The race for horsepower

[Atomb]

From here: http://wardsauto.com/ar/shelby_horsepower_war/oh...and this is 1000 posts! Quote »Shelby Predicts New Horsepower War, Same EndingBy Byron PopeWardsAuto.com, Jul 12, 2006 12:24 PM DEARBORN – The looming horsepower war between the Ford Mustang, upcoming Dodge Challenger and rumored new version of the Chevrolet Camaro will come to the same conclusion it did in the 1960s, says famed racer and automotive designer Carroll Shelby.“The insurance companies will be the deciding factor, as well as the (Environmental Protection Agency), the government and so forth,” Shelby tells Ward’s in a wide-ranging interview here.Shelby says the first horsepower war got out of control, with cars developing more power than their chassis could handle. He predicts this one will peak when cars reach 600-700 hp.He also offers up another prediction.“They (competition) won’t get an advantage in the horsepower race like Camaro did last time,” Shelby says, throwing down the gauntlet to General Motors Corp. “You can bet on that; I guarantee that.”Ford Motor Co.’s relationship with the 83-year-old Shelby, a former chicken farmer, dates back to the early 1960s and still is going strong today, evidenced by the new Mustang GT500 the muscle car guru helped develop.Despite his legendary status, Shelby downplays his role in the development of the new 500-hp GT500.“This day and time, with safety and emissions such a big part of things, it’s not like it was years ago,” he says. “You have to depend on the people of Hau Thai-tang (Ford director of Advanced Product Creation and SVT). All I do is sit around, and conceptually we talk about what size the engine ought to be; how much horsepower it should have; what type of brakes, gearbox, gears, gearing and things like that.”Modesty aside, Shelby did make important decisions in the development of the GT500, including the choice of rear suspension.While the majority of today’s auto makers are opting for more-sophisticated independent rear suspensions, the high-powered Mustang sticks with a live axle.“I voted not to go independent suspension, because it was 150 to 200 lbs. (68-91 kg) heavier, cost $5 million to tool up and I couldn’t tell any difference (either) in ordinary driving or driving under extreme conditions,” Shelby says.Shelby says independent rear suspensions came into vogue in the U.S. shortly after World War II, largely because they were adopted by European auto makers as a better fit with the continent’s up and down “hogback” roads.“Suddenly (post-World War II), everybody in America thinks they have to have independent suspension,” Shelby says. “It’s completely unnecessary, and we proved that in 1965.“We had an independent suspension for the Mustangs we built back then, and we found out there wasn’t any advantage. And there were a lot of disadvantages in the camber changes and so forth.”Much like the debate over independent vs. live axle suspensions, many car buyers have an ill-conceived perception of domestic auto makers, Shelby says.“All automobile companies make good product now. It’s pretty much parity out there on all of it,” he says.Shelby is keenly aware of the current alternative-fuels movement and says much of what is being done today could have been implemented years ago.“I think it could’ve been done a helluva lot better and quicker by just going to compressed natural gas, which there’s plenty of,” he says. “But they decided not to do that, and we probably wasted $500 million (in the meantime),” he says.“There’s so many different companies that have their own cross to bear, and they’re trying to sell their own products, so it takes 10 times as long to get anything done,” Shelby laments.“(But) there’s no sense in sitting around griping about any of that stuff. Just get up in the morning and get on with it and drive through it.”

[joatmon]

congrats on the godhood, and interesting article

[northvibe]

hmmm natural gas mustang, id love to see that

[Merzbow]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »â€œ(But) there’s no sense in sitting around griping about any of that stuff. Just get up in the morning and get on with it and drive through it.”That's a great line right there....drive through it. We should be so fortunate here in the US, everyone is complaining about gas prices. In Germany gas is like $6-$8 a gallon, granted they have excellent mass transit but still...It's about time they start putting out horsepower. The GTO competing successfully in the Drift world was a big step in my opinion. US does not have too many cars that can compete with the European/other foreign car companies as far as power, speed and handling are concerned. Also, The insurance companies need to stop trying to suck profit out of every single corner of the automotive scene. i.e. I was paying $2400 a year for a four door wagon with under 130 horsepower (VIBE)...couldn't imagine what a GTO or a new Mustang GT would cost at my age and I've never been in an accident Knock on wood) and I've probably paid three times the car's worth in insurance by now!

[tangerine]

I agree they need to step it up a bit. Torque wins races but HP sell cars and its not just these 3 companies that need to step up their game. Toyota has a nice engine out but put it in a Camry...Nissans VQ35 is a remarcable engine but still has quirks that need to be worked out yet they are already trying to produce a new engine to replace it, GM...well yea everyone knows GM builds the best motors but its the rest of their vehicles that don't stand up, but they need to bump it up a bit with the output. Such as the SS Silverado only putting out 350hp while the every day hemi ram puts out 345hp and is $15,000 less, the SRT Ram is 500hp blowing the doors off every model SS except for the 03 and 04 but thats only because AWD saves them off the line but top end that ram is gonna killl anything being able to do 154mph stock, the SVT lightning dominates the truck world with its light weight body and engine under the hood with small and cheap upgrades available for the blower giving it near 600rwhp. The imports are in a huge battle just as the american cars are and its getting pretty one sided in some areas. I agree totally about the insurance too but what I'll never understand about insurance is how my vibe insurance was more than I pay in my SS with near tripple the hp. I payed $460 a month with the vibe because..riddle me this...the vibe is considered a sportscar through State Farm? Yea...and I only pay $310 a month with the SS and when I quoted the 350Z is was only $360 a month. Some of these high hp cars have rediculously low insurance rates, like these mustangs which besides the price of the car, the cheap insurance is why alot of kids drive them. Alot of people say gas prices are detering the HP war from continuing but look at the fuel economy these cars are getting even when driven rough...Vette owners are seeing 30+mpg with 500hp, SRT8 owners (which I totalled skipped) are seeing mid 20's, Mustang owners are seeing 24-26mpg and these trucks are getting 14-20mpg now which for the power and weight is remarkable. Sadly I only get 9mp but my truck has been a lemon from the get-go. In the past year doing my research on this HP war trying to decide on my new vehicle the decisions they auto manufacturers make now makes me dizzy. There thats the end of my worthless rant and mile log run on sentences...