Fuel economy was regarded as a significant factor in their choice of a new car by a minimum of 1/3 of buyers in America. With so many people now very concerned about global warming, pollution and dependence on foreign oil, you might be surprised to know that in 1992 General Motors built a car that actually got 100 miles per gallon. The GM TPC was a car that was able to get 75 miles per gallon, weighed about 1000 pounds, and looked like the Geo Metro. The vehicle had a 3-cylinder engine, but was abandoned when it needed 200 pounds of reinforcement to be added to comply with America's safety laws.
It may be shocking that GM had this car built and abandoned, but they had other prototypes that ended the same way. The GM Lean Machine of 1982, which could get 80 mpg, and the GM Ultralite which achieved a fabulous 100 mpg, were two of these vehicles. In 1992 Honda was achieving 50 miles per gallon with the Civic VX, and at the same time General Motors had vehicles behind the scenes getting 100 MPG, while selling the public cars that were getting 20 MPG. If cars that were capable of doing 100 miles per gallon had already been developed way back then, why is it that such cars are not being sold today?
It's a strange phenomenon that some companies sell traditional vehicles in the US, but sell different, more efficient cars in other countries. Vehicles that achieve more than 70 mpg have been sold in Europe and Japan for a number of years. The Lupo, a Volkswagen, is a perfect example of a car that gets 78 MPG, but has never been sold in the US. In 2007, Honda in the US launched the FIT, elsewhere known as the Jazz. In Japan the Jazz models include one with a smaller 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.
The auto manufacturers tell Americans that they love big cars, and that is what they want to make big cars. Building a small commuter type vehicle doesn't make the manfacturer big money, unlike with a large SUV. Commercials have convinced the citizens of the US that Tanks on Wheels are an absolute must to have. Fuel-saving options from the big companies are uncommon, so it's pretty easy to deduce where their interests lay. The leader in fuel economy could have been General Motors, but they choose to be the leader in SUVs instead. Several other manufacturers in addition have developed fuel-efficient cars, but they've all practiced the same as GM by not offering them to Americans.
American auto makers haven't ever given the US people an opportunity to acquire a fuel-efficient car, despite the world having beem embroiled in oil wars and being severely polluted. The question comes up: how many Americans would've been thankful for the option of acquiring a car with good gas mileage but weren't ever offered it? Can it be time to get access to those abandoned designs and, again, start building those vehicles that were once built a long time ago?
Louis V. Greene writes about vehicle along with Mother of the Bride Speeches. To know more about Mother of the Bride Wedding Speech click here.
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