Volkswagen is Moving in the Right Direction
April 18, 2007 at 2:19 pm 1 comment
VW has announced the revival of their 200mpg car project. Five years ago the company had produced a car that got 222mpg on an 8.5 horsepower engine. 8.5 horsepower isn’t practical for todays driving, but the company believes the time is right to create a car that can reach those numbers and still be usable at an entry level price. You can read more at Jalopnik.
This is in pretty sharp contrast to the 2009 Dodge Challenger with a 425 hp Hemi Engine. Who will be able to afford to drive this car at $4 dollar a gallon gas? Or a Ford F350 for that matter?
I do realize the entry level Challenger will come with a six cylinder engine…But I am saying, “so what”. Can’t we have horsepower and mpg too? The Mazdaspeed 3 gets 263 hourses out of a 4 cylinder. I bet with a little adjustment it could get 30 mpg (it is 20/28 right now)?
Also, I expected more improvement?
Here is a chart from an article in MSN that shows our fuel economy per model has changed little in the last 15 years:
15-Year Flashback, Same Model Comparison [city/hwy]
Vehicle | 1992 | 2007 | Difference |
Honda Civic | 42 / 48 | 30 / 40 | -12 / -8 |
Honda Accord | 24 / 30 | 26 / 34 | +2 / +4 |
Nissan Sentra | 29 / 39 | 29 / 36 | 0 / -3 |
Toyota Corolla | 31 / 35 | 32 / 41 | +1 / +6 |
Toyota Camry | 22 / 29 | 24 / 34 | +2 / +5 |
Chevrolet Corvette | 17 / 25 | 18 / 28 | +1 / +3 |
Ford Explorer 4WD | 15 / 19 | 15 / 20 | 0 / +1 |
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1.
inkoluv | April 19, 2007 at 7:47 pm
good post