Journal Corporate Troll's Journal: A race to use less gas in the long haul 7
A race to use less gas in the long haul
"In the 1970s, '80s and '90s, carmakers all offered super-high-efficiency cars," says Eric Noble, president of the Car Lab, an auto industry research and consulting group. "Now that consumers are clamoring for them, those cars are pretty much all gone."
With demand for efficiency surging, carmakers are racing to improve their lineups. General Motors Corp., which currently doesn't have any cars that top 30 mpg combined, said last month that it would spend $500 million to produce a new compact car for 2011, the Cruze, that would reach 45 mpg on the highway. That's about 13 mpg below the rating for its most fuel-efficient Geo Metro 14 years ago.
I'm laughing..... However, I to take offense on one phrase in the article: "Tarman's love affair with a slow, undersized Civic shows the tremendous effect soaring gas prices ".... Undersized for what, exactly? For him commuting along to his work?!? WTF?!? A Honda Civic is often used as a family car here when the kids are still small. Get some perspective, mmmmkay?
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Except, that if you had read the article, that's covered. Still 6mpg better than modern cars. I quote: (Last year, the government adjusted the way it calculated fuel economy, but even under the new rating system, the Geo beats the Cruze by 6 mpg.)
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Well, there is more to it. They seem to talk about a specific model XVi or so, and do notice that the guys covered use the basic gas saving techniques (not the hypermiler techniques that are actually dangerous and often illegal). With my TT, I go from about 24mpg to 30mpg by driving reasonably. (110kmh highway, no sudden acceleration, coast - while in gear -, no sudden brakes, good maintenance, etc....) Since the metro of your nephew an old car, I can also imagine it had been maintained like crap the la
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Undersized for what, exactly?
For passing oversized vehicles with even more oversized engines who don't want to let you past.
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Minivans (people movers), full size sedans (Euro Accord is on the small side of 'standard' etc.
You also have to realize we as a whole drive a whole lot more here in the US. I solved the problem by having my commuter car (2005 Honda Civic base model) my family car (2007 Honda Odyssey EX) for moving around the 5 of us and my fun car, (2005 V8 Hemi-powered Dodge Magnum RT - similar to the European Chrysler 300C Touring).
The Civic is fine when its just me, and we drove to Knoxville, TN and back in her old Civi