Topic: Fuel Economy - How Detroit Will Reach 35 mpg - Wired News

A recent study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found automakers could double fuel economy relatively easily by emphasizing lighter - though not necessarily smaller - cars with more efficient gasoline, diesel and hybrid drivetrains. Just 58 of the 1,199 vehicle models listed in the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2008 Fuel Economy Guide eight of the 2007 models get a combined city and highway fuel efficiency of 35 mpg or better, and they’re not all subcompacts or small hybrids like the Toyota Prius. Automakers will embrace direct injection — a more efficient means of getting fuel into the combustion chamber — in a big way and bring more diesel and hybrid drivetrains to market. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it could cost the auto industry $114 billion - with a ‘b’ - to implement the new fuel economy standard, and Bragman tells us sticker prices could climb 5 to 15 percent. I’m sorry but when the Model-T has a fuel economy average of 25 MPG and fuel efficiency in general is 20% less than it was 10 years ago, there is definitely something wrong with this country, and I mean with both the manufacturers and consumers (er. read more

[Tags], fuel, mpg, technology, car, automakers, fuel economy[/Tags]

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