Ive noticed in the past 10 to 15 yrs that the hp has really jumped in daily cars.. Now 300 hp, which in the early 90's was pretty high, is now common. Now the new z06 for 65k has 505hp.. At what point will the hp stop increasing or is it just going to keep on going up. In another 10 yrs.. it seems will have multiple 500-600hp cars under 90k..

 

Not that that ^ Is a bad thing

 

Well, gas prices will eventually get higher. Now they are historically low if adjusted for inflation so we aren't hurting no matter how much people complain.

I'm expecting to see a big shift to hybrid/electric vehicles in the next 10 years so who knows what that will do to the performance market. Technically electric cars should be faster but, the main focus over the next decade will probably be for economical power.

Now, eventually I expect to have a flying car. We are way behind the predictions of science fiction movies and have some serious catching up to do. You also may have to adjust your $100K price point for inflation in 10 years. I believe my aunt bought her '68 Camaro Z28 new for around $2,000 dollars.

 

I personally hate it, and I don't know where it's going to stop. It seems like automakers are just engaged in a giant pissing match to see who can cram the most HP into a car. Whatever happened to BALANCE in a vehicle?

It never ends... newer cars get bigger, bigger cars need more power, more power makes them faster, faster cars need more safety, safer cars are bigger... Repeat.

Maybe I should move to Europe where they still drive wagons and hatchbacks....

Jeez... now I'm depressed.

 

I mean if you really think about it,, you have cars that weigh 4000 to 5000 pounds that keep up with us or beat us s2k from the factory in performance(straight line ofcourse).. Back in the old days, you never saw a sedan in 1991 with 400hp doing 5sec 0-60.. And the difference in the 60-70 to now a days, they've gotten these engines which produce 500 hp with decent gas mileage, for the performance ofcourse. Didnt the new vets in hwy get 24-28mpg..

 

Actually I think its more along the lines that the technology has gotten so much better. Production is much improved, and with computers controlling so much in the car like timing and fuel (which was once mechanical) its just alot easier to make horsepower. You'll also notice that even though HP is going up, fuel consumption is staying about the same over the previous models.

So basically they can give you more hp, with the same fuel consumption, for about the same price. So why not?

Look at the new Eclipse, 263 hp v6. Not bad considering the last version was only 210hp.... and the competition was killing it with the higher HP ratings.

 

I remember having the base eclipse with 90hp in 93.... That was one slow POS

 

Horsepower never goes out of style.

And more HP doesn't mean bigger, safer cars. I'm old enough to remember the 70s and the huge boats that sailed the roads back then. They generally made less HP, were bigger, and didn't protect the occupants as well as today's cars.

 

The only real hp wars are with the domestics. The Japanese have a (wink, wink) hp limit of 280. I'm aware that stock GT-R's and Evo's and Sti's dyno a little over that, but at least they have a limit which translates to a more balanced car.

The exotics are always going to try to make the most power possible. They command a high price tag and combined with the hp numbers, that's what makes them an exotic.

People were probably discussing this same subject in around 1971 at the local drive in instead of the car forums. I, for one, do not long for the days of the mid to late 80's with underppowered shitbox cars, so don't lament too loudly.

 

IMO, we're now at the point to where power is peaking at the 5500rpm mark in most cars. HP is increasing because power peaks have moved up. torque really hasn't gone up...still in the 60-70 lb/liter range.

Moving peaks upward is probably not going to happen on normal cars as it costs too much to build the engines. I'm noticing a lot of the HP is coming from displacement. your first honda V6 was 2.7L, now the big ones are 3.5. The first altima was 2.5, now 3.5. The domestics are cramming 5+Liters into family sedans now to get power.

all this is because gas is cheap. whine all you want...it is CHEAP.