LexusLuver

Nissan and their VQ motors

240hp 3.0L Maximas
Next the 245hp 3.5L Altima
Then came the 240hp V6 Accords

Nissan deliberately waited for Toyota to rate the new 4.0L V6 Tacoma before rating their own Frontier.

funny business, I blame mostly Nissan.

mmarshall

Yes, that's true, but it doesn't change the point I was making.....you can get different acceleration times based on many different things.....even with the same vehicle and engine.

Hovever, as you point out, in THIS case, the 3.3L lost out to the 3.0L. That would not be out of the question if a few factors were taken into account....like the time of year the test was done ( summer heat and humidity saps a LOT of power ), the RX330 perhaps being a little heavier than the RX300, differences in transmission and final-grive gearing ( particularly if they were AWD versions ) and the testing driver's style. Many CR auto testers, for example, don't slam their vehicles around like the enthusiast magazines do. The guy testing the 2005 may have been slightly more conservative than the guy in the 1999.

This is why I think too much emphasis is put on 0-60 times and acceleration figures in general.

KrazyLexus

That is not true. The 4.0 VQ was annouced before Toyota annouced the hp on the Tacoma.

LexFather

What is amazing is the HP ratings for many of these common cars are more than exotics 20 years ago

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I didn't read all the posts before replying so I hope this point wasn't already made. The Americans commonly lied about the power of cars when I was a kid. Most of the time it was for the better. After the muscle car wars, there was a gas crises (yes, we're in another, always happens when republicans are in control), horsepower was drastically cut on most brands. GM would conservatively list the power as being lower than it really was to keep uncle sam off their backs. We knew the cars had more power by the way they ran. It was a good lie but still a lie. It sems to me the germans started this latest horsepower war. Benzes can be bought off the showroom floor with 500 hp and run smooth as a baby's bottom. The Asians have to keep up to sell cars. That's probably why there is a discrepancy. But a lie is a lie.