Dear Tom and Ray: Back in the 1980s and '90s, there were some ultra-efficient cars such as the Suzuki Swift, Honda CRX and Honda Civic. All sold for under $15,000 and had real mileage ratings of 45 mpg or more. Why do we have to pay an extra $5,000-$10,000 for hybrid technology to get the same mileage that a good oldfashioned, gas-only car was able to achieve 20 years ago? -- John
Ray: One reason is that there's a lot of stuff on cars today that wasn't required or expected on cars 20 years ago. There are anti-lock braking systems, side-curtain air bags, reinforced beams in doors and electric windows, just to name a few things. So economy cars now weigh a lot more than they did back then, because our expectations for even entry-level cars have increased.
Tom: Second, cars today are bigger than they were 20 years ago, with more interior room. Every time a model is redesigned, it seems, it gains a few inches in each direction, so even our small cars are pretty big these days.
Ray: Finally, and probably most important, we've gone horsepower-crazy. In the early '80s, when we temporarily cared about fuel economy, the average car had about 100 horsepower. A small family car such as the 1982 Honda Accord had 75 hp. By comparison, a 2007 fourcylinder Accord has 166 hp. A six-cylinder Accord has 244 hp!
Tom: So in the past 25 years, instead of taking all of the technological advances we've made and making a 120-hp Accord that gets 60 mpg, we have a 244-hp Accord that gets 30 mpg.
Ray: Why is that? Because of some combination of a) that's what we want and b) the carmakers have made us think that's what we need. But we don't. Is it really more important for us to get from zero to 60 mph a few seconds faster than for the United States to be energyindependent and not have to pay through the nose for gasoline? Not to me, it isn't.
Tom: Now, $3-a-gallon gasoline might change our opinions of what we need. In fact, it's already changing them. Huge, heavy SUVs with overpowered engines are getting a lot harder to sell.
Ray: An increasing number of carmakers are starting to step in with just the kind of cars you're asking about, John. They're not getting 45 mpg, but they're getting close. And they're a heck of a lot safer and more comfortable than economy cars of 20 years ago.
Tom: But the bottom line is that carmakers pay attention to only one thing: their sales numbers. If people are buying 300-hp Hemis, they design and make more cars like that.
Ray: So if we want more choices in high-mileage cars, we have to buy high-mileage cars and let the gas guzzlers sit on the lots longer. So, it's not up to you and me, John; it's up to the people who are putting their money down now and signing on the dotted line. They'll determine the range of options the rest of us have a few years from now.