- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
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- [email protected]
I’ll note that 2.5°C of warming by 2100 is a significant improvement over the trajectory we were on a decade ago, even if still far from where we need to be
Height absolutely matters because frontal area, along with Cd, affects drag directly. Drag is the primary force that needs to be overcome at higher speeds per the road load equation. Your opinion has nothing to do with it, it’s all just basic physics. You’re right though that fuel economy has been mostly increasing for decades, but that is in spite of vehicle largess, not because size is irrelevant. Imagine how much better off we’d be if folks didn’t commute in trucks for no reason at all. And a big yes to transit, biking, and human centered development.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/fotw-1237-may-9-2022-fuel-economy-all-vehicle-classes-has-improved
I understand how drag works, I was more referring to what seemed to me as a comment on how increased height in vehicles has made fuel economy worse, when that is not exactly true. Yes it does decrease economy, especially if compared to the height of a car, but if we are referring to “used to”, the newer taller vehicles are still more economical than their shorter older predecessors
There are however billions more vehicles since the 70s, so I think it’s kinda a moot point.