What do you have against a vehicle that does that? Improving fuel economy without the loss of performance can’t be a bad thing, can it?
The 5.7 L. Dodge Ram with with cylinder deactivation helped to make the Dakota obsolete, larger truck, more power, same fuel economy.
Many modern tires have significant weather cracks after 4 to 5 years here in the desert, they are biodegradable. I have a set of General tires I purchased in 1988 on an old Dodge in the back yard with no weather cracks.
Let’s not talk about biodegradable tires, some overly zealous politician may read this forum.
Cylinder de-activation is a good idea. In theory. It’s the implementation that is important.
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+1
GM’s disastrous V-8-6-4 system of the early '80s was VERY badly implemented, and it worked… badly.
It seems like mfrs have come a very long way with cylinder deactivation technology since then.
Like 'em if you choose. I don’t. I cannot see how that can happen and still keep everything balanced including heat distribution. I’d guess that those who have them will not get the longevity out of their engines that an engine that operates fully at all times will.
Sure, I know you’ll run right out and find someone who has high mileage on one… or at least what some owners consider high mileage… but I stand by my statement. Time will tell if I’m right or not.
So tell me, do you like all the tricks that manufacturers are building into today’s cars to scratch and claw toward that 54mpg mandate?
Oh, I don’t know of anyone specific that’s raving of longevity, but in the course of my job I don’t find any real difference in engine longevity between those and “full-time” 8 or 6 cylinder engines. Active Fuel Management has been around for almost 12 years on all the LS series engines in the pickup/SUV series made by GM. I do think that there are more complaints about the operation of the system on the Chrysler engines than on other makes, but I think that could be said of many Chrysler systems, not just engines.
You want to hear something stupid? The operation of the system is so seamless that a decent mechanic may even be unaware of it. My wife bought a new car in November, a GM product. It wasn’t until a 2 months later that I was driving it and scrolling through the cluster that I realized that the car was sometimes running on 4 cylinders. I drove that car 1000 miles without knowing it had AFM.
Not particularly but they’re kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Feds want fuel economy. I want a car that can carry my son and 5 of his teammates to a baseball tournament. That means size.
My wife wants a car with an electric motor that opens and closes the rear hatch, heated steering wheel, shaker motors in the steering column and seat that warn of lane departure and blind spot incursions, and lighted exterior door handles. I want A/C and heat for the rear seating and 300+ horsepower to move all this down the road at 80mph. That means weight for accessories and a powerful or turbocharged engine.
I think they’re doing their best to make everyone happy.
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The change to biodegradeable wire insulation, seat foam etc is experiencing the same implementation struggles as when they switched to low VOC paints in the 80s and 90s for example. Material composition will continue to evolve and likely find a way to make it less appealing to rodents as well. The technology will continue to evolve and improve until it is acceptable to most. Not good news for those caught in the middle of the development challenges but it’s no different than prior efforts to meet required mandates.
Count me as not a fan of VCM technology. I have yet to own one that was transparent to me. My latest, an '12 Ody is quite obvious when it kicks in and is an annoyance that is not worth the couple of MPGs is is purported to achieve.