2008 Accord looks great

Someone should calculate the amount of HP needed for safety as opposed to the amount of HP available, (see above) then find out how much fuel savings would amount to over say a years time. It appears cars have too much HP and waste too much fuel because of it, ( drivers tend to like the feel of acceleration for example). Can we do better?

You can't legislate common sense. Too many fools out there who would deliberately break that law, just like they ignore all the current ones, just to get to the next red light faster than you.

I WANT to have more power than I really need - not to use every day, since I have to pay the gasoline bills. For when I see one of the fools above coming at me engrossed in an animated conversation on his cell while driving in the curb parking lane to pass traffic driving at (or slightly above) the speed limit - or worse, texting while driving, and not even looking up... I want to mash the pedal and get the heck out of the way long before he gets where I am.

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I guess that depends on one's definition of "better."

Even if "better" means balancing fuel economy and performance, then everyone buying a car has to agree on how much performance is "enough." Someone living in the flat Midwest would probably be satisfied with less performance than someone who lives in a mountainous area. ;-)

Better for me would be a diesel engine with more torque and not horsepower. And since diesel have better fuel economy, make it RWD or AWD, perhaps on a Solara Convertible.

I think we will start to see more diesel engines, particularly on European brands that have already developed diesels.

I think the American public's last widespread experience with passenger car diesels were GM vehicles that were unfortunately not very durable. Once people accept that smaller diesels can be efficient, clean, and durable enough to justify the premium cost, they may start to sell in larger numbers.

• Mazda Speed 3 263Hp

Does anyone else find the numbers a bit odd?

Now that you mention it, Mitsubishi Lancer with that level of horsepower is only available on the Evolution models and are all rally inspired AWD, and not FWD.

premium cost and higher cost of diesel fuel. In other countries, I believe diesel is more affordable than regular unleaded.

The Altima has more power than the Maxima? The 9-3 has more power than the 9-5?