Word: compacter
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...gods and goddesses of the California youth culture, the sleek but mighty sports cars with high-powered engines were the knights templar of the American highway in the early 1960s. Inspired by the sports car craze, Detroit automakers created a new breed of small, racy, relatively inexpensive "sports compact" cars for young and old alike. The first of the new group, the Ford Mustang, made a fast breakaway in 1964. It was rapidly followed by competing cars whose names evoked feelings of adventure and even danger: Plymouth's Barracuda, Chevrolet's Camaro, Pontiac's Firebird, American Motors...
Automakers earn less profit on an ordinary compact than on a sports model, but they have found a way of cushioning the blow of declining sports sales. Ford, for example, now offers a "Grabber" model of its compact Maverick equipped with hood scoops, rallye stripes and a special paint job. It costs $175 more than an unadorned Maverick. Similarly, for $349 over the regular price, Chevrolet is marketing a "GT" version of the subcompact Vega with a black grille, racing steering wheel and sturdier wheel rims. Both models give the illusion of being fast sports cars, but beneath the paint...
...exists. That study found that 3.1% of the people involved in crashes of big cars weighing an average of 4,800 Ibs. were killed or seriously injured. But the rate of death or serious injury rose to 4% in intermediate cars averaging 3,700 Ibs., to 6.4% in domestic compact cars averaging 2,800 Ibs. and to 9.6% in foreign compacts averaging 1,900 Ibs.*Haddon predicts that insurance companies will carefully consider higher charges for policies on small cars and their riders, in order to reflect the greater safety hazard...
...Compact U.S. cars like the Vega, Pinto and Colt in Haddon's test crashes generally weigh from...
...Hornet, with a turbine engine tucked away under the hood, made its first appearance. Whining slightly, it was tested at the federal Environmental Protection Agency's lab at Ann Arbor, Mich. EPA officials were delighted with the engine, which works by using compressed air to drive its turbines. Compact, vibrationless and delivering 80 h.p., it runs on any hydrocarbon fuel from kerosene to coal oil. and gets about 15 miles per gallon in urban traffic. It is also 30% lighter (at 250 Ibs.), has 75% fewer moving parts, and is thus cheaper to build and maintain than the standard...