why do cars only get 40mpg? could'nt we do better with all the technology we have?

[woot21219]

cars from 30 years ago got about the same gas mileage then as we do now. only now gas is really expensive. then it wasnt even more then like 99cents/gallon. that makes a huge difference. we would all be in paradise if we had 99c/gallon gas combined with cars that could get like 50-60 mpg. is it the oil companies or the us governmnet, OPEC?what is keeping us down on this?

[colby15642]

us government

[clncarplz]

The car companies are waiting for somebody like you to come show them the way to do business. So just hire yourself out at a very high salary.
That is the reason that cars only get 40 MPG.

[Nick]

cars that old didnt get the same mpg as sedans today...

the problem is that #1 cars safety requirements have skyrocketed meaning more weight, #2 the technology is already there, a few automakers have made cars that made over 100mpg, with the honda insight, there are quite a few claims of people getting close to 100mpg with a few minor mods. #3 i personally believe if we made cars that had mileage that high for daily use like cars trucks sports cars etc, gas would be $10 a gallon so the oil companies would still make their money.
#4 when that tech becomes mainstream, i bet oil companies would try to seize the patent so they would still make as much money as they do today.

[Ramon C]

You know, I also remember those days as well. No AC, no power anything, manual transmissions, AM radios that took time to "warm up," the required every six months tune up for points and brake adjustments, bias ply tired, asbestos brake components, no side rear view mirrors, the expensive tires and bad suspensions, no power brakes, no seat belts, etc. Actually, you can return to that era by purchasing a car at any of those car auctions shown on TV like Macum and Barret-Jackson held at several places around the nation. You can find them on the Web. Wait, you should not even have an Internet. Just the phone should do. In my opinion, your nostalgia is misdirected. We have cleaner air, better designed cars, longer lasting cars with higher quality everything from tires to paints. With the dollars adjusted for purchasing power car expenses are much lower than in the past. Cars do not even rust like those in past decades. And cars do get more than 40 MPG. The April issue of Popular Mechanics did their own scientific study of two cars, a 2012 Hynday Elantra and a 2012 Ford Focus SFE. Driver properly at 55 MPH these cars delivered 47.6 and 47.5 respectively. What happens is the drivers wan to to go everywhere, even five miles down the road at 70+ MPH under the misguided and misinformed belief that faster is better. Well, the Ford suffered at whooping over 30% less gas mileage primarily due to air drag. This car went to 33.5 MPG at 70 MPH. Air drag increases to the square of the cars speed. From 50 MPH to 70 MPH it increases 100%!! I use 55 MPH when traffic allows and go to 60 MPH since that equals one mile per minute and 88 feet per second. That is enough for me. Time wise difference with 70 MPH? A tiny 8 seconds per mile. So, for that average 20 mile drive the difference is about 2 minutes in time but a HUGE 30% increase in fuel performance. But most people do not measure, take data, etc.They just drive THE WAY THEY THINK is best and pay on the average an extra $600 to $1000 a year ON PURELY WASTED FUEL. And, my uninformed friend, are facts. Drive fast and furious and pay the price of gas, brakes and tires, and citations, etc. I recommend the article. It is pure information. There was a report from Iowa about the death of a college girl due to car crash. She was driving AT 80 MPH! posting texting messages on Facebook, AT NIGHT when you plowed into a semi and got killed. No seat belt, airbag combination could save anyone from all the violence of this crash. 80 MPH! and texting. Both national misguided addictions. So, in closing, it is not the price of fuel at the pump that you should worried not the lower gas mileage you may be achieving. Instead it the price per mile of driving is what you should consider. Two years ago I sold a beloved 2003 Infinity QX4 with over 100,000 miles. Sure it delivered one 13 mpg on the city, but it never needed repairs. Just servicing and tires and brakes. How expensive was this car compared to my 2001 Audi TT with four cylinders and manual transmission that delivers about 30 MPG? Cheap as the Audi has need more frequent and expensive repairs. So the total number of cost per mile is the magic number no the MPGs a car may deliver. OK? Best wishes.