Car Counterfactuals, it's still 6/22 somewhere edition

"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit)
10/23/2014 at 01:59 • Filed to: Car CounterFactuals, The Big Bang Theory

So this is something I'd like to start on a regular basis: having been stuck watching TBBT for a good while I think it's time we do some Car Counterfactuals. What's that? Watch the video? Don't want to? It's what the automotive world would be like if one piece of history had been changed from what we know.

For tonight, let's do, hmmm...Cadillac never announces the CT6 name change and instead calls the new sedan the variable letter-TS. Remember, what the name is isn't important, it's how it effects the automotive world as we know it.

DISCUSSION (10)

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
10/23/2014 at 02:04

I have been thinking of doing this since this episode first aired, but Ive had no one to play with

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
10/23/2014 at 02:14

Ford never launches the Mustang. What are modern American performance cars like?

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
10/23/2014 at 02:19

Car Counterfactual. Toyota never stops making a RWD corolla after the AE-86, leading to a world where almost all commuter cars have a Front engine-Rear drive layout, high revving, small capacity naturally-aspirated engines, and great weight distribution. This leads to a RWD hot hatch war, culminating in multiple sub 2-Liter, 8000RPM+ redline sports cars being made in Japan for the US market, thus completely altering the course of automotive history. Of course Lee Iaccoca sees the success of this, but is too late, and his unpopular K-car platform leads to the fall of the Chrysler Corporation. This leaves the big two to fight it out with the European and Japanese rivals. Ford manages to pull off a winner with a turbocharged small sedan based on the mustang. this vehicle, called the falcon II, sells extremely well, and later models of it can be found off in to the 2010's. GM is equally successful with it's "Gamma" platform cars, which run higher capacity N\A engines, but beat out the imports with greater torque figures. This leads to the development of high-quality, sub 3-litre diesel engines, that very successfully sold around the world in GM's RWD-only line-up in the 1990's.

Meanwhile, Volkswagen continued making the Rear engine Rear drive beetle until 1985, when it was replaced by the Golf Mk3, an FR hot sedan, with a supercharged 1.5L inline5 taken from Audi, that developed 255hp, and revved astronomically high due to it's small size.

By 2014, 75% of cars sold offer RWD, 15% offer AWD, and the remaning 10% offer FWD. most cars come with high-revving N/A engines (with redlines above 9000RPM common in even regular commuter cars) and 5+ valves per cylinder. Most of these cars come with manual transmissions, as the Automatics of the 1980's and 1990's couldn't handle the high RPM's, resulting in a need for different transmissions.

As of 2014, the 13th generation Corolla, topped by the 270hp, 2.1L RWD Corolla XRS-R model, is the world's best-selling car, providing joyous hoonage to millions of people globally.

Tohru > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/23/2014 at 02:44

You've gone completely off the deep end, haven't you mate?

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
10/23/2014 at 03:11

the Falcon wouldn't be killed that's for sure.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
10/23/2014 at 03:20

it's a nice image, but if there was no FWD Corolla then everyone would have bought the cheaper Honda Civic or K-car instead. Toyota doesn't get the sales money to further develop the Supra and Celica. The MR2 project is canned before sales can begin.

at least there wouldn't be Priuses

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
10/23/2014 at 04:22

Possibilities include...
GM kept going with the Corvair, and rear engined turbocharged flat 6 power is an American thing and not a German one.
Mopar continued the path with the original Barracuda after its popularity took off for its third model year, thus creating a variant of the world we're used to. (Mainly that the notchback body is the ugly duckling, and more versatile / aerodynamic bodies are en vogue.)
The muscle car era never happens outside of large cars (with the exception of a few smaller cars that never achieve success on a large scale and are crushed by upper management), and so mid-size cars don't get large engines in the 60's. This leads to more development on the smaller engines (sub-5.0 liter) in America. Pontiac's OHC 6 is a great success instead of a footnote in history. The 70's will kill performance, but not quite to the same apparent degree as there are more small V8s, and higher revving I6s to use from the smaller cars. This makes downsizing in the late 70's more palatable, and the US cars resemble the European (but not Japanese) cars more in the 80's than they did in our world. Under the mantra of the beancounters, there are no large American V8 engine families that survive the 80's, at least outside of work vehicles. The public celebrates the Corvette returning to its roots with I6 power, and are amazed at its power (same as our V8 versions but with much less torque) in 1983/4. Mercedes becomes the single company known to keep going forward with large, torque-rich V8s. (side note: Jeremy Clarkson in the future will love Mercedes, and wonder why the US didn't keep going with large lazy V8s, since they fit our landscape so well and we have a history rich in V8 powered cars. He will never like America.) The Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Torino, and Plymouth Barracuda all return in the 90's, powered by 6 cylinder engines, to take on the Supra, 300ZX, and 3000GT. The US versions are just as fast and powerful, cost less, and have worse interiors. After the competition disappears due to be getting too expensive from competing with each other when the economy was good, they get the axe. Once the economy is back in the early 2000's, a come-back is attempted, but with much smaller, lighter cars. 2 seaters still sell well (because down-sizing was a success), and the Miata is the main target. The Solstice is America's best-selling performance car.

ttyymmnn > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
10/23/2014 at 08:36

I don't think I'm up for the game, but that clip was funny as shit. I've never watched the show.

Nibbles > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all
10/23/2014 at 08:41

In a world where the Ottoman Empire continued to thrive, what type of engine is the most popular with passenger cars in the 21st Century?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > jdrgoat - Ponticrack?
10/23/2014 at 13:48

I was thinking something quite similar. "Muscle" never becomes affordable, remaining a niche market as it slowly dies. The big three continue with the european influence introduced with the Corvette and Thunderbird. Instead of the Mustang we get the Capri. As a side note, the malaise era never really occurs, because the horsepower wars never happened so ridiculous emissions control is never necessitated. Because they don't experience such a huge downturn in performance in the 70s and use euro build quality standards, the big 3 are now much larger players in the international market, with american cars finally being taken seriously by the likes of mercedes and bmw.