Every new generation of cars tend to have more and more features than the previous generation, because it is what the consumer wants. The increase in features also increases weight, which hampers fuel economy. In a world with tightening oil supplies as developing nations start to drive as much as the west and issues of global warming, fuel economy is very important. We don’t need another crisis to tell us to prepare.

But car makers are too occupied with doing business that they fail to see what could be done. Yes they have made great strides in engine efficiency, but every gain made is negated by the increasing mass of the vehicles. A stripped down car with fewer features would be lighter, need a smaller engine and therefore more fuel economy.

This idea is not new, Renault launched their Logan marketed under the Dacia name in 2005. The car was intended for developing countries and developed to be very cheap, but interest grew in Western Europe and now it is being sold in most of Western Europe, despite of it’s vary basic offerings. Due to the tremendous success, Toyota has announced a similar project, proving that there is a market for such a car. Although the Dacia Logan is the last word in fuel economy, the principle can be applied to a super fuel sipping car.

If a car is made to be very basic, lightweight, and fitted with a high-tech engine, you would have a winner. Imagine a car with the fuel economy of a Prius at the low price of $10 000. Such a car would be welcomed by the market and would definitely see success if it is well designed. We have been building cars for more than a hundred years, yet we are still far from solving most fuel economy issues. What we need to do is look at thing from a different perspective.

Tonami is a computer science student at Knoxville college, He is an avid blogger in automotive and computer technology forums.

Source: www.articlecity.com