Experiment conducted by--Sir Keith Byam

Sir Dylan Maida

For economic, environmental and educational purposes ;)

We discovered facts that can make the sale of a car a good or bad deal

Throughout this project many websites were use for information regarding the cars in the study.

This project is connection to chemistry because it relates to organic chemistry and saving fuel.

This research project is important because it can help middle class people choose a car that suits their pockets and that will get the jobs done. Also it can get the people invest money into companies that are bankrupt. Sorry GM (General Motors)

The cars used in the study were selected because in order for the results to be accurate, all variables that can lower/rise the mpg of a car have to be accounted for. (For name of cars check Table 1)

 Mid size Sedans were the chosen cars for this because there were more cars to choose from and different companies to choose from.

 The type of driveline chosen for this project was 2 wheel drive. 2wheel drive because in New York 2WD is more common and is more affordable for middle class people. The amount of horsepower can affect the cars mpg greatly because more power is being use and more money people will have to pay. The year select for the make of the cars was 2009. 2009 was selected because it is the current model. The engine of course can make a big impact on the cars MPG. The engine chosen in this project was 4 cylinder engines in automatic settings.

 To obtain the data (weight of the cars, MPG) call and research the manufactures of the car for this information (For the complete list of manufactures and sources use in project check Table 2)

 Create a Table as seen in Table 3 with a list of the Cars used; curb weight and Mpg, to compare the curb weight to the Mpg. In our results we concluded that the weight of a car doesn’t affect its mpg. (A trend found in our results is that 28 is a common highway mpg estimate)

 

Model of Car Curb Weight (lbs) City Highway

2009 Ford Fusion V6 SE 3,280 22 31

2009 Hyundai Sonata GLS V6 3,292 19 29

2009 Kia Optima EX V6 3,294 20 28

2009 Mercury Milan V6 3,324 18 27

2009 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE 3,358 19 27

2009 Pontiac G6 GT Sedan 3,457 22 30

2009 Toyota Camry LE V6 6-Spd AT 3,461 22 33

2009 Toyota Avalon XL 3,490 19 28

2009 Buick LaCrosse CX 3,495 17 28

2009 Mazda MAZDA6 s Sports Sedan Sport 3,547 17 25

2009 Nissan Maxima S 3,557 19 26

2009 Honda Accord Sedan EX V-6 5-Spd AT 3,567 19 29

2009 Saturn AURA XR V6 Sedan 3,613 22 33

2009 Mitsubishi Galant Sport V6 3,642 16 25

2009 Ford Taurus SE FWD 3,639 18 28

2009 Chevrolet Impala LTZ 3,649 17 28

2009 Dodge Charger SE 3,739 18 26

2009 Mercury Sable Base 3,741 18 28

2009 Toyota Venza 4X2 V6 3,870 21 29

2009 Pontiac G8 Sedan 3,885 17 25

ORGANIZED AND VERY BUSINESS-LIKE TABLE.

BEAUTIFUL AND CLEAR GRAPH FOR VISUAL LEARNERS

Based on the graph here are some common trends and patterns

The common city mpg is 17. Both the 2009 Pontiac G8 Sedan (3,885) and the 2009 Buick LaCrosse CX (3,495) have the same city mpg. (Almost 400pounds apart)

The 2009 Saturn AURA XR V6 Sedan(3,613) has the best mpg but is much heavier when compared to the 2009 Ford Fusion V6 SE (3,280).

Both the 2009 Saturn AURA XR V6 Sedan(3,613) and the 2009 Toyota Camry LE V6 6-Spd AT (3,461) have the same mpg. (22/33).

Most of the GM cars used in this project were heavy.

After looking through many websites and going over data we could conclude that the weight of a car does affect the miles per gallon. There are some cars which did weight more then some other cars but had a higher mpg.

Example: The 2009 Toyota Venza 4X2 V6 which weighs 3,870 has a mpg of 21/29 whereas the 2009 Mercury Milan V6 which weighs 3,324 only has a mpg of 18/27.

If done again trying different models of cars would be a great project and very informative.