Interesting Gas Mileage Technology

[silvermate]

i saw a car show last night on tv that was talking about the new 300 C that was really interesting

the car comes with a 340 horse hemi V8, but the interesting thing is when driving at highway speeds the car has the technology to shut down 4 of its 8 cylinders to conserve gas and therefore get better gas mileage.

what a great idea!!!

anyway, i thought this was worthy of General post. :D

that car looks so sweet, and with 340 horse??? get out.... :whistles:

[bartkat]

GM tried that back in the 80's I believe. I think it was a Cadillac that ran on 8, 6, and 4 cylinders. It didn't work out so well. Of course, at that time, technology wasn't what it is today.

[steviej]

GM tried that back in the 80's I believe. I think it was a Cadillac that ran on 8, 6, and 4 cylinders. It didn't work out so well. Of course, at that time, technology wasn't what it is today.

that's what I was going to say. Cadillac had such a flop with this they dumped it and even swapped out peoples cars.

maybe the software mechanical technology have advanced far enought to make this feasable. Time will tell.

steviej

[VBdenny]

That new Chysler 300E is a beast though isn't it. Radical look, hopefully not with the typical Chrysler durability. Seems to me only a few years ago how the 300M was suppose to be the hot new car and now they aren't worth

Still, not many companies have better styling.

The jusry is still out on cylinders deactivating. Think it has an override?

[silvermate]

the new 300 car has i think like 4 or 5 different models, the 300c beiong the top of the line and the only one with the 340 horse V8. its the best looking one too. B)

the other models only have V6s, man i would hate toting a car that is heavier than our LS's around with a V6, geez

oh i'm sure it has an activation/deactivation button. i would be aweful if the computer chose for you. don't think that car would even go on 4 cylinders being so heavy

it would be like the power of 2 gerbils

[VBdenny]

Agreed. I saw one yesterday in person. I'm sure Chysler will have a lot of interest in them. A hemi is always a good thing

[blake918]

I just got a Road & Track special edition about the 300C in the mail, and after reading it, I found out that the car only gets 25mpg while burning only on 4cyl! :o An LS can do better than that burning all 8 of her cylinders! I agree, though, it is a stunning car, but you could get an awful nice cpo LS430-which is a sure bet- for $40k(sure they start at $25k, but I'd never consider a V6 on a 2 ton beast like this!)! I'm thinking about the mechanical problems the car will have after some miles roll on which is scary. This car reminds me of the t-Bird or SSR-they all look very good(to some. hmm...SSR), but would you pay $40k for one of them(grant it the 300 is much more practical!)?

Lexus cars have me spoiled! Comfort, extreme quality, excellent reliability, etc. Nothing but a Lexus will do for me anymore. :D

[VBdenny]

I got the same supplement from Road & Track today as well. Considering the car will be worth about half of what you pay for it in a few years, it isn't a great deal.

I agree that 25mpg on 4 cylinders is pathetic. Let's see, you buy a hemi and go really eazy on the gas to run on 4 cylinders? No, my foot would be way too tempted and then I'd probably get 12 mpg.

[Lexusfreak]

Not crazy about the style of the car (the magnium looks pretty sweet however). It's about time Mercedes started using more of their components in Chrysler products but I still won't buy one cause of Chryslers aweful reliability history. I use to work at a Chrysler dealer and have many horror stories.......one of the tech's that worked there for over 20 years said he would never worry about being out of a job cause of the problems owners have & he also said "if it's a Chrysler, shoot it!" lol :chairshot:

[Senna4ever]

Mercedes tried the cylinder deactivation in 1999-2001 I think in the S class. Honda will have a variable displacement V6 in their 2005 Accord V6 hybrid. B)