[Cyrus43]

i think the answer is very simple...we need a cheap car with a powerhouse...and when i say cheap i mean really cheap and when i say powerhouse i mean more than 200 hp.....

something like a 1960s revolutionary era in the US....with the mustang and charger and.....

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by CYRUS43

i think the answer is very simple...we need a cheap car with a powerhouse...and when i say cheap i mean really cheap and when i say powerhouse i mean more than 200 hp.....

Cyrus, you probably have a winning recipe there!
It might prove to be the most effective population control device this country has ever come up with!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Cyrus, you probably have a winning recipe there!
It might prove to be the most effective population control device this country has ever come up with!

Seriously thinking, power without safety and control is utter-waste (Not talking about population control).

But are we willing to pay more for safety? team-bhp'ians may, but most of the people won't!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

But are we willing to pay more for safety? team-bhp'ians may, but most of the people won't!

Thank you kind Sir. You do me honour more than I can accept. I recently bought the WagonR LXi.
_______________________ anonymous Team BHPian.

[Sparkie]

Let me give you the example of our car. I have an Indica DLS back home. My father is past 60, he is a normal driver, not too aggresive. However, he does like driving and likes a good car that responds to his inputs. We find the car fine, except the engine - it's a dud. The car can't accelerate for nuts. Its rather poor in bumper to bumper traffic. Have to accelerate a bit before leaving the clutch and the engine is not a free revving unit too which makes it pretty inconvenient and frustrating. The car is simply not doing what you want it too, which makes it a tad more difficult to control. We are planning to buy a new car. And he says,"this time I want to make sure that we get a car that is reasonably powerful, I don't want an underpowered one again."

You need to ensure that the car is in control, that you have reserves, be it braking, grip or power. You want a margin to play with. A car should be at your command, simply an extension of you, so it does exactly what you ask it to do. I know it sounds idealistic but it's a fact. A more controllable car might even help avoid a few accidents. And hence its important to have a decent amount of power that enables easy drivabillity. Even when you are dawdling behind a football-field-length of cars, you want the car to nudge ahead when you want it to instead of shutting off. Like somebody else was saying too, the tensions and difficulty of overtaking are wiped off in a more powerful car.

After that, of course, we want more power! And I disagree with whoever said that we buy higher powered cars for ego battles. Some do. Not all.

[midlifecrisis]

Originally Posted by Sparkie

Let me give you the example of our car. I have an Indica DLS back home. My father is past 60, he is a normal driver, not too aggresive. However, he does like driving and likes a good car that responds to his inputs. We find the car fine, except the engine - it's a dud. The car can't accelerate for nuts. Its rather poor in bumper to bumper traffic. Have to accelerate a bit before leaving the clutch and the engine is not a free revving unit too which makes it pretty inconvenient and frustrating. The car is simply not doing what you want it too, which makes it a tad more difficult to control. We are planning to buy a new car. And he says,"this time I want to make sure that we get a car that is reasonably powerful, I don't want an underpowered one again."

You need to ensure that the car is in control, that you have reserves, be it braking, grip or power. You want a margin to play with. A car should be at your command, simply an extension of you, so it does exactly what you ask it to do. I know it sounds idealistic but it's a fact. A more controllable car might even help avoid a few accidents. And hence its important to have a decent amount of power that enables easy drivabillity. Even when you are dawdling behind a football-field-length of cars, you want the car to nudge ahead when you want it to instead of shutting off. Like somebody else was saying too, the tensions and difficulty of overtaking are wiped off in a more powerful car.

After that, of course, we want more power! And I disagree with whoever said that we buy higher powered cars for ego battles. Some do. Not all.

Couldn't have put it better myself. Was once trying to overtake a bus on this road called Tank Bund, in Hyd in a Maruti 800. Got into a situation where I didn't have enough power to go through the overtake, and couldn't fall back as the traffic behind the bus was full up. And there was a bus heading at me. Came to screeching halt in the wrong lane. I know, I know, cars have their limitations and understanding them is important. But there are times that burst of power can help you. And the afore described situation is one where that extra power was needed.
I'm usually a safe and patient driver, but if I decided never to overtake the person in front of me, I'd probably spend a lot more time than the two hours I spend commuting everyday.
Also, I see that in most earler posts, there's a lot of numbers over a 100 horses.
I moved from a Maruti 800(non-ac) to an Accent CRDI simply for the power. The commute was getting tiring and I needed a car where the airconditioning wouldn't affect the power. There are those rare stretches where the traffic isn't bumper to bumper, and the power helps make up for lost time.

[rks]

Today I was near Shivaji Park in Mumbai and took a walk around the park. The number of expensive cars I saw there in just 20 mts was just amazing. To top it all I saw a parked VW Touareg V10 TDI, an SUV with a 5-lit engine, 313 BHP, top speed 225 kmph and 0-100 kmph in 7.8 secs. Took a look inside and it was an automatic, and the speedo had a maximum of 320 kmph.

To address the question raised in this thread, I think this kind of power is just sheer overkill for our roads. One can admire it from a distance, but I wouldn't want to own one. Just too expensive in every respect and the size makes it dfficult to handle on our roads.

[blue2ki]

Originally Posted by rks

Today I was near Shivaji Park in Mumbai and took a walk around the park. The number of expensive cars I saw there in just 20 mts was just amazing. To top it all I saw a parked VW Touareg V10 TDI, an SUV with a 5-lit engine, 313 BHP, top speed 225 kmph and 0-100 kmph in 7.8 secs. Took a look inside and it was an automatic, and the speedo had a maximum of 320 kmph.

To address the question raised in this thread, I think this kind of power is just sheer overkill for our roads. One can admire it from a distance, but I wouldn't want to own one. Just too expensive in every respect and the size makes it dfficult to handle on our roads.

1. now thats a beauty mate! howd u forget the 750Nm of torque?.. bad bad.
2. now you said that kind of power is overkill for our roads, and i totally agree. but when we come to cars like these its never about the money, theyre ecstasy, power, a state of perfection hearalded by man. The sheere performance and the remarkabilty of the engine, shows us the limits of technology unleashing their maximum potential. Theyre for the enthusiast, the dreamer, you appreciate the hand of god behind them, the flawless skill.
NOT THE MONEY DAWG!!
peace

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Psycho

My two pence to this:

You need enough power to be able drive comfortably and that depends on how you drive.

As for others with a view towards your ride, well everyone always has one

What if we had smart engines which would shut of 2-4 cylinders to provide economy (during city crawls) and light the entire cylinder bank (4-6) when we needed to speed? This would provide great fuel economy coupled with fantastic power too

I believe some premium automakers are exploring this idea already, hope we see this in everyday cars too, soon

[vasudeva]

In 13 years of driving, I have graduated from a 6 bhp scooter to a 35bhp Maruti 800 to a 125 bhp Corolla. But my top speeds have not varied (max 90-100 kmph with a quick pull back if it exceeds 100). Of course, torque has also increased, and as BUSA pointed out, what we need is more torque!. My experience is higher HP/torque does help a lot in pulling away (more related to torque but invariably to get more torque you have to pay for more bhp; imagine a 20 kgm torque in a 39 bhp 800!) and much better safety feeling at same speeds (800 and Zen deteriorate rapidly in comfort and safety feeling at above 70).

[BUSA]

What if we had smart engines which would shut of 2-4 cylinders to provide economy (during city crawls) and light the entire cylinder bank (4-6) when we needed to speed? This would provide great fuel economy coupled with fantastic power too

Honda's Accord V6 uses this technology, on normal un spirited driving only 3 cyliders are activated, on hard acceleration the other 3 gets activated as well, and all 6 cylinders are working to give you 220bhp of power.

[prabuddhadg]

Originally Posted by BUSA

Honda's Accord V6 uses this technology, on normal un spirited driving only 3 cyliders are activated, on hard acceleration the other 3 gets activated as well, and all 6 cylinders are working to give you 220bhp of power.

Really? I did not know that. I thought it was just more valves opening for longer durations to pass larger quantities of the gases. Like Apachelongbow I have often wondered if this kind of a technology can be developed, where the engine uses as many cylinders as required for the kind of speed or acceleration.

Interesting!

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by prabuddhadg

Really? I did not know that. I thought it was just more valves opening for longer durations to pass larger quantities of the gases. Like Apachelongbow I have often wondered if this kind of a technology can be developed, where the engine uses as many cylinders as required for the kind of speed or acceleration.

Interesting!

There are more makers.

General Motors calls its system Displacement on Demand, DaimlerChrysler's name is Multi-Displacement System and Honda's label is Variable Cylinder Management.

And this concept is many years old... read more at:
AUTOS ON MONDAY/Technology; Goldilocks V-8's, Always Just Right - New York Times

[hyper123]

Originally Posted by BUSA

Honda's Accord V6 uses this technology, on normal un spirited driving only 3 cyliders are activated, on hard acceleration the other 3 gets activated as well, and all 6 cylinders are working to give you 220bhp of power.

You mean the INDIAN Accord?? I never knew that. Even with all the brainy tech, its still a gas guzzler!

[Torqy]

We Indians are NOT MATURE enough to drive powerful vehicles. You and I may drive our powerful vehicles responsibly. But look at the MORONS on the road who don't.

Unless we have displine and learn to respect other road users, more power can only mean danger.

-- Torqy