From the September 2003 Harper’s Index:
“Maximum number of miles per gallon in Ford’s most fuel efficient 2003 car: 36
Maximum number of miles per gallon in Ford’s first Model T: 35”
The first Model T was built in 1908. Here we are in 2003 — nearly 100 years later — and we’re only getting a single mile more per gallon than we did at the turn of the 20th Century.
Car companies certainly could improve gas mileage if they wanted to, but what motivation do they have to do so? We keep buying SUVs and we continue to pay $2 per gallon at the pump. Oh, and the oil companies fill the pockets of the car companies.
Until we the people change our ways, most cars will continue to get no more than 20 or 30 miles to the gallon. I don’t think our planet has another 100 years to spare. The environment and ozone are suffering while making auto and oil executives richer. If our children are to breathe on planet Earth, we’ve got to begin using alternative sources of fuel: biodiesel, ethanol, liquefied propane gas (LPG), and the like.
A sign of hope: Alternative fueling stations like Regional Transportation Center (RTC) are beginning to pop up, most recently in San Diego. Ironically, “The $15 million RTC was conceived more than five years ago by a Ford dealership marketing executive.”
(Thanks to Jen for the Harper’s lead.)
