The hunt for more horsepower is a tale as old as time

Dear Car Talk:

My question is not about the mechanics of a car, per se, but about the use of certain types of vehicles.

What is the actual purpose of so many new vehicles sold with outrageously high horsepower ratings, like 500 horsepower or more? Some are now in the 700-horsepower range.

Why? For what reason? Bragging rights? We all know that those high horsepower vehicles cannot even begin to use their potential legally on public roads. Are they being taken to a track? Are they hauling loads as heavy as a house?

Those horsepower ratings to me are so ridiculous that I find them humorous. Am I missing something here? — Paul

It’s as old as human history, Paul. Trying to compensate for an inadequacy elsewhere.

If I were writing a newspaper column during the Paleolithic Era, I have no doubt someone would write to me asking why some cavemen feel the need to have such enormous clubs. “They can hardly swing them!”

That same desire to stand out and signal that you’re “more powerful” or “better able to provide” has always played out in the car market. And, rather than try to fix this genetic human vulnerability, car companies said “Hey, I bet we can use this to sell more Dodge Chargers!”

So, you’re not missing anything, Paul. The vast majority of people who buy overpowered cars don’t go to the track. And there’s very little they can do with these cars on public roads, except show off for half a block. But on some level, they believe that driving a more powerful car makes them more powerful.

And don’t expect the horsepower race to slow down with the introduction of electric vehicles. When EVs first came out, they were seen as economical appliances. But the auto industry, which has 100 years of experience selling cars, figured out that it’s a lot easier to sell an EV if it’s not only cleaner and quieter but also faster. So now you’ve got the Lucid Air with 1,100 horsepower and a 1,000 horsepower Tesla Model S.

And I have to admit, it is kind of fun to step on it once, just to feel your lips peel back to your ears. To be fair to EVs, it’s much easier to make tons of power with an electric car. The motors are simpler, and the power delivery is far more direct and efficient.

It’s not like an internal combustion engine, where you have to suffer with 7 miles per gallon to carry the weight of a 700-horsepower engine around. The penalty you pay for power in an EV is much, much lower.

So, these “power wars” are going to be with us for the long haul, Paul. Fortunately, when our modern-day cavemen get lured over to EVs, at least they’ll be making less pollution and noise.