AN attempt is made to show in their relative importance the more important of the major factors affecting car performance. The items dependent upon engine design that are considered are acceleration, hill-climbing ability, fuel consumption and maximum speed. The factors entering into engine and car design that are discussed are the size and speed of the engine, the compression ratio and the weight of the car. Experimental data have been used only in establishing reasonable engine and car characteristics. The effects of the changes desired were estimated on what are believed to be generally accepted bases.
The most important conclusion drawn is that the standard of car performance now taken for granted by the public can be obtained in more than one way, and that a little of each method, tempered with other considerations such as cost of manufacture, cost of maintenance, smoothness of operation, and good low-speed operation, will give the result demanded by the hard laws of engineering economics. The author contends that giving the public the kind of transportation it wants at low cost is more important than arguments over the comparative merits of engineering features that it deems of minor significance.
