It was a little while ago i was having a conversation with a fellow car mechanic during our lunch break.  We were reminiscing about cars we had owned in the past [as guys of a certain age do!] my favourite were 1970s and 1980s Fords, he was a British Leyland fan [you cant make people have good taste!] we both agreed the cars of that period were faster and sounded better.

No way your thinking my car has 16 valves, multi point fuel injection, twin camshafts, A.B.S. brakes [anti-lock brakes] and you have checked your manual in the glove box just behind the travel sweets! and your car has 115 B.H.P. [brake horse power]

Ill try not to be too technical i want you to read on not get bored and sign off.  B.H.P. is measured in a laboratory, what happens is the basic engine is placed in a test bed [big cradle really] the testers retire behind a perspex screen and remotely the engine is started.  At the back of the engine bolted to the flywheel is a huge brake if you will, it is then engaged.  The engine is taken to maximum power and the brake is applied and the resultant force taken to stop the engine is your B.H.P.

Thanks for sticking with me on that ill not be so technical now.  All the examples of engine type i gave in paragraph 2 are used as selling tools, you can picture the scene a young smooth haired tanned salesman smiling at you saying “This little baby has 16 valves you know and fuel injection” but do these modern vehicles live up to whats on the tin? straight forward answer not usually, why not? emission regulations to slow down global warming.  You all have heard of catalytic converts, well they cut down engine performance by approx 10 to 15%.  Then you have fuel grades unleaded [regular] 91 to 93 octane, ill not go into octane rating, just to say the higher the octane rating the more power you can squeeze from the engine, leaded fuel which is extinct now except for use in propeller driven vintage aircraft, is 101 octane plus.

To cut down emissions further engines now are computer managed, all being well they will deliver the correct amount of fuel to the engine to produce less emissions.  Most cars of 20 to 25 years ago had none of these technological emission beating equipment.

Now comes the comfort part, does your car have Air conditioning or climate control? mine does, does it have electric windows, heated screens, electric seats mine does,does it have an interior mirror that dims its self when a car comes behind you at night? mine does.  The point I’m making is all these nice gadgets have to powered by something and that something is the engine or motor for American readers. 

The old Ford Capri’s i loved had none of these things that’s what made them in reality faster and have more torque [pulling power] also cars today have airbags i think from memory my ford Mondeo has 9 or 11 there in the doors, sides of the seats, rear doors, dashboard, side impact bars as well all of this life saving safety equipment weighs, so to make the car go faster the engine has to work harder.

So my friend and me decided we wanted all the electric toys and posh heaters and safety equipment on our cars for every day use.  In the garage however for weekend use only is a nice 3.0 litre rear wheel drive v6 Capri! capable of 125mph and 0 to 60mph in under 8 seconds! emissions umm yes its got loads! accessories? well its got a glove-box with some travel sweets!