When buying a new car or truck, gasoline economy was a key factor for at least one-third of American car buyers. With the amount of people now very concerned with global warming, pollution and dependency 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 became a car that was able to get 75 miles per gallon, weighed about 1000 pounds, plus looked like the Geo Metro. The automobile had a 3-cylinder engine, however was forgotten when it needed 200 pounds of reinforcement to be added to comply with America’s safety laws.
It really is stunning that GM had this car built and discontinued, but they had other prototypes that ended the same way. These types of automobiles include the GM Lean-Machine in 1982 at 80 MPG, as well as the GM Ultralite which got 100 MPG. In 1992 Honda appeared to be reaching 50 miles per gallon with the Civic VX, and at the same time General Motors had vehicles behind the scenes getting 100 MPG, though selling the public cars that were getting 20 MPG. Since cars have already been built that get 100 miles per gallon, then why are they not being sold to the general public?
What makes standard vehicles sold in the US, while at the same time, the same suppliers are selling different vehicles far away in other countries? For quite some time vehicles that get over 70 miles per gallon have been purchased in Japan and Europe. The Lupo, a Volkswagen, is a perfect example of a car that gets 78 MPG, but has never been sold in the US. Honda introduced to the US market in 2007, a car called the Fit, but known as the Jazz in other parts of the world. The Jazz in Japan has ways to boost fuel economy and a smaller engine, but for the US, the Fit doesn’t even have a smaller engine as an option.
The automotive companies tell Americans that they love big cars, and that is what they want to produce big cars. Needless to say they generate big money on SUVs, and practically nothing on a small two-person commuter. Commercials have convinced the citizens of the US that Tanks on Wheels are an absolute must to have. The fact that options have never been offered shows where the big companies have their interests. GM could currently have been in the leading position with fuel-efficient vehicles, but they elected, rather, to champion SUVs. Americans weren’t denied merely by GM, but also by all of those other manufacturers who have developed fuel-efficient cars.
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. Consider how many people who were never given the choice would have been thrilled to have a car that was fuel-efficient? Might it be time to recover those dumped designs and, again, start building those vehicles that were once built a long time ago?
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