<VV> awl (where did this name come from anyway - oh I get it)

[NicolCS at aol.com]

<snip> Marketting. When trying to avoid gas guzzler taxes and the  
marketteers are 
demanding the highest possible MPG, it makes a difference.  <unsnip>
 
The thought is right, but it's not marketing that's driving it. In the  
mainstream, EPA compliance is not optional.  I was involved with the  process in my 
days at Nissan. I imagine all mfrs are in the same boat.   CAFE balancing was 
a difficult and strange process - but it was driven by  compliance issues, 
marketing wasn't really involved except for the bragging  rights to the 
"highest" f/e model.  A manufacturers "fleet" must average  27.5 mpg. Some models are 
on one side of the average, some on the other. At  Nissan, we had to sell 
dozens (sometimes hundreds) of Sentras (barely below  the 27.5 target to sell one 
Q45 which was waaay on the other side) In fact all  the Nissan product was 
worse than the average except the Sentra so we had to  push the Sentra to 
"unnatural" volumes though pricing and other ploys - very  costly and damaging to the 
company's image. It makes sense to equip the higher  end vehicles with 
synthetics just to reduce the pressure on the compliant models  (selling at a loss 
is very expensive).  The fact that there's a marketing  story is icing on the 
cake.  Here's a related factoid: The EPA f/e numbers  are generated by 
following a prescribed "course" on a dyno. Every car  accelerates at the same rate 
so... imagine the real world results for the V8  models if they are tested at the 
same acceleration as the wimpiest car sold in  the country.  The vehicle's 
weight is simulated by adding 25# discs to the  dyno wheels, thus the famous 25# 
weight class issue.  If you can shave a  couple of pounds and get into the 
next lower weight class, your epa numbers  improve dramatically (1 to 3 mpg) - 
with a huge CAFE balance improvement (read  more profitable V8 sales are 
possible) and a related marketing coup. To get into  lower weight classes, we had 
thin tread tires, light weight batteries in warm  regions, thinned floor mats or 
carpet, compact spares (the real reason for them)  and a dozen other little 
shaves just to achieve a lower weight class. In  this light, equipping the more 
consumptive vehicles with synthetics to improve  their CAFE results is a 
no-brainer AND their was actual benefit for the  consumer. (what a concept).
Craig Nicol