Earlier today, I wrote about the new Volkswagen that can achieve 282 miles per gallon of fuel. It really is astounding, but then it is not very practical for many. Large families, people who need to carry things, and cross-country travelers will all find the car doesn’t meet their needs.

I have been looking around to see what is going on in several areas, so that when I get a new vehicle in a few months I will be able to get one that will do the job, but not cost at the pump or at the end of the month when the loan payment comes due.

I stumbled on an article that shows exactly what causes so many problems. The article is short, so I’ll simply include it here -

Why Can’t Our Cars Get Better Mileage?

One reason is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underestimates the price of gas

In April, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation proposed new CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards that would increase the average efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks by 4.5 percent per year from 2011 to 2015. A lot of people wondered why the federal government wasn’t aiming higher.

One reason became clear when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the new standards last week. Buried in the 414-page report is a “sensitivity analysis” of the economic costs and benefits that would result from raising fuel economy standards. For this analysis, NHTSA relied on a “high-case” gasoline price of $3.37 per gallon for the years 2011-2015, and a “low-case” scenario of $2.04 per gallon. These prices came from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s “Annual Energy Outlook 2008 Early Release.”

By underestimating gas prices, NHTSA also underestimated consumer demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. And that is one of the factors that led the agency to conclude that it would not be feasible to raise CAFE standards to more than 35.7 mpg for passenger cars by 2015, and 28.6 mpg for light trucks.

NHTSA says it will reconsider its analysis if the Energy Information Administration raises its estimates. For now, though, the price at the pump doesn’t seem to matter.

Well, isn’t that special.

First, it is clear that we have idiots in this division of the government – good thing they aren’t in charge of anything important.

Beyond that, I think the premise that we should blame these idiots for anything other than gross stupidity is wrong.

Why should we expect the government to choose for us what we will accept as good fuel economy? There is no reason why anyone would have to buy a car that doesn’t get better mileage. If the selection at one dealership is not efficient enough, then it should be on to the next, and so on. When the Hummers, Explorers, and Suburbans are left on the lot at the end of the year, the car companies will get the idea.

Another problem is that the manufacturers aren’t doing the best job of building engines that get better mileage. As an example, a certain aftermarket manufacturer, Edelbrock, known for its performance parts for years, is offering a 555 cubic inch engine that can be slapped into a mid-70s Camaro, and driven gingerly, can achieve 25 miles per gallon. This is a 500 horsepower engine, in a 3400 pound car, designed to get good mileage when the owner isn’t shredding the tires, but that, is another story.

If those kind of results can be achieved with such a large engine, and heavy car, why can’t we have lots of 50-60 mile per gallon cars on the road today? Because we, as a nation were complacent.

It’s time to act, and quit being complacent.  Maybe it will take a few thousand of those Volkswagens to be sold, and larger, less efficient cars stay on the dealer’s lot – but if enough don’t accept the less-than-wonderful offerings from all the also complacent manufacturers, things will get better.

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Technorati Tags: CAFE standards - EIA - Edelbrock - high performance - economy - efficiency