My 73 Vega weighed 2200lbs and got HALF that gas mileage. I was lucky to get 30mph on the highway. And it didn’t even come close to the performance of your Sub…Weight is only part of the equation.
Sure, SUV’s are heavy,but the majority of cars weigh half as much as they used to.
But that doesn’t mean that’s why they don’t get good gas mileage. My wifes Lexus has FAR FAR FAR better performance then my 73 Vega…Gets MUCH better gas mileage…Pollutes FAR less…and weighs 1500lbs MORE.
MIKE NH, your wife’s Lexus weighs less than cars 40 years ago right? Vehicles might gain weight for comfort and quiet rides, but they don’t weigh as much as the average cars in the sixties.
The original Mini was conceived around 1959, I think, but that , like the Vega was not what the majority of vehicle owners drove.
I wish I bought my sisters '73 Vega.They are becoming scarce.
Well I have 2 “foreign” vehicles, a 2011 honda civic and a 2005 sienna, both are made in Indiana. So get off your high horse, not everyone can afford gas guzzlers. Chevy HHR- Mexico
ford fusion- Mexico, the list goes on…
There are several causes of this (I guess I addressed mileage more than just weight):
1) Gov't. Driver and passanger airbags, side curtain air bags, now they are even requiring a anti-rollover system by 2012 -- instead of rollover performance standards (so a bloated, top-heavy SUV might require computer assistance, but a sane car wouldn't) they just slapped it on everything. A lot of imports have to have extra bumpers slapped onto them. This stuff adds serious weight. A second thing, emissions limits -- it seems counterintuitive, you'd think "less fuel burned = less emissions", but some of those 80s economy tunes were very dirty; car cos now do have to compromise on their engine tuning at times to meet limits, although I think as the car cos add direct injection, variable valve timing, and electronic throttle control throughout their engine lineups, that gives much more control over the combustion so emissions limits are no problem again.
2) Customers AND car companies. I think there's truly an insidious feedback loop, and it goes like this:
The car companies use every trick in the book to increase the gas mileage of their larger vehicles with V6 engines. This really pays off, with V6s that are getting close to if not more than 30MPG highway. (My Buick Regal is rated at 29MPG old rating, 27MPG new, and I can get 30MPG out of it easily.)
The car companies have 40+MPG models they sell in Europe, but they figure Americans want POWER!!!! So, they retune the engine, or use a US-specific engine, change the gearing, and so on. This reduces the mileage to around 30MPG or a bit more. My dad's 2000 Cavalier was rated at 31MPG highway.
Customers shop for cars, see the smaller and bigger cars, and see the mileage is almost the same (really, it's often within 10%). So unless they need to save cash on the purchase price, they buy the bigger car! Then, (here's the insidious part) the car companies look at sales figures and conclude "oh, the customers want bigger cars and more power!" I think they'd sell far more small cars if there were choices of economy engines on them, but there usually isn't (on models with "base" and "power" engines, the "base" is usually either the mid-range or most powerful engine outside the US). There's a few good-MPG cars now, but not as many as there should be.The car companies use every trick in the book to increase the gas mileage of their larger vehicles with V6 engines. This really pays off, with V6s that are getting close to if not more than 30MPG highway.
In terms of fuel saved, the larger heavier vehicles have a lot more potential for saving fuel than light economy cars, so this approach makes sense. Improving a large vehicle with a V6 from 26 MPG to 30 MPG saves more fuel than improving an I4 vehicle from 35 MPG to get 40 MPG.