Old news
The bit about horsepower and weight is OLD news.. Nothing we don't already, or SHOULD already know. One of the problems is that all the safety stuff and perks we are used to and enjoy, is what adds so much to the weight.
The more 'power' devices, means more weight, for example. Take the devices used for a roll-down window, and a power-window.. It may not be huge, but it's there.. multiply that times 4, and there's a few, to a few dozen pounds... Then think about similar things throughout the car.
Of course, it's those things, and some of the safety items that 'must' be on cars that form a cycle of increasing weight. The heavier the car is, the more (and heavier) safety items need to be installed. which makes the car weigh more, so on and so forth. Add in the devices for the belts, the airbags (especially as many as there are in some cars now) and that adds more. Now, I don't begrudge airbags. They do save lives. However, simply safer driving does that too.
(I'll end it here as I am rambling a bit now)
