Kezorm

Exxon Mobil Diversifies Into the Hybrid Car Market

Merry clicker, praising the fuel-efficient Tata motors minicar asked: "Why don't GM, Ford, and Chrysler come up with this stuff?"

The question should be, why did they once import wonderfully efficient cars, and then stop? What cars you ask? The Suzuki-built Geo Metro. I just bought an ancient specimen, whose odometer has rolled over too many times to count, and routinely get 50 mpg, and on one occasion, 60 mpg over a 100 mile route consisting of only 40 miles of toll-road.

No high technology needed for 50 mpg. Just a 1.0 liter engine with 55 hp, a manual 5 speed transmission, and an aerodynamic form. With a further improvement of an even smaller diesel or turbo-diesel engine, the car would probably get 75 mpg on the highway.

The question I'd like to have answered, is why can't you buy a car as efficient as the Metro today? Don't tell me there is no market for them. Even though I am sure that many people would not stoop (literally or figuratively) into such a modest conveyance, I am equally sure that there are alot of people with long commutes who WOULD prefer to fill their tank with 10 gallons of gas and then get 500 miles out of those gallons.