB takes effect...
Just look at the s2000. If it were still in production, we would not be saying that it needs to be bigger, but we would be complaining about the lack of power compared to it's competitors.
It is all about marketing. Being a general consumer, (who probably knows nothing about cars) are you going to buy car "1", or car "2" which has more interior room, more storage room, more power, and better fuel economy? I would guess that as long as they are equal brands in your eyes, that you would buy car "2". So next year in an effort to sell more cars, car "1" is redesigned to have better interior space, more luggage room, more power, and better fuel economy...
Extra weight also comes from all of the extra safety items either required by law, or are added so that the manufacturer can claim that they have the safest car in the world.
The same thing happens with performance vehicles, except some of the main selling points change.
There are very few consumers who realize that weight is important. All that they know is that a mustang can lap Laguna Seca as fast as an M3 because they were told so. Or that in a head to head comparison, a z06 beats a lotus exige around most any high speed track.
Weight is not a good selling point from most car companies to most of the people who buy the car. If your selling points are that the car is the lightest in its class by 300 lbs, it is the smallest physically so it has the smallest hole to punch in the air, and has to travel the least distance when going through a slalom, and while it might be slower than all of it's competitors in a straight line, you will be faster around a tight track since you have the ability to carry more corner speed... Then you are probably not going to sell as many cars as the manufacturer who has figured out that having a car that is bigger, more comfortable, has tons more power, still handles "well", and can put down faster laps at a high speed track, will make then a ton more money.
Example: Which would sell better today, an s2000, or a 2011 gt mustang?
If you said s2000, then you have no connection to the general public. While the s2000 might be more fun to someone who is a good driver, the Mustang is more fun to someone who would tip-toe around a corner in either, get on a straight and put the hammer down. The mustang would also be faster around most any track in the hands of someone who did know how to drive.
Just look at the s2000. If it were still in production, we would not be saying that it needs to be bigger, but we would be complaining about the lack of power compared to it's competitors.
It is all about marketing. Being a general consumer, (who probably knows nothing about cars) are you going to buy car "1", or car "2" which has more interior room, more storage room, more power, and better fuel economy? I would guess that as long as they are equal brands in your eyes, that you would buy car "2". So next year in an effort to sell more cars, car "1" is redesigned to have better interior space, more luggage room, more power, and better fuel economy...
Extra weight also comes from all of the extra safety items either required by law, or are added so that the manufacturer can claim that they have the safest car in the world.
The same thing happens with performance vehicles, except some of the main selling points change.
There are very few consumers who realize that weight is important. All that they know is that a mustang can lap Laguna Seca as fast as an M3 because they were told so. Or that in a head to head comparison, a z06 beats a lotus exige around most any high speed track.
Weight is not a good selling point from most car companies to most of the people who buy the car. If your selling points are that the car is the lightest in its class by 300 lbs, it is the smallest physically so it has the smallest hole to punch in the air, and has to travel the least distance when going through a slalom, and while it might be slower than all of it's competitors in a straight line, you will be faster around a tight track since you have the ability to carry more corner speed... Then you are probably not going to sell as many cars as the manufacturer who has figured out that having a car that is bigger, more comfortable, has tons more power, still handles "well", and can put down faster laps at a high speed track, will make then a ton more money.
Example: Which would sell better today, an s2000, or a 2011 gt mustang?
If you said s2000, then you have no connection to the general public. While the s2000 might be more fun to someone who is a good driver, the Mustang is more fun to someone who would tip-toe around a corner in either, get on a straight and put the hammer down. The mustang would also be faster around most any track in the hands of someone who did know how to drive.
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 19,734
Likes: 247
The thing is, they've put a ton of work/money into making engines more compact and efficient over the last 30 years, especially, with spectacular results. That same money can soon be moved over to chassis/materials/aerodynamic improvements and they'll get similar effects on fuel mileage. I expect that powertrains will languish a bit and the rest will pick up to make up for the slower development.
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 11,949
Likes: 474
From: MAHT-O-MEDI
When will the trend change?
When prices of fuel/taxation of fuel or scarcity of fuel arrive for extended periods of time. See the cars of the seventies versus cars of the eighties. Regulation can also have an impact, but everytime we pass regulation requiring better efficiency, we later exempt the domestic makers or water down the standards.
When prices of fuel/taxation of fuel or scarcity of fuel arrive for extended periods of time. See the cars of the seventies versus cars of the eighties. Regulation can also have an impact, but everytime we pass regulation requiring better efficiency, we later exempt the domestic makers or water down the standards.
