Pop Quiz: Model T vs. Modern
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA on 03.26.08
Answer: C) The Ford Model T, which was invented in 1908, got 25 miles to the gallon, whereas in 2004 the average car got only 20.8 miles per gallon. Not only was the Model T more efficient than many of today's vehicles, it was also capable of running on either gasoline or ethanol. Of course, the Model T had a much smaller engine and lower top speed than today's cars, but consider that 100 years of engineering has given us cars that, while fast, safe and comfortable, deliver worse fuel economy than did the first production vehicle. . .
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Source: WantToKnow.info
Ah, what a beautiful car. Superior in so many ways, including aesthetically. Cars should not have to go so fast anyway, and I'm pretty sure you guys would agree since you talk often about the effects of reduced speed limits.
Safety, it seems, is always the dealbreaking issue. Safety is the one thing that most alternative cars do not have over gas-guzzlers.
Careful; there's a difference between miles per gallon and efficiency. Would it be more efficient to ship our nation's goods in sports cars rather than in tractor-trailers because sports cars get more miles per gallon?
I think it would be valid to bemoan than cars have become so much heavier in the past century, but efficiency has definitely gone up. It's just that it usually hasn't kept pace with weight increases and speed increases.
But take for example the Tesla Roadster or the Aptera Typ-1 to see that we can make cars that are both many times heavier and achieve many times more miles per gallon than the Model T. If that's not efficiency, I don't know what is.
Actually, from my understanding the model-T has never actually been tested on a modern EPA driving cycle, so any claims about MPG are really anecdotal at best.
Unless someone can claim a source that actually did TEST the mpg of a model-T, I regard any claims as heresay.
Zol, the efficiency of the car overall hasn't gone up - certain bits have got better, yes, but they've been matched by the increase in size and weight.
Our perception of what a 'car' should be is what's changed.
25mpg in 2008 may get you a 4x4 vehicle, that will accelerate quickly, cruise at 90mph, carry 4 passengers and lots of luggage, in air conditioned comfort. None of which the Model T could achieve with 25mpg.
But in terms of what the environment 'sees', there's no difference. In fact it's become worse because all those features have encouraged us to drive further and more often.
And what about the stat that on average we move about at 5mph in cars, which we could nearly do walking. Cars aren't efficient, not on their own, not as a system of transport.