Around one-third of new car buyers in America considered fuel economy an important factor. Given the preoccupation today with smog, global warming and America’s dependence on overseas sources of oil, it’s actually shocking to learn that as long ago as 1992 a car that got 100 miles to the gallon was built by General Motors. The GM TPC was a car that was able to get 75 miles per gallon, weighed about 1000 pounds, plus looked like the Geo Metro. The development of the vehicle, the engine that had 3 cylinders, was dropped because, in order to meet American safety standards, it had to be reinforced which added 200 pounds to its weight.
It really is stunning that GM had this car built and left behind, but they had other prototypes that ended the same way. A number of these were the 1982 GM Lean Machine which made 80 miles per gallon, and the GM Ultralite which did 100 mpg. GM was presenting cars to the buying public in 1992 that did 20 mpg, while Honda was getting 50 mpg with their Civic VX, but right then GM already covertly had cars doing 100 miles per gallon. If perhaps cars that were capable of doing 100 miles per gallon had already been developed way back then, why is it that such cars are not being sold today?
It is just a strange phenomenon that some companies market traditional vehicles in the US, but sell different, more efficient cars in other countries. Cars that achieve more than 70 mpg have been available in Europe and Japan for a lot of years. A case in point of a car/truck never marketed within the US and capable of 78 mpg, is the Lupo by Volkswagen. Honda introduced to the US market in 2007, a car called the Fit but known as the Jazz in other parts of the world. Inside Japan, the Jazz designs include one with a scaled-down engine, plus there are ways to improve fuel consumption, but with the Fit in the US not even the option of a smaller engine is offered.
The automobile companies tell Americans that they love big cars, and that is what they want to make big cars. Building a small commuter type vehicle doesn’t make the manufacturer big money, unlike with a large SUV. Commercials have convinced the citizens of the US that Tanks on Wheels are an absolute must to have. The reality that options have never been offered reveals where the big companies have their interests. The top in fuel economy may have been General Motors, but they prefer to remain the leader in SUVs instead. Many other manufacturers also have developed fuel-efficient cars, but they’ve all ended up the same as GM by not offering them to Americans.
Despite climate change and the incredible pollution of the world environment, US carmakers have yet to act in responding positively and at least give Americans the option of a fuel-efficient car. The question comes up: how many Americans would’ve appreciated the option of acquiring a car with good gas mileage but weren’t ever offered it? Perhaps the instant has come to restart building those cars that were developed only to be abandoned all those years ago.