THE HORSEPOWER RACE: It Doesn’t Endanger Safety

“We urge manufacturers to tone down their increasing emphasis on more and more horsepower and higher and higher speed,” said the American Automobile Association recently. Last week, as more and more of 1956’s new models hit the showrooms, there was little indication that the automakers were paying attention to A.A.A.’s horsepower fear. Plymouth announced a 200 h.p. “Hy-Fire V8” to match Ford’s 202 h.p. “Thunderbird V-8”; Dodge and Mercury were boosted to 225-230 h.p., while Chrysler and Lincoln were up to 285 h.p., with most of General Motors still to come. Horsepowers were so high that state legislators talked seriously about cutting speed limits, increasing fines and auto taxes, even passing laws requiring speed governors on every car.

So the question arose: Are auto horsepowers dangerously high? A good part of the uproar is mere exhaust rumble. Auto-industry engineers blame overzealous admen, who give the engines scorching nicknames (“Firedome,” “Strato-Streak,” “Blue-Flame”) to promote the impression of jet-plane speeds and sell more cars in an ever tighter market. Sings an Oldsmobile ad: “Excitement rides with you when you ride a ‘Rocket’/Free and fleet and vibrantly alive/For taking off, or taking a curve.”

Even allowing for Madison Avenue hyperbole, there is no doubt that 1956’s cars are faster and more powerful than ever before. Since 1930, average horsepower has doubled to well over 140 h.p. At the same time, the average top speed for U.S. cars has gone from 66 m.p.h. to 97 m.p.h. Have the higher speeds brought more danger? No, say Detroit’s engineers. From 1946 to 1954, according to statistics compiled by the Bureau of Public Roads, the average highway speed for U.S. passenger cars has climbed only 4 m.p.h., from 47 m.p.h. to 51 m.p.h. Furthermore, with better roads and tighter speed controls, the auto death rate in accidents has tumbled spectacularly, from 12 per 100 million miles in 1941 to 6.4 in 1954.

Looking at the statistics, auto engineers argue that increased horsepower has made cars far more efficient and safer. The new engines push cars along easily at normal cruising speeds, thus give better mileage, have more acceleration for safe passing and a longer life without expensive repairs. Says Plymouth Chief Engineer Robert Anderson: “When the engine is just loafing along, you are getting much better fuel economy, and a lot more durability. If the motor isn’t straining, it’s not wearing out so fast. And by keeping engine speed low with a powerful engine, we can keep a car quiet.”

Since 1930, fuel economy has climbed 30% because of the new high-compression engines. Acceleration in the low-and middle-speed ranges is almost twice as fast: a 1946 model took 24 seconds to go from 10 to 60 m.p.h., the average 1955 model does it easily in less than 15 seconds: a few can do it in ten. For the crackpot motorist this is an invitation to disaster. But for thousands of others the ability to hit cruising speeds fast means fewer traffic jams, less danger pulling onto high-speed turnpikes.

High horsepower is a necessity for today’s gadget-laden cars. The new automatic transmission, power brakes, power steering, power seat, and power window lift already bleed as much as 10 to 20 h.p. from the engine. And there is no stopping the gadgeteers: the latest air-conditioning units take another 10 h.p. to cool the air inside the car. Apart from the power-robbing gadgets, few engines ever develop horsepower figures contained in the advertising blurbs. Most automakers measure horsepower by means of a dynamometer: the engine is stripped of its load, ideally tuned and hooked up directly to the instrument. Thus, an advertised 200 h.p. engine may deliver that much on the test stand, but much less in actual torque delivered to the rear wheels of the car. After 3,000 miles, carbon deposits drain off 10 h.p.; a hot summer day robs the engine of another 20 h.p. because hot air decreases fuel mixture efficiency; another 20 h.p. goes to operate the fan belt, water pump, generator, etc.; still another 20 h.p. is lost in bearing, transmission and tire friction. With gadgets, the driver of a 200 h.p. car may wind up with little more than 100 h.p. to move his car.

Nevertheless, Detroit is becoming aware that more horsepower will soon get past the point of paying dividends—both from an engineering and a public-relations standpoint. For 1956, the industry is making another pitch to car buyers: more safety—with seat belts, shock-absorbing steering wheels and padded instrument panels. Some industry officials think that engines may climb as high as 400 h.p. but not much higher. Says Ford’s Continental Chief Bill Ford: “Up in that range pure horsepower is useless. You step on the accelerator and just burn rubber. You may have the most, but for all practical purposes, you have nothing.”