Would Henry Ford be dissappointed?

[Dne']

At the heart of most cars today, still exists the same basic design of cars long ago. Pistons, cranks, and gas as the primary source of fuel,  etc. Sure they have onboard computers, EFI,etc., and stuff under the hood I wouldn't touch in fear of it breaking!,  Shouldn't we have been more advanced by now? I know Henry Ford would be impressed, but at the same time I could hear him say, "Is this the best ya'll could do after all these years?"  Our CX9 Mazda is a wonderful SUV or whatever it's considered today, but the gas milage really isn't that great 17-24mpg, of course there are other vehicles that get considerably much better mpg's, but seems like with our superb technology we should be excelling in gas(or whatever alternative fuel source) mpg's.

I think another thing that is lacking is utilizing the force of stopping power ,recycling it back into the power chain. A car traveling a 70mpg takes a great deal of energy to stop, or in physics would be called potential energy, but we still use a brake system that's been in use for years(except for better materials and anti lock/anti skid), I know that some cars have upgraded system(forget what the system is called), but you see every car on the road is basically hydraulic/friction more like that of what Fred Flintstone utilized!  We spend a great deal of energy making our cars go faster/quicker, but not utilizing this stopping energy to be reharnessed back into additional power! What a waste of energy!
just thinking on the computer~ :)

[Daves69Coupe]

i believe its the new Fords that re-charge the battery on braking by using "potential energy".

Does your CX9 have the turboed engine or the V6?

[bigb427]

I don't think Henry would like the modern cars at all - too much stuff to go go wrong. He liked keeping things as simple as possible.

[Dne']

No, it's just the plain V6. but it's a rocket when you get on it! I'm a little dissappointed like when passing someone~ there's not an immediate launch when pressing the accelorator to the floor~ almost have to plan when passing someone, just a brief pause. guess it has to do with EFI? Carbureted is intantaneous power, yes?

i believe its the new Fords that re-charge the battery on braking by using "potential energy".

Does your CX9 have the turboed engine or the V6?

[daveSanborn]

guess it has to do with EFI? Carbureted is intantaneous power, yes?

I believe you have it backwards.  EFI should be "instantaneous and carbueration should "lag" slightly (compared to EFI).  The few classic Mustang owners who have driven my EFI '66 have all commented on the "instant" throttle response.

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

i think henry would be flat out pissed. not so much because of the cars, but, as the guy who produced a car that the everyday guy could afford, he'd be livid over the inflated sticker prices. i think he would also be pretty upset at how the unions have the manufacturers hamstrung with the crazy demands & wages thus causing some of the overpricing of the final product.

[crustycurmudgeon]

I've never been impressed with the mileage claims of hybrids.  Not much better than some non-hybrids.  I'm left wondering what all the fuss is about.

Frank

[bigb427]

The Escape and the Fusion hybrids both get worse mileage on the highway than in the city.   Running the a/c on the Escape keeps the engine running full time - so no hybrid benefit if you turn the a/c on!  Fusions run the a/c electrically only so it's not a problem on them.

[Badass70]

its funny how back in the 60's VW bugs would get crazy gas mileage, and yet again in the early 90s my mom had a dodge dy"nasty " that got over 30mpg.. were having a hard time today getting that type of number out of cars today.. i think he would be pretty pissed at the overall quality. 

[monkeystash]

I'm a little dissappointed like when passing someone~ there's not an immediate launch when pressing the accelorator to the floor~ almost have to plan when passing someone, just a brief pause. guess it has to do with EFI? Carbureted is intantaneous power, yes?

Many modern cars with EFI don't have cables from the gas pedal to the throttle body.  It's called throttle by wire.  When you press down the pedal, it sends a signal to a motor on the throttle body, which opens it.  While this could be instantaneous, the software calls for it to be opened slowly and smoothly.  Many people are complaining about this on the new 5.0 Mustang, and it can now be "tuned" out with software.