The Fate of Supercars

The environment and economy have effected the technology and research that go into the production of the cars today. The future of supercars is very uncertain because of this. Government laws, economic recession, higher gas prices, and environmental agencies, are all factors that discourage car companies from producing cars with high volume engines. Today Gretchen DuBeau, a global warming advocate, is trying to persuade the government that average fuel economy needs to be raised and monitored more strictly. She believes that by increasing the average fuel economies of all the car manufacturers it would in turn, “reduce the oil used by cars and trucks by one-third in 2020; save four million barrels of oil each day by 2020; save consumers $16 billion at the gas pump; and cut global warming emissions from vehicles by 20 percent.”(Gretchen Dubeau) These predictions are very appealing to the government. By using less oil it would not only decrease the demand of gas resulting in lower prices but reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Also, by using less oil over seas it would keep more money in the country to help boost our economy. All of these economic improvements would be made while fighting global warming. Therefore, it would be wise of the car companies to cut down on supercars and powerful engines. However, this is not the case.
Car companies are coming out with even more powerful and more technologically advanced engines. Take for example the new LS9 Corvette engine used in the 200 mph ZR1. By creating this car, Chevy is sticking up to the environmentalists and saying that the excitement of power and torque is more important than the atmosphere. The Corvette has a large supercharger that gives the LS9 a lot of power and sucks up the fuel. A supercharger is basically an air compressor that compresses the air to push into the engine. This helps the gas burn more rapidly and gives the car more power. The assistant chief engineer is describing the effect of the large displacement supercharger on the V8 by saying that the supercharger “expands the 'sweetzone' of the compressor's effectiveness, broadening it to help make power lower in the rpm band, to put it simply the low-end torque is amazing.” The supercharger allows the power of the V8 to be unleashed even when the rpm are low. As a result, the torque is increased giving the driver a thrill from 1-7,000 rmp. This is the excitement that gets consumers craving more and more power from these supercars. They will do anything to experience the acceleration of 0-60 in 3 seconds; it is more important to them than the environment and the economy by far. Another American car company has built a ridiculously fast car, but this company is a little more exclusive.
SSC has come out with the fastest car in the world, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT. This supercar is powered by a twin turbo V8 that makes environmentalists cringe. However, the car enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies are very impressed with this state of the art technology. It can reach speeds higher than any other European car in the world and tops out at around 270. However, they have only officially taken it up to 257mph which is faster than the Bugatti Veyron. Along with this ridiculous acceleration it gives the driver a sense of control and excitement at slower speeds too. Jay Leno says, “the more I drove this car, the more comfortable it gets, the more you settle into it. It really is a drivers car. There's no aids at all. When I drove the Bugatti Veyron, although it was incredibly fast, it felt big and cumbersome. This car seems to shrink around you."(Jay Leno) During a test run in Los Angeles, Jay Leno was driving the car and gave a lot of positive feed back on the quality of handling. It was not a huge piece of machinery that he was just telling what to do like the Veyron; it was a tight and accurately made full on race car. It gives the driver a sense of control and confidence. As a result, it makes the car feel apart of the driver almost like an extension of his or her body. The Aero is very predictable and that makes it so much more rewarding to drive. Knowing that one has the confidence to drive the car extremely well to its limits gives them a very encouraging and satisfactory feeling. A feeling that is indescribable and is much more exciting than global warming and the issues of the economy. These two cars have shown that the economists and environmentalists are not affecting the supercar companies as of now, but what about the future.
Top Gear is the worlds most well known car show, and the host, Jerremy Clarkson, has reviewed thousands of supercars over the years. However, this could be a thing of the past because of the new laws and environmental situations. During a review of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, he believes that the huge V12 supercar will end the era of great supercars. "Thanks to all sorts of things, the environment, economy, problems in the Middle East, the relentless war on speed, cars like this will soon be consigned to the history books." Because of the high taxes and the terrible economic situation, the government will inevitable dwindle the amount of supercars on the roads and dissuade car companies from ever making them again. The huge 7 liter engines require massive amounts of fuel to rev up to 8,000 rpm, and thus they have terrible CO2 emissions and miles per gallon. Jeremy Clarkson is worried that the government will not listen to the people and keep encouraging car makers to produce the cars that they love. Jeremy believes, "what I am driving here is an ending." The massive 12 cylinder engine that the Aston has under its hood is most likely the last extremely powerful engine produced. The odds of another car company coming out with an engine as big as that and amazing as that is very slim. Many supercar makers are ending a few lines of supercars. Lamborghini is even ending the Murcielago series of cars, one of their most powerful lines to start a less explosive 2 wheel drive line of cars. Could Jerremy Clarkson be right? Will the economy and environment halt the production and research of these amazing technological achievements? Or will the consumers who love and live for the euphoria and adrenaline that comes from just looking these cars keep the supercar companies going? What will be the future fate of the supercar?