They said it couldn't be done. Now they're proving themselves wrong.RTWT.
For years, auto executives—especially those from Detroit—insisted it wasn't possible to build high-mileage cars at reasonable prices that Americans would want to drive. Thrifty drivers were stuck with weezy econoboxes like the Ford Escort or Chevy Cavalier, designed not to delight drivers but to raise the automakers' fleetwide fuel economy, assuage regulators, and compensate for gas-guzzling SUVs. Early hybrids from Toyota and Honda upped the ante, with mpg in the 40s and 50s, but their high mileage required tradeoffs that produced a mediocre driving experience, at best.
But over the last few years, automakers have kicked their engineering departments into high gear, and they're starting to turn out some truly fun cars that get eye-popping mileage. It's not happening by accident. New gas-mileage requirements passed by both the Bush and Obama administrations are forcing automakers to either downsize their cars or come up with technology that will dramatically boost mileage. The carmakers are doing both. Most of them now build hybrids, which J.D. Power estimates will comprise a sizeable 8.6 percent of the market by 2015. And many automakers will soon be rolling out electric vehicles that can be charged more cheaply from a receptacle at home. But other types of technology are pushing mileage higher for traditional gas-powered engines, with less complexity than a hybrid or electric, lower costs, and practically no driving tradeoffs. Here are some of the vehicles proving that cars can be cool and thrifty at the same time ...
Honda Accord makes the list (my wife and I both drive Hondas, but not this particular model).
2 comments:
Silly me for asking, "Where does all that power come from for charging these nice little electric cars?" NOTE: We had them where I used to work and they were a real problem given the place was a 100 square miles.
Given that the current administration wants to raise energy costs wont that raise the cost of ownership considerably?
It will be interesting to see the brown outs caused by warm weather and all of these electric cars charging overnight. Also interestingly, where will all those storage batteries be discarded when they fail and have to be replaced, get destroyed on the highways and byways in a collision, or the environmentally conscious person replaces that car?
I still remain unimpressed with the gas mileage bragged about by the various auto makers. I remember back in the mid-80s when Hyundai first came onto the American market. It had the highest EPA of any car then -- 47 mph on the highway!
A friend is so happy about the 41 mpg she gets with her two-seater SmartCar, yet my Hyundai then was a four-door sedan ... and nicely priced to boot!
So, what is advertised today as great mileage makes me yawn.
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