Re: Cummins more efficient than SMART???

From: Barry Oliver (barrysuperhawk@comcast.net)
Date: Tue Nov 17 2009 - 14:53:14 EST


Andy Levy wrote:
>
> If they're not going to explain how they reached their conclusion,
> there's no reason to give it consideration. Blog post or otherwise.
> The fact that it's just a blog post is just the first sign that it's a
> load of hooey.
>

Ok, Mr. "I am too lazy to click a link to check it out..."
[here's the hooey, one quick link away from the original story... OK, a
couple of clicks.]

http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/stories/gvb/page4.html

it says:

You’re probably wondering about the Ram’s mileage and CO2 emissions
numbers. On an absolute basis they’re not anywhere near as good as the
Smart’s stratospheric figures but examined relatively it’s a different
story.

Let’s get the calculator out.

The Smart Fortwo CDI has an empty curb weight of 1,609-lbs and gets a
combined mileage rating of 56-mpg (51 city / 64 highway) using a
European driving cycle, according to Bosch. The U.S. EPA doesn’t report
fuel economy for vehicles with a fully burdened or gross vehicle weight
rating (GVWR) over 8,500-lbs, but 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 owners are
reporting real world numbers of 15 to 16-mpg in the city and 17 to
18-mpg on the highway with an unloaded truck. This would give a
combined rating of 16.4-mpg using an EPA weighted average of 55-percent
city and 45-percent highway driving. But for argument's sake, let's say
it's only 16-mpg. The empty curb weight of a Ram 2500 Mega Cab 4x4 with
an auto tranny is 6,875-lbs. At 4.27 times the weight of the Smart,
pound for pound the Ram is over 20% more efficient. If their powertrains
and weights could be scaled down or up equivalently, the Ram could get
68.3-mpg and the Fortwo could get 13.1-mpg.

Ram’s CO2 output is in the neighborhood of about 500-g/mile or the same
weight as about 15.6 Oreo cookies. By the way, from now on we’re only
measuring CO2 emissions in terms of Oreo cookies. It'll help make the
bad news taste better. Relative to the Fortwo, Ram CO2 emissions are
also about 20% less per pound.



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