Cost-Power Analysis of Popular Coupes (2006 and 2012)

(Note that the this article was originally written in 2006, but new data has been collected to reflect 2012 and to include a few hatchbacks and roadsters. It's interesting to note that cars have grown in cost per pounds per horsepower. In this economy, I'd have expected that you'd get more power and less weight for your dollar.)

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As the driver of a Mustang GT, I frequently find myself in discussions on the relative performance of different vehicles. Owners of high-end sports cars, like the Corvette, are quick to point out that they have half again as much horsepower as I do, and can beat me on the track at any time. I am just as quick to respond that my Mustang is still faster than nearly every other car on the road, and only cost me half as much.

To put an end to the argument once and for all, I came up with a simple way to quantify the relative value of a vehicle. I realized that raw horsepower becomes more necessary, the more car you have to drag around — that is, it is important to know how many pounds of car each horsepower is moving. The fewer pounds per horsepower, the quicker you'll go. The other measure is price. Clearly, the goal is to have the fewest pounds per horsepower at the lowest price.

To that end, I have collected the stats from a number of popular 2006 coupes, and now a number of models current in 2012 as well, and assembled them in the table below. The table is initially sorted by a value I refer to as "Cost", which represents the number of thousands of dollars in price times the pounds per horsepower. A lower cost represents the best value, and the new GTO topped the list in 2006. In 2012, the V6 Mustang is the new winner — not much of a surprise when you consider that it has 45 horsepower more than my old GT at the same weight and a lower price.

A higher cost indicates a sorely overpriced car, and as one might expect, the luxury brands have the highest cost for performance using these metrics.

You can sort the data in the table below by clicking on the column headers.

Show 2006 | 2012 | all

Table: Cost-Power Analysis of Popular Coupes
Source: www.edmunds.com, Feb 18, 2006 and Apr 9, 2012