Not to cast doubt on the advertisement at the time it was published, but I seem to recall that the EPA changed the mpg calculations sometime during the 90s. Would the 47 mpg rating stand up today?
I'm old enough to remember those Civics. The tires were about 12" in diameter. This was Honda's interpretation of the Mini, with better quality. Most of them rusted away long ago, but there are probably some still running in California and the southwest.
The reason that such cars do not exist any more is because of us, the consumer. We DEMAND:
1. Safety. And you cannot get that in an 1800-pound car unless you go exotic-and-expensive in your materials (i.e. carbon fiber). Even if such an option were made available (light but less strong), and you signed a paper acknowledging increased risk, the lawyers would have a tort-orgy. That's what lawyers DO. So the weight goes up, and with it the horsepower requirements.
2. Room. We will not tolerate our widening buttocks flabbing over to touch the widening buttocks of our fellow commuters. Therefore the car must be bigger, and heavier, with a larger frontal area to induce more drag, which requires more horsepower.
3. Performance. We will not buy cars which need 10 or more seconds 0-to-60. More horsepower!
All of the above mean that the days of the 70 horsepower motor are over. Double that... 140... is considered anemic. Triple that... 210... is required to meet the above "mission statements". Triple the horsepower means triple the BTUs means triple the fuel. Some efficiency gains have been made, but even with a 100% efficient theoretical power train, you ain't gettin' no 100 miles per gallon with the above constraints. Physics says "too bad", no matter how loudly Pelosi insists that she can legislate away those outdated laws of physics.
If people were actually willing to BUY cars like the CVCC, they would still be getting manufactured. But they won't.
Brian Tiemann
1. Mr. Lion - 22:06 Thu 7/17/2008 ( email | web )
Ah, the late 70's, when ad copy could be reliably approved by someone in a plaid suit running on three martinis and half a pound of coke.