[ale] Ot: Geek Squad

[H. A. Story]

Did you know that truck once held the diesel truck land speed record of 
139 MPH?   I watch way to much discovery/ Learning channel.

Adrin


Matt Magee wrote:

>I used to drive a Chevy LUV 4x4 (Isuzu P'UP) with a 2.2 4cyl diesel that 
>only made 50hp when new.  I'm sure it was down a few ponies with 200k + 
>miles.  Got between 40-50 mpg.  Sure, it would barely run 65 mph, but I 
>have a lot of patience when money is involved. :)  If I ever find one 
>that hasn't rusted into oblivion, I will snap it up (my last one was so 
>rusty it literally broke in half on an overpass).  The only time the 
>lack of acceleration is a problem for me is merging from entrance ramps 
>and even then I'll just borrow the shoulder if I need a little more room.
>
>The best way to acheive better efficiency in internal-combustion engines 
>is with long strokes, compact combustion chambers, high compression 
>ratios and relatively low-speed operation.  This makes Diesels ideal.  
>Now, add a turbo and you get the bonus of being able to adjust the power 
>output as needed without any appreciable economy loss.  No need for a 
>second turbo, just size the single turbo appropriately and let the 
>wastegate handle the rest.
>
>I favor a minimalist approach for my machines though it is difficult to 
>find others with a similar opinion.  I can see the writing on the wall 
>when "economy" cars cost 15k and up and get worse fuel ecomomy than ever.
>
>Anyway, that's the end of my ex auto mechanic rant.  I'll be quiet now.
>
>Warren Myers wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Well, we've also tromped on the idea of getting cars with 50hp and 
>>0-60 times of 20 seconds. The Smart car achieves its stellar mileage 
>>with a teeny engine, and really low acceleration times.
>>
>>The cool thing to do to one, in my mind, would be to strap a second 
>>turbo on the top and see if we can't get more horses out ot it. OTOH, 
>>for in-city driving, and low-traffic highway driving, the low 
>>acceleration times isn't a big deal. It's just the constant 
>>get-on/get-off driving of commuting on short highway stretches where 
>>it would suck.
>>
>>WMM
>>
>>On 8/17/05, *Matt Magee* <mattslistmail at earthlink.net 
>><mailto:mattslistmail at earthlink.net>> wrote:
>>
>>    I still find it interesting that in the early 90's you could buy at
>>    least three cars that acheived around 60 mpg (Civic VX, CRX HF and the
>>    Metro XFI).  Now to get 60 mpg, the best we can get is the smart,
>>    which
>>    is far smaller and not really inexpensive either.
>>
>>    Is this the best the world's engineers can do?
>>
>>    Grant Robertson wrote:
>>
>>    >I so wish the smart would come to the US.. They're becoming kinda
>>    >popular in Canada. Neat little buggers, and suprisingly roomy.
>>    >
>>    >-G
>>    >
>>    >
>>    >On 8/16/05, James P. Kinney III <jkinney at localnetsolutions.com
>>    <mailto:jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>> wrote:
>>    >
>>    >
>>    >>I'm partial to
>>    >> http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp
>>    >>for geek-fleet cars.
>>    >>
>>    >>
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>>
>>-- 
>>http://warrenmyers.com
>>"God may not play dice with the universe, but something strange is 
>>going on with the prime numbers." --Paul Erd?s
>>
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