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by ClumsyPilot 1590 days ago
"with very expensive and massive fission reactors"

The laws if physics don't owe us a free lunch. Light, safe and cheap powersource does not exist

Fossil fuels aren't a power source, they wre a power store - that power was collected and millions of years ago.

Also 100% productivity on 25 years is quite good - what did combustion engines improve in that time, 5%?
1 comments
onychomys 1590 days ago
The 1997 F-150 made 220bhp and got 18mpg [0], while the 2022 F-150 makes 400bhp and 19mpg [1], so fusion is doing way better than that!

(...i think i chose comparable trim levels to do that comparison, there are a stunning number of choices there!)

[0] https://www.cars.com/research/ford-f_150-1997/specs/103719/ [1] https://www.edmunds.com/ford/f-150/2022/features-specs/

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brandall10 1590 days ago
Mileage figures have little to do w/ max power. That mileage figure is roughly using the same actual power, which is a relative sip of fuel.

The main difference would be in testing EPA methodology which which would be a bit more stringent/realistic to world use. On top of that, there likely is more rolling resistance at lower speed due to larger tires and heavier weight, offset somewhat by lower C/D at speed.

Basically it's hard to extrapolate ICE efficiency gains... they're there are sure, but probably in the single or low double digits.

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winrid 1590 days ago
The newer F150 also weighs more. Also, if it didn't have to make twice the power, it would probably get 40mpg today.

ICE engines have advanced a lot in 20 years, especially in terms of cost per HP/MPG.

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hedora 1590 days ago
I don't understand why they can't just build a basic pickup truck any more.

We had an old pre-fuel injected pickup. It had a bigger bed than the current truck, and seated six instead of five. It got 33% more miles to the gallon. The new one's transmission likes to overheat, even when not towing.

Seriously, wtf?

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winrid 1589 days ago
Safety, mostly.

I have a 2015 Colorado with a 6 speed manual, long bed, 4.10 read end, and the 2.5L 200Hp four cylinder. Probably as basic as you can get, and nobody buys them, because for like 2k more you can get a v6 and fancy electronics.

Tows 4k lb trailer fairly fine...

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nomel 1590 days ago
The real question would be, what's the fuel consumption for a given, sustained, bhp, for both? The mpg numbers are often pretty unrealistic. [-1]

[-1] https://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/heres-why-real-world-mp...

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