This editorial is in today’s New York Times. Time, Finally, for Real Fuel Economy.
The truck I use the most gets 25 mpg, pretty good, but it replaced one that got 30 mpg (I rolled that one). When I looked for a new truck, a 30 mpg was no longer made.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He has been a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and also its President. For many years he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Back in 1995, I had a Honda Civic VX. The VX was a special engine that used Lean Burn technology. For the first 6 or so years of its life it regularly got 49mpg. This was 13 years ago. Moving to today, even the Civic HYBRID doesn’t get that kind of fuel economy. What happened to the technology in the last 13 years? Did it just disappear? Seems like every year, the MPG for most models decreases.
It doesn’t make any sense that today we can’t buy a purely combustion engine on a small vehicle that gets over 40mpg, but I haven’t found one yet. Even hybrids aren’t reaching the fuel economy that I was getting 13 years ago!
An increase in fuel efficiency standards to 35 mpg is a joke. This tepid increase will be canceled out with an increase in population which means more vehicles.
Honda put out the Insight in 2000, a hybrid, which gets 60-70 mpg. the run only lasted 6 years purpotedly because of low sales. 1 yr ago you could find a few for sale. try to find one today. If Honda brought them back they could not keep them on the lot. I wonder why they don’t
Check out these mini-trucks…..”www.tomsminitrucks.com”
Two of my neighbors just purchased them and think they’re great. 50 mpg…4 wh dr…lots of options. They come over here used.
We have several of those mini trucks in the area that I live in Montana and the people that own them, rave about them, great little trucks..