Money Crashers Is On the Cutting Edge For Fuel Economy
September 9, 2008 by Erik Folgate
Filed under Cars, Consumer News
About six weeks ago, my buddy Tim did a video post about hybrids, and he touched on the point that cars from the early 90’s such as the Honda Civic and Geo Metro could get 50 to 60 miles per gallon, yet today’s hybrids only get about 40 to 50 miles per gallon. What makes these hybrids so special?
Apparently, the media is catching on to this fact. The Los Angeles Times wrote this article about a guy that uses a 1992 Honda Civic and gets 61 miles per gallon!
So, is the hybrid thing a scam? Are they charging thousands of dollars more for a technology that doesn’t improve fuel economy more than 16 year old cars?
Money Crashers reported this to you FIRST, and we’re proud of it. We’re looking out for you.
No it’s not a scam. Check the curb weights on those old cars. They weigh quite a bit less than todays cars. Why is that? Government regulations require a substantial amount of safety equipment, thus driving up curb weights. And don’t forget, the heavier a vehicles basic weight is, that requires bigger wheels, tires, brakes and bigger engines.
Now that you know this – the question really should be…why didn’t those old cars get better mileage than they did?