As many who follow auto trends might know there is a serious Horsepower War going on in the Motor Industry. A much larger war than was fought in the late 60's.
In that war a very few vehicles, mostly family sedans and bare bones coupes, were transformed into drag racers via a few engine modifications and weight reduction schemes.
The price paid was a tremendous thirst for fuel and in many cases a very Spartan Interior with few luxuries.
Not only that, the cars handled and stopped poorly. Frankly they were very unsafe.
Thanks to today's technology, smaller engines are developing a lot of power and still providing good fuel economy.
A good (Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru) 2.4 Liter 4 cylinder engine now provides 160 to 180 HP.
Similarly, a 3.5 Liter V-6 should give 230 to 260 HP, numbers that were the sole property of V-8's not so long ago.
But what do these Horsepower numbers mean for the car shopper?
For me, having a powerful motor is the single most important factor in purchasing a vehicle.
And that's not because I like to speed or go racing. It's true I enjoy the responsiveness of a powerful engine when I step down on the throttle.
Most important is the safety factor in having extra power on tap. The High Speed pass is the most risky maneuver undertaken in a car. The quicker you get it over with the better.
I think everyone has been in an underpowered car attempting a highway pass. You are pressing the accelerator through the floor and saying "C'mom baby, c'mon" as your knuckles turn white on the steering wheel, your eyes glazing at the lights of the rapidly approaching oncoming car, sharing the same lane.
It's not fun and it's not safe. Many of these same underpowered cars are not designed to handle or brake well at speeds that are involved in a passing maneuver.
That's why I like power. For effortless and tension free passing.
Auto manufacturers like to boast about the Horsepower of their vehicles, but what does that number really mean?
It's just a number, a kind of index based on the amount of Torque (a real number) at a given engine RPM (Torque x RPM/5252).
Without knowing the Weight of the vehicle, it means nothing. It tells you what the engine does but it tells you nothing about the performance of the vehicle.
Sure, there is a Horsepower to weight ration you can figure out on your own and that should be the very least the manufactures should supply.
There are quite a few (Japanese) small motors that seem, on paper at least, to create a lot of power. But in many cases that power isn't realised until the motor reaches RPM's of 5000 or more. Not too many of us take our engines up into that rev range.
These engines seem anemic at low engine speeds, because they haven't got the torque needed to "feel" fast.
Conversely, engines with relatively high torque (for example, older American V-8 pushrod designs) but relatively low horsepower, "feel" fast at lower speeds (everyday driving).
Therefore I propose that all manufacturers prominently display a Power Index. That being a formula that takes Horsepower, Torque and Weight into account.
My Formula would be :
HP + Torque /2 (average) / Weight * 100
My 1994 5 liter Mustang GT would have a Power Index of 7.43
This is based on a weight of 3600 lbs with 300 lb/ft of Torque and 225 HP.
A new 2007 Mustang GT would have a Power Index of 8.89.
A 2005 Dodge Viper would have a Power Index of 15.03!
A 2007 Kia Spectra: 5.07
A GMC Yukon SUV, even though it can have a HP of 380 and Torque of 417 only has a Power Index of 6.93. Because it weighs 5747 lbs.!
If we had an index like this established, a shopper, especially one that researches on the Internet first, could easily compare the Effective Power and "feel of power" from one vehicle to another.
