scott wrote:

>> Yeah, I agree. I'm amazed at the fuel consumption levels a modern
>> computer-controlled ignition system and fuel injection system can
>> deliver.
 
> Me too - my car has 180 BHP, yet when I drive carefully my record is 960
> km
> on a single 50 litre tank!  To me that is just amazing, a car I had that
> was 20 years older had only 60 BHP and could do only 400 km on a tank
> (probably a bit smaller tank as well though).

Not sure what it is in BHP (oh you continentals!) but my car has a 1595cc
engine with max. output of about 71KW (kilowatts). In city driving I get
about 680km to a tank (40 liter capacity, unleaded, o' course) and on the
freeway it does about 810km on 40 liters. Guess it doesn't compare as
linearly, but the Ford I referred to in my post is a 2995cc V6 (the so
called "Essex big six" - 101.5KW at 5900 rpm) dating from 1969 with a
double-barrel Webber and mechanical ignition. It struggled to do 400 kilos
on a 65 liter tank even when it was new. Yup, he still has it.
 
> I think the biggest improvement is that today, even if you haven't used
> your car for 2 weeks and it's -15 degrees outside, you can turn the key
> and the
> engine will fire up perfectly within a second and then idle smoothly.  My
> dad had a car (actually he still has it) that has no choke at all, not
> even a manual one, starting that is a PITA unless you are very good
> friends with the accelerator pedal - and it won't idle at all until warmed
> up fully, so you need some tricks with your feet when in traffic to stop
> it stalling!

I KNOW THAT FEELING! The Ford Cortina I refer to above behaves much like
that too. Once it is running though it is quite ok, but I've also had to do
the "pedal dance" with it once or twice when I cranked it up to take some
trash away. Its got one of those "auto chokes" Ford used to have where you
depress the gas pedal all the way to the floor, firmly, then try to start.
But often its better to pop the hood and set it manually on the side of the
carb before even thinking of cranking it in cold wheather. It also likes
priming - i. e. it is much easier to start if you pump the pedal ten times
or so before trying to start, especially if it was standing for a week or
more.
 
> I wonder how long the "pulse" of radar would need to be - the engine could
> charge up a big capacitor to discharge in a roof mounted dish - hmm maybe
> not that sounds a bit too much James Bond :-)

Maybe not, that's sounds like a good idea! If you can aim and modulate it
right a one-second high intensity burst might do the job on a computerised
injection and ignition system... You'll just have to deal with the lawsuits
and damage claims if you zap somebody's car who is innocent...!

And hope the criminal isn't wise to the deal and driving a mechanically
ignited and carb'ed vintage model. Or a diesel!
-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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