Fuel consumption - where did it all go wrong?
Discussion
Monday night and Ed from Wheeler Dealers is rebuilding a 1977 Honda Civic CVCC. We had one of those back in the day and it boasted around 40 - 45 mpg. The early 80's Austin Metro was not that different and I seem to recall the Mk2 Fiesta could quote a figure of close to 50mpg with the right little engine. Through the 80's, 90's and the first half of the 00's MPG figures for new cars barely seemed to change however.
One might have expected, if not stellar improvement over time, certainly a steady improvement pushing us towards 60 and perhaps 70 MPG. Especially as during this time fuel consumption figures were clearly of importance given their visibility in advertising...some cars even quoted drag coeficient figures which were meant to help fuel efficiency. 'Concept' cars often featured supposedly higher efficiency figures.
It hasn't been until relatively recently that the MPG figures have shot up, what with higher efficiency engines, and hybrid power.
My question I guess is why did we not see any real improvement, given a seemingly clear desire from the consumer to get more miles to a tank? It can't just be the availability of fuel, as its cost has steadily risen over the decades (much of it tax I accept).
One might have expected, if not stellar improvement over time, certainly a steady improvement pushing us towards 60 and perhaps 70 MPG. Especially as during this time fuel consumption figures were clearly of importance given their visibility in advertising...some cars even quoted drag coeficient figures which were meant to help fuel efficiency. 'Concept' cars often featured supposedly higher efficiency figures.
It hasn't been until relatively recently that the MPG figures have shot up, what with higher efficiency engines, and hybrid power.
My question I guess is why did we not see any real improvement, given a seemingly clear desire from the consumer to get more miles to a tank? It can't just be the availability of fuel, as its cost has steadily risen over the decades (much of it tax I accept).
Edited by paulyv on Monday 23 May 23:36
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