As all cars are now faster, and safer, and quieter, which makes people drive harder.
I know that the European cycles for calculating MPG allow acceleration so weak you’d get pulled over driving like that now. It was written when 15sec 0-60mph was brisk. That’s part of the reason why the stated figs are works of fiction.
However, MPG drops are down to weight. you are moving a lot more metal and plastic around, and Work therefore increases. Engine efficiency has limits when a car weighs an extra 800lbs…
I dunno, guys. I think I see the OP’s point. My 2005 Corolla was rated at and actually got 38 mpg highway. The 2012 Corolla is only rated at 34 mpg highway. Both are 1.8L engines.
I’m going to take a wild guess that it has something to do with ever-more-stringent exhaust output requirements. I haven’t yet done any research into it, but I’ll try to at some point.
Take your new Civic and park it next to an 82 Accord. I think you’ll find the Civic is as large and heavier than the old Accord. It will also leave it behind in any performance aspect.
Cars are bigger, heavier, more powerful now than they have been in 30 years. All that means more fuel consumption.
Mom had a 92 Corolla that shuttled me around comfortably . . . when I was 12. It was a hair over 2000lbs, had a 3 spd auto, and no AC. It drank a gallon of premium for every 30 miles on the hwy. Now she drives an 08 Honda Fit, much over 2000lbs, roomier than the Corolla, has a 5 spd auto, AC, airbags galore, side impact beam, etc. etc. etc. and goes 40 miles for every gallon of regular. That’s a 33% improvement.
Just because the new car carries the old name, it doesn’t mean you have to follow it. I’ve sat in my colleagues 01 Civic before, that car felt small compared to the Fit