Super efficient diesels

[tekebird]

http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/article-print.jsp?article_id=1710

[tekebird]

http://www.hockey-fights.com/forum/printpost.php?tid/505644/fbb_session_id/7a18c7adb93b5b17c3595d4903e5b76296d154b3be272394566629f9153b89d2/

[tekebird]

Question:

WHAT DOES "It gets the equivalent of 40 miles a gallon" mean?/

[captain ron]

It means the same as   

[edroelle]

John,

Relative to your comment

"Ed Roelle,
OK Ed!  I have read between your lines and it turns out to be a middle finger.  I also agree with you.   ... "

There is absolutely no criticism about others thoughts.  If anyone took-it that way, I apologize. 

However, if you read skepticism in my comments, you are absolutely right. 

I would like to believe that we will have massively better economy, lower costs, etc.   The laws of physics still prevail though.  Unfortunately, that is why most improvements are just, relatively small improvements in efficiency. 

Are politics involved in decision making at the auto companies?  yes
But business decisions are made daily, based on costs, timing, reliability, durability, manufacturability, and other factors.

A true break-through would survive the scrutiny at reviews.    Engineers have their personal interest of promoting their inventions.  They would pursue their beliefs.

The auto companies try to eke out a 0.1 MPG    Is it reasonable to believe that there is a massive fuel economy improvement that is being withheld?  The auto companies are very competitive with each other such that they would want to have an advantage over the others.

When these type of claims are published, their is an assignment made, within the auto company, to investigate the claim's credibility.

Not critical, but very skeptical.

Ed Roelle
Flint, MI

[Lin]

You may be right, but I have my doubts.  The "big three" auto manufacturers are huge bureaucracies.  Even if they did function with positive intent, it is unlikely they would be at the forefront of innovation.  Aside from GM's radical exterior design changes of 1959, I don't remember anything mind-blowing that they have hit us with.  Sure, some of the article may be over-hyped, but I find it hard to believe that Goodwin's wealthy, private customers would accept much less than what was promised for their 30 to 50 thousand dollars.  Not to mention my belief that those companies at the top of the chain (oil and otherwise) are generally opposed to serious change.  It may be interesting to remember that Xerox was innovative with photocopying, but most companies at the beginning did not see any reason that carbon paper wasn't good enough.  Then Xerox teams developed much of the original computer and network technology that we use today, but the company did not see any value in it; they allowed Steve Jobs and others to tour and appropriate it all saying, "What do we care?  We are a copy machine company."

[ktmossman]

The notion that the "big 3" would welcome innovation has been repeatedly dis-proven throughout history.  If you want an interesting case study in why the "big 3" struggle to compete with the Asian companies, look into the story of W Edwards Deming.  He went to the "big 3" in the late 40's with his innovative concepts on quality manufacturing and they gave him the finger because they were too hung up on "planned obsolescence" as the key to their future.  He turned next to Japan and they embraced him with open arms (his portrait hangs in the lobby of Toyota).  It took almost two decades before the "big 3" realized their mistake and they are still playing catch-up.

[edroelle]

OK, OK, you guys are right about the conspiracies.   

Ed Roelle


The National Transportation Safety Board recently
Divulged they had covertly Funded a project with the U.S.
Auto makers for the Past 5 years,
Whereby the Auto makers were installing black-box voice recorders
In 4-wheel drive pickup Trucks and SUV's in an effort to determine in fatal Accidents,
The circumstances in the last 15 seconds before the Crash.

They were surprised to find in 48 of the 50 states,
the recorded last words of drivers in 61.2 percent of fatal crashes were, "Oh S**t!"

Only Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
were different, where 89.3 percent of the final words were: "Hold my beer,
I'm gonna try Somethin."

[JackConrad]

Ed,
  That reminds me of a rednecks last words "Hey, Ya'll hold my beer and watch this!" Jack