Oct 20 2008

MPG: Back to the Future?

The Environmental Protection Agency this month released its fuel efficiency rankings for model year 2009 vehicles--and not surprisingly, the Toyota Prius topped the list of gas misers with 48 miles per gallon (mpg) in city driving and 45 mpg on the highway.

Aside from the Honda Civic Hybrid at 40/45 mpg, mileage ratings dropped quickly into the 30s and below. The Jeep Grand Cherokee 4WD earned a booby prizes with a rating of only 11/14 mpg, not much better than a tank.

But while the world rightly applauds the innovation and performance of the Prius, how quickly we forget some car models going back more than a decade that achieved equal or better fuel efficiency, only to be sidelined by cheap gas prices and customer demand for faster acceleration and roomier interiors.

The 3-cylinder Geo Metro XFI, for example, earned stunning ratings of 53/58 mpg, and the much peppier Honda Civic VX managed 48/55 mpg in 1992. The rating system has changed a bit since then, and safety standards have improved, but those models apparently still sell well on eBay thanks to their oustanding fuel efficiency.

Of course, none of these models holds a candle to a single-passenger vehicle designed at the University of British Columbia, which won the annual SAE competition in 2006 with a record 3,145 miles per gallon!

 

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

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Efficiency

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  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
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  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
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  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
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