“Have you driven a Ford, lately?” As a charity stunt, Ford had specially trained drivers drive an unmodified stock 2010 Ford Fusion (mid-size sedan) to beat 1,000 miles in a single tank of gas. They reached 1,445.7 miles in 69 hours of driving around the D.C. area on surface streets and highways.
“Your mileage may vary.” Ford readily admits that this was a stunt, and the details of how it was done are available in many places, like here. Oh, and details about why are here. The car is normally expected to get about 40 miles per gallon under everyday conditions.
Is it just my wishful thinking, or is American starting to think of it as cool to use less fuel? In other words, have we finally hit that point where most people find it to be a social embarrassment, as a general rule, to drive a big SUV? If so, I suspect that it didn't happen because people simply decided to become more socially responsible. Rather, I suspect that it required our economic downtown to cause people to publicly proclaim that fuel economic is compelling to them? Necessity is the mother of convention?
Many yeasrs ago, I had a 1981 Ford Escort, that was averaging 60 mpg. This was mostly highway miles and the car had an odd problem in that caused it to upshift early.
The Green movement is gaining momentum, much like it did during the Carter presidency and that particular oil crisis. Gasoline is actually cheaper now than it was 30 years ago (adjusted for inflation).
We can probably thank the looming depression for causing people to consider the cost of operation as a factor in purchasing decisions.
Affordability also makes a big difference in the adoption of green alternatives. In the case with cars, the middle class are usually the major market for new car sales. low income families have to wait unil used car prices drop to a point where they can afford payments.
Combined with the fact that only a few cities have decent mass transit, and most have zoning ordinances that seperate industrial and commercial areas from residential areas by several miles, low income workers are given little choice. They have to drive.
One overlooked concept for the long term is to change zoning laws in order reestablish "Mom and Pop" businesses to disptribute retailers within walking distance for more people, instead of creating commercial sections and business parks