Energy economy was regarded as a significant factor in their choice of a new car by a minimum of 1/3 of buyers in America. Because of the preoccupation today with air pollution, global warming and America’s dependence on overseas sources of oil, it’s actually shocking to learn that as long ago as 1992 a car that got 100 miles to the gallon was built by General Motors. There was also a car that looked a lot like the Geo Metro and weighed 1000 pounds, which boasted 75 miles per gallon gas mileage. Balanced growth of the vehicle, the engine that had 3 cylinders, was dropped because, in order to meet American safety principles, it had to be reinforced which added 200 pounds to its weight.
This is in no way the only protype designed by GM which ended up on the scrapheap. A few of these were the 1982 GM Lean Machine which performed 80 miles per gallon, and the GM Ultralite which made 100 mpg. As soon as Honda in 1992 attained 50 mpg with the Civic VX, GM was promoting cars that got 20 mpg, while in the background they had vehicles capable of 100 mpg. Surely this begs the question as to why these cars that are capable of 100 mpg are not available to the public.
Another puzzling thing is that many companies, while selling fuel-eficient vehicles in foreign countries, are selling traditional gas guzzlers in the US. Automobiles that achieve more than 70 mpg have been purchased in Europe and Japan for several years. For example, the Volswagen Lupo has never been sold in the US – this is a car that gets 78 mpg. In 2007, Honda in the US launched the FIT, elsewhere known as the Jazz. Throughout Japan the Jazz designs include one with a scaled-down engine, plus there are ways to improve fuel consumption, but with the Fit in the US not even the option of a smaller engine is offered.
Auto manufacturers in the usa explain to their public that they create big autos because they, the public, love big autos. It really is evident that manufacturers don’t earn a lot of money selling a small 2-person commuter vehicle, but they certainly do selling big SUVs. A Tank on Wheels may be the thing to get – that’s the concept that the commercials beguile the American public with. Fuel-saving alternatives from the giant companies are uncommon, so it’s pretty easy to deduce where their preferences lay. Instead of being synonymous with SUVs, GM today could have been known as a leader in fuel-economic vehicles. Many other manufacturers have also developed fuel-efficient cars, but they’ve all done the same as GM by not offering them to Americans.
Despite global warming and the incredible pollution of the world environment, US car makers have yet to react positively and at least give Americans the option of a fuel-efficient car. The question comes up: how many Americans could have appreciated the option of obtaining a car with good gas mileage but weren’t ever offered it? Perhaps the time has come to revive building those cars that were developed only to be abandoned all those years ago.
Discover jaguar wheels.
