The Horrors of Ford Fuel Efficiency (or Lack Thereof)
I have mentioned this statistic to quite a few friends, and today located the sources to support it:
Fleet-wide, Ford cars and trucks averaged 19.7 miles per gallon (mpg), narrowly avoiding last place in the fuel efficiency report for the third straight year... ...19.7 mpg on average is less efficient than the old Model T Ford.
Excerpted from "Ford Stuck in Neutral on Fuel Efficiency."
Ford's own informational site on the Model T provides a range from 13 - 21 mpg. There it is: Ford sucks. JumpstartFord has more information on the campaign for Ford to improve its technology and policies.
Oh, and I know that despite the superior fuel efficiency of my Honda Civic, SparkleMotion, I am still driving and I am still buying gasoline. I am a part of the problem.
From Carlos
Commented August 9th, 2007 8:03 am
I don't think the model T should be compared to cars these days. There are huge differences between the model 2 capabilities, such as new safety equipment requirements (added weight), towing capability, and top speeds. It is not a clear apples to apples comparison.
Also that 19.7 mpg combines trucks and cars. Trucks, no matter the manufacturer (Honda or Ford) rarely get over 20 mpg (see http://www.fueleconomy.gov), only if they have a smaller engine in them. Which if they have a smaller engine in them you lose some capabilities (seating, towing, acceleration).
That said, I believe the fuel economy of most American made cars is equivalent to Asian cars when you compare apples to apples vehicles(same engine size, same # of cylinders, similar vehicle size). Though the Asian may get 1 or 2 mpg better.
2007 honda civic vs. 2007 Ford Focus.
34 mpg highway vs. 33 mpg highway
Although the Focus has 2.0L engine, more passage volume and more cargo volume.
All this said, I don't believe we should stop trying to make fuel efficient cars. I do think if Honda or Toyota made more trucks their fuel economy would be low too or made more V6 engines.
I also think the American consumer is part of the issue. They want big vehicles, which they don't always need. I don't think that should stop Ford/Toyota/Anyone from making their vehicles more fuel efficient.
The model T is a horrible comparison for fuel economy. It only had a 20 hp engine in it. I think cars are incredibly efficient these days, we get 130 hp engine and getting over 30 mpg. They are so much better!
From drew
Commented August 9th, 2007 4:25 pm
You are correct that I did not present a fair comparison here, Scott. One must account for functional differences in vehicles before blindly comparing fuel efficiencies. One should also account for expected advances in technology over the course of a century. In other words, have clean and efficient technologies received as much focus as other aspects of design?
So, I still believe there is much to inform us against Ford and other similarly managed car manufacturers. Regardless of types of cars produced, Ford has consistently deprioritized environmentally-conscious design and technology. Like many American car manufacturers, they spend considerable money lobbying against federal and state emission and fuel standards. I don't know if Asian companies are equally underhanded.
This report has balanced information on manufacturer comparisons. The full PDF report is particularly informative. The report demonstrates the truth of your arguments but still, I think, proves the big three American car manufacturers are losing this race.
From laura
Commented August 9th, 2007 4:32 pm
The real problem is that we mandate fleet averages on the supply side instead of just taxing gas to decrease demand for inefficient cars. Of course, that would piss everyone off while disproportionally punishing poor people who have to get to work. Everybody wants others to drive cleaner cars, but there's no incentive to do so themselves.
From arnie
Commented August 13th, 2007 3:16 pm
Laura is completely correct. This 19.7 mpg statistic misses the issue, completely. It's all about Demand! Demand! Demand! And unfortunately the one really useful policy tool we have, a gas tax, has many bad trade-offs.