Well done TW, although I disagree with your take on GM's throttle body injection was about fooling the public.
A carburetor is nothing more than a barely controlled leak and expensive to make with all those little bits and pieces. With the advent of electronic controls made possible by the oxygen sensor it is much cheaper to build a throttle body injection unit that gives you much more control over the fuel flow especially on deceleration where a carb keeps feeding fuel as long as there is air flow.
The real reason they went to throttle body was to save the expense of retooling the intake manifolds, the rest of the plumbing and electronics for port injection. It was all about money.
Even when port injection became standard it was batch with sequential a ways down the road.
Putting a "fuel injection" sticker on the fender is a marketing deal. If they didn't inflate the tires to save air, marketing would say " Now, with new flat tires". Those people don't have a clue.
Engines and motors do work by transforming potential energy into torque.
Gasoline engines produce maximum torque at relatively high RPM.
Diesels engines at relatively low RPM and motors(electric) at no RPM.
Diesels and motors also produce more torque for the potential energy used.
Big trucks use up to 27 forward gears to keep the diesels running at the RPM where the maximum torque is produced for maximum efficiency. It's still not great efficiency but they're doing the best they can with what they got.
Motors have the advantage of maximum torque where it is needed most, which is the initial movement from rest, plus the ability increase the torque by feeding it more energy(electricity) with changing load.
This is why motors have always been the best solution for propulsion but unlike locomotives and ships, automobiles have not been big enough to carry means to supply the power for the motor(s). As generating equipment became more efficient the possibility of onboard generation became a reality. Of course California's zero emission mandate rules out hybrids, but until they make some great advances in battery technology the only thing left is hybrids, so CA better get real.
Hybrids provide their biggest advantage in urban stop and go, where the fossil fuel engine shuts off at stops and the regenerative braking recoups some loss. Driving down the expressway at a steady 50/60 mph won't give the hybrid nearly as much advantage over a fossil fuel engine and certainly not enough to offset the expense of buying and maintenance. That's comparing one model like the Honda with and without hybrid technology.
Oh, and "Performance" is exactly that. What she'll do. Doesn't matter how or why.....it's simply what she'll do. "High Performance" means she's faster. Again, it doesn't matter how or why..."High Performance" means she's faster.
