What happened to fuel economy for the last 30+ years...

Yes, you are right on the money.

Here we go:

Back in the fall of 1993 I purchased a Honda Civic VX, this is the high MPG model that was rarely seen; I am sure people in this forum will know what type of model I am talking about.

I recall obtaining over 50 MPG average mileage. Yes it only weighed 2,000 lbs, had a 5-speed manual transmission, no ac or power sterring, and a trip from Seaside Oregon to Los Angeles CA netted us 58 MPG round trip with 2 adults and two young teens on board with all the luggage that goes with a trip like that.

So, where did we go from there? SUV's, bigger heavier mammoths, more horsepower. Also emission / goverment controls etc.

In Europe diesel cars are king. Many, many, too choose from but not here in the U.S.

Lets take a 2010 Audi A-3 1.6 TDI.

Here is a car that will honestly get 55 - 60 mpg (US).

No, No, No, you can not buy this car model in the United States.

For some reason the U.S. does not import and/or have the technology to make efficient cars in the U.S.

OK the Ford Fusion you may say. Take a good look at where its made, yes Mexico.


Remember when gas was almost $5.00 a gallon, how many Honda Civic VX's could a dealer have sold?

Will we ever see $5.00 a gallon gas again? Will the sun come up tomorrow?

alfon

 

What happened was that representatives from California and other air heads insisted on putting air pollution ahead of gas economy.
Can you spell "BOZO?"

 

Ronald Reagan ?

 

Todays typical vehicle weights twice as much as your 1980 Honda Civic. 2010 has much stricter requirements on safety, emissions... and comfort.

I had a 1988 Honda CRX HF. It weights just a hair over 1800lbs and if i remember correctly i was getting upwards of 50mpg. My CBR600RR weighed around 400lbs, revs to 16,000rpms, and is capable of a 1/4mi at around 10.8 seconds got an average of 43-44mpg.

Its all about weight my friend.

 

LOL... that one made me laugh.

 

First car: Peugeot, 30 mpg
Second: Mitsu Mirage, 30 mpg
Third: Honda Civic, 40 mpg
Fourth: 2G Prius, 60 mpg

MPGs are my personal results. I promised myself many, many years ago I would demand at least a 50% mpg improvement from a car purchase over my last one. I have come about as close as the market allowed. This is over a 35 year driving history, although public transport and bicycling have covered some of the years.

That was my car. My wife's history is a 25 mpg Subaru Impreza. Nowadays we share the Prius, and the Subaru is our back-up car/truck.

 

The charts on this page tell a tale:
page 2 - Add More Lightness - Technical Report - RoadandTrack.com

 

I've thought about this myself. I'm currently driving a 2010 Honda Fit that gets about the same fuel economy as the 1980's Toyota Tercel I learned how to drive on. That's depressing. But it is true, that Tercel had spartan almost non-existent safety features, no-airbags, anti-lock brakes, and it was a very light automobile. My Fit offers all the expected safety features and probably weighs considerably more.

In my lifetime I can't say we haven't had considerable advancement. As I was growing up I watched us go from the big American cars of the 60's, and 70's to Toyota's, Honda's and Volkswagens.

I was very young, but I remember the gas shortages of the 70's and my parents going out to look at what suddenly became a very popular automobile, The Volkswagen Rabbit. They ended up getting a Toyota Corolla station wagon but they looked in that direction because of the gas shortages. Before that? My dad basicly owned Mustangs, Thunderbirds and a really cool, sold way before I could drive it, Classic Corvette. So things have changed.

This site, The Prius, Insight and upcoming Leaf, Volt and other Hybrid options are proof of this reality.

I talk to younger people in my job. They don't bat an eye when talking about Electric Automobiles or Hybrids...the idea isn't particularly new or alien to them and that represents a change. A change that I think Toyota, Honda and others deserve kudos for helping foster.

Change happens at it's own pace, but basicly a generation before me, and even my generation it would of been ridiculous for a young person into automobiles to talk about Hypermiling, Battery Packs or efficiency and now that does happen. In my fathers era, it was cool to see how quickly and powerfully one could drag race from light to light...and that still happens...but at least the idea that fuel efficiency and hypermiling is also a way to gain satisfaction from driving exists.

I think we are on the verge of quite an evolution.

 

Here's another good comparison. Your fit is about the same dimensions and is 450 lb heavier than a 1981 Accord and the fit has 117hp compared to the Accords 80.

For another comparison,

Our 2010 Prius compared the 1983 Camry we had.

Nearly the same length and width, the Prius is 5 inches taller and 740 lbs heavier. The Camry had 90 hp and a 4 speed automatic transmission .

 

Read the executive summary at Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2009 | OTAQ | US EPA.

Minicars? I don't See No Stinking Minicars - Column - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver talks about the increase in power along w/size and weight bloat.

 

law suits happened. Back in the day car makers made simple cars. simple cars with no or little options, options like safety equipments and also cars with poor safety designs. Then people got injured and death happened. A light bulb went off, lets sue the car makers. Car makers said ohh crap we dont wanna get sued. Lets spend the R&D money on safer cars. While car makers designing safer cars no one thought about FE since gas in late 80s cost 65 cents a gallon. I remember 10 dollars filled the tank full on my 86 Toyota Pickup. Since no one sues the oil company, no one cared about low FE cars or the environment. It's not until now that we realize that our cheap cars of the past is affecting out planet. We gotta do something to save what we have for our children.

 

We most certainly do have the engineering technology to make efficient cars. The [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNGV"]PNGV[/ame] program proved that.

But Big Auto also has the 'marketing technology' to determine that you really don't want efficiency. Really. You may say you want it, and even think you want it, but they know better than you. They have figured out that you really want something bigger, flashier, taller, and more powerful to race away from the traffic lights faster than the other guy. So that is what they built for you.

What is with this handful of uppity consumers who think they know themselves better than the market researchers do?

 

Don't forget VP Dick Cheney's famous quote about 2002, "Conservation doesn't work"...

 

Diesel cars are "king" in Europe because contries have for many years been taxing gasoline over diesel. Sometimes up to 20% more in final price. When it comes to fill, savings psychologically override comfort and other perceptions.

Audi 1.6tdi averaging 55mpg? Honestly, only if you make long commutes in highway. And beware, VW and Audi belong to the same company, leaving not so much trust on a reliable machine as they used to sell back in the 80s.

Remember also the diesel fuel requirements needed to run a high efficiency diesel engine. I believe it has improved in US, but diesel there historically had always a low cetane number.

 

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but along with Weight, the Average Horse Power has gone up considerbly in cars..

The 68 VW Bug I drove had 55bhp and there is no way someone would buy a car with that...

The GREED for bhp....

If we could deal with 40bhp we could get a lot better MPG

Do we really need to do 180mph in the usa?

 

I suspect that two factors were important in the demise of mileage:

1) Cheap, abundant gasoline. Until recently, gasoline prices have dropped in terms of real dollars. Without fuel shortages or high prices, most consumers don't give a red rat's nice person about mileage.

2) The SUV loophole. Congress wrote automobile safety and mileage laws with an exemption for larger vehicles. The exemption was intended for farm trucks and small commercial vehicles, but it was exploited by automobile manufacturers for a new class of consumer vehicle: The SUV. Because of this loophole, SUVs provided more space, power, and luxury for the same price as smaller cars. This trend has created consumer expectations that make it hard to sell small, efficient automobiles. Modern families would find it unthinkable to cram into the tiny cars we used to drive.

Tom

 

If I recall correctly a former GM exec in Who Killed The Electric Car said that market researchers told them that people wanted efficient cars but they didn't believe them since they were happy to buy big, inefficient boxes.

 

I had a 2003 Honda Civic HX with lean burn technology, I remember getting 46mpg's at one point. It was EPA rated @ 30+ city and 44 highway. 2500lbs and 117hp.

 

Look at the Honda CRV & the Toyota Rav4. Both started out as small efficient alternatives to a SUV. Some of us live where we need 4 wheel drive part of the year.

But over 5+ years they have grown in size, hp, weight and price.
What is the affordable, efficient 4 wheel alternative now?