CNNMoney - December 20, 2007:
The CRX HF got an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated 57 mpg gallon in highway driving. Today, the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid Civic you can buy gets an EPA-estimated 34 mpg on the highway. Even today's Honda Civic Hybrid can't match it, achieving EPA-estimated highway mileage of just 45 mpg. The Toyota Prius, today's fuel mileage champ, gets 46 mpg on the highway.
Why then, not now?
One answer for the mileage drop is that the rating system has changed. Beginning with the 2008 model year, the EPA began using a more rigorous fuel economy test that means lower numbers for most cars. But that's only a small part of the answer.
If the old CRX HF were tested using today's rules, its highway fuel economy would drop to 51 mpg, according to the EPA's calculations. That's still much better than any mass-market car sold today, including hybrid cars.
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We need to keep in mind that there’s a huge difference between absolute and relative values here. In other words, once you’re getting 51 mpg, the benefit to your fuel expenses and the environment will be negligible even if you double your mileage.
For example, if you drive 15,000 miles per year, and you replace your 51 mpg car with a 102 mpg car, you’ll only save 147 gallons per year which at $3.00 per gallon would only be $441 per year…that’s only about 1 ½ monthly car payments.
In terms of the environment, the 1987 CRX HF weighed 1,713 Lbs and there’s a rule of thumb which stipulates that a factor of four equivalent to the vehicle’s weight in gasoline is required to initially produce it. So, (1,713 X 4) / 6 = 1,142…1,142 / 147 = 7.8 year recovery period just break even with what was consumed to make the vehicle.
Conclusion: Hybrids, plug-ins, etc are totally ghey!!!
If the government can’t resist the temptation to regulate us to death, why not just set CAPA standards for BSFC (pounds of fuel burnt per hour per horse power)??? Right now, our best gasoline engines come in at around 0.42. OK, just tell the manufactures that they’ve got three years to have every engine in their fleet at or below 0.35.
Consumer fuel costs, dependence of foreign oil, & GHG emissions would all be greatly reduced quickly and without compromise.
Why is this even an issue???
