6 Cars Built for $4 Gas

Safety

Safety happened. The problem with all the cars you listed, with the possible exception of the Civic VX, is that they can't hold up in an impact.

Sure, the cars were legally safe enough to be sold at the time, but today, few buyers would put a fistfull of cash on the table for a Metro. People are more safety conscious, as well as more environmentally conscious.

Now, don't think I'm defending the automakers here. I think most automakers have failed to produce environmentally acceptable vehicles, and I do think our cars should be getting 40+ miles to the gallon. I drive an old Ford Taurus and average 25 MPG. I would love to have a car that could average 35 MPG, but it'll rain purple gumdrops before I trade my Taurus in for a death trap Dodge Neon.

If I had the money to buy a new car, I would buy something that got good MPG, like a 2 door, 5 speed, 4 cylinder Focus. In the meantime, I'll be saving my pennies for a plastic Saturn.

Oval_Overload of MN @ Dec 28, 2008 20:38:51 PM

fuel mileage

its because during late 80"s cars srarted having a little horse power again while getting decednt gas mileage because of tune port fuel injection (technology) and people liked it .almost all cars are pretty quick these dayes and they dont all need to be so if we want 40 or even 60 mpg I think we could get it but the cars would be slow like before. Face it a 98 model 3.8l v-6 camaro would smoke a v-8 camaro in quarter mile if the v-8 car was from about 1976 till 1986. the 98 3.8l has over 300 ft.# of tourqe

so just back the horse power tuning down some and use even smaller engines like the 3 cylinder metro and we'll do just fine.

just dont make all cars slow or we'll have a problem

charlesauxilien of ME @ Aug 01, 2008 10:51:59 AM

I wish

we could use the same cars we drive today or modify them to use another type of fuel

i don't want to pay 5 dollars for gas and on the other hand i don't want to give up smashing through a yellow light , cant we engineer some kind of fuel that will cooperate with our cars and be eco friendly. these days cars are focused or tuned for speed, power etc maybe in the future it will become more of a who gets more mpg ?

Skyline559 of CA @ Jul 06, 2008 16:29:29 PM

AVEO. . .

My Uncle bought a 2007 Aveo. He had problems as soon as he drove it home! It has constantly been in and out of the shop, the last thing they did was replace the engine!!! It really is a shame that this car does not live up to its promises as it really is a good looking small car. Be forewarned!

Maggie of MI @ Jul 03, 2008 13:31:22 PM

6 cars for $4 gas

The surge is small car sales is welcome and hopefully will be a long-term result of high gas prices. Should this happen the demand for gas in the US will gradually come down as overall mpg increases.

I drive a 2003 Corolla which gives excellent mileage; however I still drive so as to conserve fuel so often fill up 2 or 3 times per month (with a average of around 40 litres at fill up). Driving sensibly clearly makes a significant contribution to better mileage but as I drive daily so many folks seem to still drive aggresively while compolaining at the pumps.

One simple recommendation, that my family uses, is to ensure that each household has at least one economical car (size of household considered) that can be used say on weekends or evenings when only one car is needed.

Rod @ Jul 03, 2008 12:39:55 PM

We want what THEY tell us we want.

Like it or not, it's true.

It's called marketing, and it works.

The big three all have the capability of making MUCH MUCH more fuel efficient cars (and in fact they already do...in Europe). But there's no profit in that...

The SUV has been the greatest SCAM ever perpetrated on the American consumer.

95% of them are not needed. Range Rovers were around for decades, and then all of a sudden everybody wanted that kind of vehicle ?

Fuel economy isn't that complicated. It's about aerodynamics (which makes the "Smart" stupid, weight, and tall gearing for the highway. They'll soon be rolling out "miraculous" cars with technology from 30 years ago.

TB of MA @ Jun 28, 2008 23:48:12 PM

It's our fault

Like it or not, the vehicle manufacturers build what the public wants. (North) Americans wanted larger, roomier more powerful vehicles for years, so that is what we were given. There seems to be a lot of misguided information in the comments here. Ultimately, we all have the power to change the market by what we buy, and that is starting to happen right now as consumers ditch their SUVs in droves.

As far as maximizing MPG, auto manufacturers do have some tools to do this. The trend for the future of internal combustion engines should be small displacement, light weight vehicles with what most here would consider undersized engines and supercharging. Supercharging adds complexity, but the power to weight ratio of supercharged vehicles is better. A 1000-1200 cc supercharged engine in a small very lightweight car would have about the same power as an 1800cc four does now, and would weigh less. What that means is you could have the fuel economy of a Toyota Yaris but the power and size car of an early 90's Honda Accord or Toyota Camry, which would be perfectly acceptable for most driver's needs. Trucks can benefit from the same technology too.

The same technology used to make race cars fast will also make consumer vehicles more fuel efficient (lighter is always better, and more aerodynamic is better too). The problem with all this is cost - the initial cost of such a car is bound to be very high, and thus it becomes cheaper to buy a less efficient car and spend the money you would have put into car purchase on gas.

As someone else mentioned, it's all a matter of balancing - auto makers have to make cars that people will actually buy. Buyer's decisions are now starting to be driven by the cost of gas, so we are seeing more fuel efficient vehicles, and will continue to unless the price of oil drops drastically (not likely). But not many people can afford to or are willing to pay quadruple of today's prices for their car to get a vehicle that will do 100MPG. What you can do for now though is use strategies to save - bicycle when possible, get a motorcycle or scooter as a second vehicle, and use it as much as possible, and when you do have to drive, combine trips to get multiple errands done so that you dont' drive any further than you have to. Put off errands until you have more than one to run.

Randy of OR @ Jun 28, 2008 16:29:29 PM

1999 Honda CR-V

Bought it in November 1998....still getting 28-29 MPG with it, which isn't bad. The best thing is that it just turned 70,000 miles. When I bought it (it's the only new car I've ever purchsed), I told myself I'd have to keep it at least 10 years. Since I'm averaging just over 7,000/year, I now feel I can keep it another 10 years.

And the absolute best thing? It's paid for and insurance is around $350 annually for full coverage.

Gotta love Hondas!

John of OR @ Jun 28, 2008 15:27:33 PM