Why Can’t We Get Fuel Efficiency in the USA?
By Susan Young

In a recent article from TreeHugger.com Jacob Gordon reviews 10 cars that will get more than 40 mpg but of the ten only two are available in the US, the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, both hybrids.  Gordon notes that the average fuel consumption in the US is 22.6 mpg whereas Europe is 40.3 mpg and Japan is 40.6 mpg.  Is it any wonder that researchers say the US is responsible for 85 percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Yet in Europe and Japan there are vehicles on the road that get 60 to 70 mpg running diesel engines.  I’m old enough to remember the first warnings issued in the 60s about our fossel fuels being finite and end being in site.  We switch from Malibus to Datsuns and Hondas to be more efficient and less wasteful but instead of the American manufacturers emulating the Japanese the reverse happen.  The foreign compacts became luxury sedans and the fuel economy went down.  Even now, the gas burning models that are allowed to be sold in the US get nearly half the fuel effiency and their diesel conterparts sold in Europe.

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