TTAC Family Feud: Technical Descriptions May Vary

I present to you the results of the little brouhaha that I started way back on 3 February. Despite assertions that I was “making a mountain out of a molehill,” I feel it is important. I like standardization because it makes life easier but I also recognize that on a site like this, with its mixture of news and opinion, standards may have to give way to flexible guidelines. Spike_in_Irvine commented, “There is always tension between saying what is right and saying what is commonly used,” and I agree. I personally like the use of “torques,” “ponies,” and Farago’s occasional many flourishes of French because it adds personality. But, I won’t let it get out of hand; and, I will ensure that a review or news item contains the proper terminology.

One hundred people answered the survey. Survey says . . .

Thirty-eight percent (the majority plurality) of respondents want us to use “lb/ft” and “hp” and several asked that we include the rpm at which peak torque and horsepower are generated. We will if that information is easily obtainable (and free of charge). To make it easier for our writers, I will handle converting “lb/ft” to “lb·ft”. Whether to include metric equivalents was divided at 56% yes and 44% no, though more than half of all respondents want that information displayed on mouse-over only. Several people want info boxes. I’d love to have them, too, but if you saw the code for this site or knew what it takes to get a widget approved and installed by the mothership, you’ll understand why this probably won’t happen.

Fuel economy raised a few heckles from the peanut gallery: more than a few want gallons per n miles. That’s not common usage in the States, but to make it easier for our foreign visitors, I will include a link to the official Department of Energy/Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy site (if available for reviewed vehicle) which helpfully provides that information along with other metrics, e.g., “Carbon Footprint,” “Air Pollution Score,” and “Annual Petroleum Consumption.” Strangely, the DOE/EPA site doesn’t include vehicle weight. If we can easily get that figure, we’ll include it so that power-to-weight ratios can be calculated.

Wrapping up, I thank all most of the people who commented. In fact, Robert and I were so surprised by the passionate/scathing/hyperbolic comments made in the original post that we created The Truth About Grammar. There aren’t many auto blogs that involve their readers in decisions like these, so feel special because TTAC is special. My mom told me so.