The flywheel/flexplate is part of the engine and not the transmission. Either component would result in a different engine configuration despite being 99% the same.

Germany has a much higher population density that the USA, at 229/km2 vs 33/km2. Everything is closer together and the public transportation infrastructure is much better as a result, it is not strictly necessary to own a car.

For what it’s worth I’ve taken dozens of flights in and out of Texas and I’ve never set foot there. Houston is its own hub.

You should try walking down the street in Houston some time, every other person is an immigrant. It’s one of the most diverse cities I’ve ever visited, almost on the level of NYC.

Is it though? If a dealership makes false claims about their CPO program then consumers would generally have the right to sue. This would especially apply to the CPO warranty. For used cars the dealerships are generally more careful about disclaiming any defects or warranties so there are de facto consumer protections…

“Certified” rarely means the item certified per a given item of legislation. Even certification marks such as UL are private industry certifications.

The parking lot at my construction site (in Texas) has around 100 V8 engines (trucks and cars) per acre. That’s 46000 V8s per square mile. It was closer to 120 per acre before Ecoboost became a thing.

Fair enough, but that’s far from the same statement as

Strange how you don’t mention the TV broadcast schedule. ABC carries many Indycar races leading up to the 500 but ends their broadcast season after the Belle Island races which are the weekend after the Indy 500. After that the races are all on NBCSN or other NBC cable affiliates which is going to kill ratings…

That’s what I’m saying, 9 MPG out of a 40 ton Class 8 is excellent. 10 MPG out of a ~6 ton gas vehicle is poor. The Raptor is excellent at many things but not towing efficiency. In that respect it literally could not be any worse without trying.

A brand new Class 8 truck is able to get 8-9 mpg fully loaded. In that context I cannot possibly see how the word “excellent” has anything to do with a Raptor’s towing efficiency.

Yes, but friction is a fairly minimal component for the RPM ranges we’re talking about. The engine would be able to run leaner at lower boost levels which should more than cancel out any friction losses.

I’m saying to make it a configuration option like Sport mode in every other car these days and drivers can use it at their own preference.

Idle fuel consumption is on the order of tens of horsepower for almost any passenger vehicle. The power demand for towing a truck and light trailer at 65 mph is around 150 hp in steady state on flat ground (For comparison a C7 Corvette needs less than 40hp to maintain 65mph). An NA 3.5 engine should be able to output…

He’s not talking energy, he’s talking energy efficiency. Higher-octane gas can withstand higher pressure/temperature during the compression stroke without knocking, which increases the theoretical maximum efficiency of the engine. When using lower-octane fuel under the same conditions it is necessary to pull timing…

I never said it wasn’t an exceptional situation, just that the issue can be addressed in software using the existing hardware.

I used to drive a truck with a 15.8 liter engine, what do I win?

The revised 3.5 EB has full electronic wastegate control, it wouldn’t be difficult to implement an “eco-tow” feature which backs off the boost at low RPM which would have an effect similar to your buddy’s Mustang.

Don’t tell me what to do!

It’s not a competition, if you can do 1 miserable thing or 2 miserable things wouldn’t you prefer to only have to do 1 miserable thing?