AutoblogGreen

Foreign cars and u.s domestic cars are differents
in fuel economy basically because the driving habits of u.s car driver and europe car drivers
are really different. In europe there is a real
performance driving style that add-on to light
high performance small engine that rev high with
manual shifter. In u.s it's more bigger car with automatic transmission that are driving slow, it take a bigger engine with more torque to compensate.
u.s drivers cannot handle small high revving engine
with manual transmission. All in all gasoline have the same efficiency in both engine so it's by adopting water as a source of energy that will solve all the problem except what car manufacturer
will build a light car with super handling incluing braking and cornering and good seating.
I'll see a porsche 911 with all the mechanics in the rear and the hood become the storage and with 4 seats, then i'll buy. It's the best configuration
for practicality and performance.

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When the price of gasoline reaches the magical threshold of scaring americans away from gas guzzlers (especially SUVs), diesels will be everywhere in the US. Sure, a 4 cyl turbodiesel manual is better for adequate cruising speed and pick up with great fuel economy ( I have rented Mazda 6 turbodiesel and Toyota Rav4 turbo diesel in Europe) but there will be 6 cylinder Turbo diesel automatics that still get better fuel economy than we have today. As soon as the Honda accord tdi is for sale here I will trade my present new Accord.

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I wonder if Mr. Lee felt the same way back when gas was $2 a gallon and people were buying light trucks left and right - making his selling of them very lucrative. Then again, Mr. Lee may genuinely care about selling efficient vehicles.

I see the difference between the domestic and foreign automakers going back to post-WWII economies in the major areas of auto production. In the US, the economy boomed, and Americans were looking for ways to spend their ample cash. Bigger was better, and there was no need for conservation.

In Europe and Japan, the countries had been devastated and the population needed cheap, efficient transportation. Out of that need grew industries that produced small cars with small engines. Italy got back on wheels via the Vespa! Talk about efficient. Throw in shorter driving distances and you have built in efficiency.

American car companies, and Americans, didn't have to sacrifice in the the post war era until the 70s gas crisis. They gained ground in the 80s, but fell back into their old ways during the boom time of the 90s. By then tradition and regulation probably had forged the mold for the current crisis.

It's not all one-sided though. Just look at the mileage numbers of Mercedes Benz or Japanese SUVs and you'll see that American cars aren't the only ones that aren't efficient. For Honda, however, the Pilot and Ridgeline are not their core business. Can the same be said for Ford and GM?

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The way I see it is he is having long-run surpluses of gas guzzlers and selling tons of fuel misers with very short times on the lot. When this happens as a dealer, you'd rather the manufacturer move in the direction of the faster sellers. If the manufacturer drags their feet, the dealer can't sell product at optimum efficiency (so profits drag). Regardless of vehicle type, he sees that buyers want fuel efficiency. If the manufacturer builds all vehicles with higher MPG, he won't have any problem selling all his stock every month (and not having to sell a ton of dust collecting gas guzzlers below cost at the end of the year just to get them off the lot).

The market is speaking. Gas guzzlers have become an overall money loser (except for the 10% that are sold to people actually needing a gas guzzler and are willing to pay $50,000 for a tow vehicle) and small cars and hybrids have become a profit maker (hybrids are finally becoming cheap enough to manufacture that they are no longer a loss-leader).

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I've bought 1 new Ford and 4 new GM products. I used to be a huge fan of all things GM. I've since complained to GM for their lousy fuel economy more than once. I've also written them directly and told them my next car likely be a hybrid, will have a combined EPA estimate of more than 45 mpg, and if available from anyone, it would be a battery electric vehicle. I went on to say that if they couldn't provide it, I'd buy one from someone else. I intend to vote with my checkbook.

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