Thank you, I’m aware of the difference between super and turbo, which is why I mentioned that the heavily turbocharged Subaru engine would not be very efficient if driven in 4th gear all the time, since the tiny 4 cylinder engine generates very little torque without the turbo boost, which in turn only spool up at a high enough RPM for the exhaust gases to generate the pressure. Saab uses turbocharged engines to increase fuel economy, by adding a “taller” gearing to their turbocharged models, without compromising speed, since the turbo adds more torque to make up for the difference in gearing. Since a supercharger does not rely on exhaust gases, I’m unclear as to what the corresponding effect would be on a supercharged engine.
At least, that’s my layman’s understanding. Supercharging is used much less frequently today, I think GM is the only company that uses them widely, Mercedes use to use them on their top-end models but have switched to turbo. With the introduction of variable geometry turbos, I think superchargers are becoming an anachronism (not unlike manual transmissions! ).
A point of no significance when interviewing at a Ford manufacturing plant in Ohio.
I realize the whole import/domestic argument is crap, but that won’t keep my Camry from getting keyed some places and me from not getting hired at some others.
At 1640+ lbs. and a length of 7 1/2 feet (before considering a transmission), I don’t think that it would be very comfortable to drop a Merlin into (or, more likely, on) a Ford Mustang. The few specially built cars that have used a Merlin have tended to be extra-long racers or limousines (or trucks).
Grandpa may have been referring to the Model T. Many (if not all) had the fuel tank under the front seat and used a gravity feed rather than a pump, so it was common to back up steep hills so that the engine wouldn’t stall.
My grandfather told me a similar story. Only in his version, cars driving up a hill had the right-of-way over descending cars because they had to make it up with whatever fuel was in their carburettor bowls. (But what if it’s a long hill? :dubious: )
Dad’s old Volvo cut out on Mum on the hill up to the house, one call out from our mechanic later and we found it was just that the fuel was all at the back of the tank. Letting it roll downhill until it could be pushed towards another downhill side street and then gently driven to a petrol station.
Volkswagen have a new application for the supercharger, fitted to the new Golf GT in tandem with a turbocharger, the s’charger gives low down boost and cuts out when the turbo kicks in giving continuous boost all the way through the rev range.
Similarly if you’re a vendor, real estate agent, or someone else where your job necessarily involves a customer seeing your car, it’s often wise to ensure you have a Ford/GM/Chrysler product. Some vendors have mixed fleets and will take the make of car depending on who the customer is.
I didn’t get my “big break” into the industry until I swapped out my second Civic for my first Bonneville. Coincidence? Yeah, probably, but I got keyed a lot less, too.
No, we drive like maniacs. As anyone who’s been on a Greyhound bus on Highway 115 doing 100 in a 90 zone on the tight curve at Enterprise Hill, and still being passed, can attest.
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