is it me, or are cars becoming way too powerful?

[bigpoppanils]

there is a massive power war being waged by manufacturers these days. 5 years ago it was very rare to see engines producing over 400hp/lb-ft torque. Now it seems commonplace in the luxury segment. VW, Ford, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, GM, etc. are all hopping on board.

hell....in the family car segment it looks like 300hp will become the norm if this keeps up.

is it me, or are many manufacturers going overboard with the power war?

in many cars it just seems like overkill....and the added power also adds weight in most cases.

now it seems the industry has reached a point where a 50hp increase in power does little for actual performance.

does the normal driver really need 400hp to commute to work or go grocery shopping?

will the power war ever end?

[babbo]

it wont end in the usa, europe another story

[ou812]

Yeah..........pregnant housewives driving around in 400hp SUV's is a big mistake.

[joeg]

thats because on luxury cars, the weight war is being waged secretly... they keep getting heavier... so they have to get more powerful so they don't seem too slow.

[JonathanNYC]

Originally posted by bigpoppanils

there is a massive power war being waged by manufacturers these days. 5 years ago it was very rare to see engines producing over 400hp/lb-ft torque. Now it seems commonplace in the luxury segment. VW, Ford, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, GM, etc. are all hopping on board.

hell....in the family car segment it looks like 300hp will become the norm if this keeps up.

is it me, or are many manufacturers going overboard with the power war?

in many cars it just seems like overkill....and the added power also adds weight in most cases.

now it seems the industry has reached a point where a 50hp increase in power does little for actual performance.

does the normal driver really need 400hp to commute to work or go grocery shopping?

will the power war ever end?

first off, your normal driver, isnt driving an 80,000, 90% of americans drive shitty cars with the horsepower between 130-200, and then u have the exclusive few that drive cars with >270hp......

u are probably right that it is becoming an overkill, in reality in does matter because a majority of people who buy the cars with a shit load of horsepower never get chance to use it too its full potential anyway...

peace

jonathan

[atomicapples]

thats true what jon said, but then again, i drive my 320hp car to work all the time.

[cintron]

it's mostly the germans. An Audi A8 packing 400bhp also weighs in somewhere in the neighborhood of 3800lbs.

Meanwhile you've got Neon SRT-4's weighing in at 2800lbs and packing ~240bhp. Both cars are going to post similar dragstrip figures, yet one is going to consistently post better slalom figures and better skidpad/braking figures. That would be the neon.

The germans seem to overdo the power of their autos in order to make up for the high curb weights stemming from all the crap they pack in there. Plush leather upholstry? Navigation? Integrated cellphone? multi-zone climate control and electronic drive-by-wire throttle? Welcome to Colin Chapman's worst nightmare: Weight.

Meanwhile cars such as the SRT-4 pack fewer luxuries but maintain a moderate power level. To me, overkill is not an econo-car chassis with a big turbo engine under the hood. That's performance.

Overkill is making a big AWD sedan even heavier than it's already been, and creating a monstrous high output engine in order to make it post decent performance numbers. I had thought that sort of design theory died in the mid 70's.

Even a corvette's power output is purposeful given the car's classification: it's a pure sports car, not a "bling, look at me and my social status" daily driver for the high income tax bracket.

[joeg]

but the neon isn't a luxury car...

hes talking about luxury cars:

"Now it seems commonplace in the luxury segment"