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[Steve Mackie]

Here's a stupid idea I just had.

What if someone could come up with a vehicle rating formula to rate vehicles
that took different specs into account? Using the following parameters:

MPG or L/100km
LBS/HP or kg/kW
HP/c.i.
Maybe even price and/or coefficient of drag

Through a formula of multiplying, dividing, etc of these numbers, come up
with a "rating" to describe the vehicle's efficiency/economy. So the
higher/lower the number, the more "efficient" the vehicle is in the real
world and in your wallet.

We all know that more performance = less mileage, but this system could take
into account the amount of performance you are getting for your mileage.
This would decide which vehicle is more "efficient."

Example (Canadian Models, pricing and specs):

Vehicle: 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Hardtop 1SB
Price: $96,150CDN
Engine Size: 7.0L
Mileage Highway: 8.2 L/100km
Mileage City: 14.3 L/100km
Power: 377 kW
Weight: 1420 kg
Coefficient of drag: 0.34

Vehicle: 2006 Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe
Price: $130,000CDN
Engine Size: 8.3L
Mileage Highway: 11.8 L/100km
Mileage City: 19.6 L/100km
Power: 373 kW
Weight: 1547 kg
Coefficient of drag: 0.39

If you compare the two vehicles' numbers, you can see the Corvette Z06 is
more "efficient." So if you could take all those numbers and mathimatically
turn them into one, it would make for easy comparison. I'd call it the
Mackie Vehicle Rating System. ;) Something like, "the MVRS of the Z06 is 52
and the MVRS of the Viper is 45." Then if you applied the formula to a
Cobalt and got an MVRS of 48, you could say "the Cobolt is more "efficient"
than the Viper, but because of the R&D and technology built into the
Corvette, it is more "efficient" than the Cobalt." Kinda of a "bang for your
buck" rating.

See what I'm getting at?

Steve

[Mike Hunter]

Perhaps one should do what cooperate fleets do. Fleets look at the costs
over time of acquiring and insuring their vehicles, as well as the cost of
fluids, maintenance, repairs and finally the cost of replacing the vehicle.
Corporate fleets keep their vehicles, which they look at as just another
tool used in their business, in service for at least five years or 300K WOF
because of federal depreciation allowance. Fleets buy all types of vehicles
cars from limousine all the way down to the econoboxes used as courier cars
and from light to heave duty trucks. The vehicles they choose most often,
based on that criteria are Ford vehicles, GM is second. While all
manufactures offer a similar fleet discount of around $600 Ford controls 80%
of all fleet business including government vehicles. When it comes to small
cars that comprise the majority of imports over the past five years or so
they have shift always for European and Japanese cars to Korean cars and the
Focus and away from Corollas, Civics, VW and Neons.

mike hunt

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"Steve Mackie" <stevemackie@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
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