Before I fell into my present career, I had a career in the automotive safety field where I was able to apply my engineering background. I've always had interest in automotive design and development. I've also always been aware of efficiency since I used to be an SCCA member, where I raced a sports car almost every weekend at area tracks.
As this is a very cosmopolitan membership here, I wanted to throw some thoughts out there concerning fuel economy, and listen to what other educated members might have to say about the current state of affairs.
I apologize if some of my observations may sound, well, opinionated, but I'm going to say what I feel nonetheless. As I live in the United States, I'm expecting to hear some ideas which are very different from my own.
It seems to me that the American population in general has become fat and lazy, which is obviously reflected in the cars we drive. I've observed, over the past thirty years or so, cars here becoming larger and heavier, with the resulting fuel economy suffering. During the gas crises of the early seventies, automobile companies quickly redesigned their stables, and offered cars which were significantly smaller and efficient. It was "stylish" to be green. I can remember development of solar panels and wind farms, among other ideas focusing on preservation and efficiency.
Then, the gas crises was over, and it seems to me, greed took over. Cars knelt by the wayside for Suv's, and everything became "supersized". Manufacturer's, concerned only with their profit margins, pushed these monstrosities, and of course people followed like sheep. I've always known how dangerous these vehicles were. As a motor sports enthusiast, I was always aware of a thing called "center of gravity" which of course on Suv's is particularly high when compared to track width. The results are predictable: rollovers and ejections, many times ending with the death or serious injury of the driver or passengers.
Not only that, these vehicles are always advertised in commercials climbing mountain paths, or in other circumstances they most likely would never encounter with the average driver. But, look at it this way, the company could make a bigger profit margin by adding more equipment!
Now it seems everyone who bought these vehicles is suffering, and the fuel crises is ruining their life (or so they say). The latest stop-gap is the "hybrid". Here's a technology that's basically the same idea that was used in submarines fifty years ago. Instead of making a vehicle lighter, and with a direct injection diesel engine, manufacturers are again striving for that profit margin by pushing "hybrid" to the unknowing. Some of these vehicles are complete beasts, and even heavier than their gasoline powered twins.
Then there is the fuel itself. Instead of the government pushing diesels and lighter vehicles, we now have 10% ethanol added to gasoline. I'm sure everyone is aware what this has done to the corn industry (and price), but there is another very important issue: btu's. The simple fact is that alcohol does not have the same energy released upon ignition as pure gasoline does. To you and me, it means that our gasoline engines are less efficient, resulting in poor fuel economy. Result: we burn more gas (which costs more too because of this added process)
Here's some interesting info I've found:
In the year 1934, a government program was enacted that would support a