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Weekend


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June 13, 2003

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. How steep a hill could a car climb? Ten degrees? Twenty? Don't try this in the neighborhood, but could a car go straight up a vertical wall? Yes, 90 degrees?!

    A. Ten degrees doesn't sound like much but is actually a pretty steep incline. Still, a car could do this fairly easily. The power train of a typical passenger car can develop torque equivalent to about half the vehicle's weight, says University of Michigan professor of automotive engineering Thomas D. Gillespie. So most cars could ascend a slope of up to 30 degrees, or grade of 58 percent.


     
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