Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/01/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Frank is factually right; BUT - regulatory requirements have added a huge weight penalty to every automobile produced today. Crash-ability, bump-resistant bumpers, airbags (that entail electronics, motors and bags for deployment AND undeployment), full-time running lights, automatic door locks, power windows (try to buy a car today with windup windows), air-conditioning (try to buy without THAT) and you add hundreds of pounds to every car coming off the line. My 1967 Ferrari 365 GTC (bought in 1978 when it was just an old, used sports car and I could afford it ! ) is wonderfully nimble for such a powerful road car; weighs but 2860 pounds, the lightest 365 GTC Ferrari made because it is actually a prototype, a 330 GTC with factory-installed 4.4 litre typ 245 engine, thus has no air-conditioning whereas all production 365 GTC's were delivered with A/C, a weight penalty of perhaps 100-150 lbs. It is a wonder of the world that Lotus is able to comply with regulatory requirements and still produce a safe, stiff car at their weights. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Dory" <don.dory@gmail.com> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org> Sent: Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:59 AM Subject: Re: [Leica] Further adventures of a completely screwed up guy: longand occasionally on topic Frank, Would you say the overweight issue is due to slack engineering: by that I mean not finding new materials and design to reduce mass while still including the power accessories that someone with the money to buy one expects. Or, because the market worships top speed and acceleration the increased engine size and required necessary to control the increased power necessarily make large heavy cars. I get the feeling that not enough purchasers would be willing to purchase a Chapman theory vehicle to justify the tooling. Once you add all the luxuries you need more power which makes tires, wheels, suspension larger/heavier ad nauseum. Don don.dory@gmail.com On 1/29/06, Frank Dernie <Frank.Dernie@btinternet.com> wrote: > > Well said. Nobody makes Sports Cars any more, they are all overweight > 2 seat limos. The nearest after Lotus and Noble are Porsche, who > still make lightish cars but the rest are overweight, even all the > Ferraris bar one. The fashion is power, but whilst extra power will > get back the acceleration lost to the weight, and give a pointless > increase in never-used top speed, the nimbleness, handling and good > brakes are forever lost :-( > Even the Elise is suffering, the Toyota engined one has been "pimped" > as you put it and is about 15% heavier than the K-series car, sad, > acceleration and top speed notwithstanding. > Frank > > > On 29 Jan, 2006, at 04:37, John Collier wrote: > > > gave the big thumbs up to the Lotus Elise. Why would anyone buy > > anything else if you are in the market for a sports car? Does > > anyone else actually even make a sports car anymore? > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information