The 65 mpg Ford the U.S. Can't Have

[chrisj1968]

Yet how many micro-cars are sold in the UK?

Further, micros in the UK are distinctly classed differently than even subcompacts, and so are regulated differently. Also, aren't most speed-governed (in fact, aren't most vehicles in the EU speed-governed, primarily due to much higher fuel prices)?

No. US servicemen who want to convert their BMW's from German Specs to US spend more than the cars worth to convert, the windshield, headlights and tachometer. then you have to have a govenor installed to keep the car down to US speeds.

US cars couldn't handle the autobahn speeds and died very easily due to the speeds on them.

[LiqHead]

Final point... the oil companies (OPEC in particular) are NOT going to let anything F up their profits.

[chrisj1968]

erm you mean US big oil..they are all good buddies

[FredEx]

Also, what about crash-worthiness?

In order for Ford to be able to build (or import) the vehicle into the US, the car must meet crash-worthiness standards. (The Japanese ulta-minis are highly successful in Japan; however, none are available in the US for safety reasons; it's also why the original Mitsubishi Lancer and Nissan Skyline were never imported into the US.)

Fuel-efficient vehicles have issues when it comes to crash-worthiness (historically, subcompact cars as a class have the *worst* insurance rates among non-high-performance vehicles, while SUVs and pickups have some of the best such rates). Also, at least in North America, fuel is cheaper compared to the EU and Japan.

Data point: the GMC Typhoon, the fastest production SUV ever built, remains cheaper to insure than a Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird of the same year, despite actually being faster.

Safety often trumps fuel-efficiency, at least in North America.

They already said they are going to have a gas version in the US, so obviously it meets the standards. In my opinion they are idiots for not building diesels in the us or Mexico for our market.

[Express]

On caveat of using Diesel is that even the most efficient Diesel engine causes more pollution than Gasoline (petrol) driven engines.

Introduction of Low sulfer diesel will helps a little but Diesel engines have a way to go before becoming more environmentally friendly.

[LiqHead]

erm you mean US big oil..they are all good buddies

No. Look up OPEC it's not just the US- move on.

[FredEx]

No. US servicemen who want to convert their BMW's from German Specs to US spend more than the cars worth to convert, the windshield, headlights and tachometer. then you have to have a govenor installed to keep the car down to US speeds.

US cars couldn't handle the autobahn speeds and died very easily due to the speeds on them.

Never heard of the governor thing. That doesn't make sense when I could buy a car here that could do 180 MPH plus (about 290 KPH) and many that could easily do Autobahn speeds. I often take my 1999 Chevy Lumina 4 door rather than my wife's 2007 Toyota Camry on long trips since my car gets better mileage...I have a heavy foot and drive 80+ MPH on the interstates when I go to Texas (1200 miles away). Been doing it once a year for years now and so far the ole 3.1 L V6 hasn't blown up yet...146,000 miles on it.

[kombolcha]

Never heard of the governor thing. That doesn't make sense when I could buy a car here that could do 180 MPH plus (about 290 KPH) and many that could easily do Autobahn speeds. I often take my 1999 Chevy Lumina 4 door rather than my wife's 2007 Toyota Camry on long trips since my car gets better mileage...I have a heavy foot and drive 80+ MPH on the interstates when I go to Texas (1200 miles away). Been doing it once a year for years now and so far the ole 3.1 L V6 hasn't blown up yet...146,000 miles on it.

this reminds me, there used to be a time i think the early or late 80's GM used to make powerful 3+ litre V6 engines that averaged 20+ MPG

they disappeared suddenly, even chrysler had made a few small I4 turbo engines.

[LiqHead]

Take a look at the electric car from the 70's. Obviously the major car manufacturers don't want anything even close coming out.

[chrisj1968]

No. Look up OPEC it's not just the US- move on.

my statement should read that oil companies are not opec. the oil companies and those damn speculators are the reason for the high gas prices.

Never heard of the governor thing. That doesn't make sense when I could buy a car here that could do 180 MPH plus (about 290 KPH) and many that could easily do Autobahn speeds. I often take my 1999 Chevy Lumina 4 door rather than my wife's 2007 Toyota Camry on long trips since my car gets better mileage...I have a heavy foot and drive 80+ MPH on the interstates when I go to Texas (1200 miles away). Been doing it once a year for years now and so far the ole 3.1 L V6 hasn't blown up yet...146,000 miles on it.

yes. German BMW's can really rip. more so then their counter parts. I knew of a good colleague who did that once with a BMW he owned. that was a major thing for those who owned BMW 500-700 series. those cats romp baby.

[LiqHead]

True!! And go ND!!!!!

[zeta_immersion]

what i don't get is why doesn't the government (or a company for that matter) .. make a car (on something other than petrol/diesel) and sell it ...? ... and why is the government so against smaller cars with better mileage ? ... why not research fuel based on algae(we have plenty of those) .... i mean there are so many otehr options than gas ... sun for example ...

[MR_Candyman]

what i don't get is why doesn't the government (or a company for that matter) .. make a car (on something other than petrol/diesel) and sell it ...? ... and why is the government so against smaller cars with better mileage ? ... why not research fuel based on algae(we have plenty of those) .... i mean there are so many otehr options than gas ... sun for example ...

Why would the government start a car business? The only one that made sense was volkswagen, but that was a different situation entirely. How is the government against small cars with good mileage? They aren't. Do you realise just how MUCH algae would have to be grown to satisfy demand if everybody drove a car requiring it? FAR more than can be produced. Solar power technology doesn't yield enough power to actually be feasible yet. The ONLY instance I've seen of it being a good solution is a solar powered yacht popular science had an article on where the solar powers were "wings" and could be positioned to catch the wind to propel it. That is the ONLY feasible implementation of solar power I've seen in a vehicle for long term use using the current technology. In order to use solar power in cars we'd need MUCH better batteries and much better solar cells.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Never heard of the governor thing. That doesn't make sense when I could buy a car here that could do 180 MPH plus (about 290 KPH) and many that could easily do Autobahn speeds. I often take my 1999 Chevy Lumina 4 door rather than my wife's 2007 Toyota Camry on long trips since my car gets better mileage...I have a heavy foot and drive 80+ MPH on the interstates when I go to Texas (1200 miles away). Been doing it once a year for years now and so far the ole 3.1 L V6 hasn't blown up yet...146,000 miles on it.

If you go to a private track where no speed limits exist then try to get your car to do 180MPH. Chances are that it will be artificially limited to a lower speed even if the engine is capable of much more.

[SoCalledChaos]

Never heard of the governor thing. That doesn't make sense when I could buy a car here that could do 180 MPH plus (about 290 KPH) and many that could easily do Autobahn speeds. I often take my 1999 Chevy Lumina 4 door rather than my wife's 2007 Toyota Camry on long trips since my car gets better mileage...I have a heavy foot and drive 80+ MPH on the interstates when I go to Texas (1200 miles away). Been doing it once a year for years now and so far the ole 3.1 L V6 hasn't blown up yet...146,000 miles on it.

Most cars in the 1990's up to now have Governors.

I guarantee that your wife's 2007 Camry wont go above 110 MPH, same goes for the Lumina.

[Argote]

^ Yup, they also do that so you can't evade the police, AFAIK all patrol cruisers are certified to do at least 150MPH and they don't want ordinary cars to outrun them

[Joel]

Other thing, can you imagine what would happen with you if an F-150 or a big SUV hit you in that small car? It's just not made for America.

That's a ridiculous to say; the US doesn't have Mazda hatchbacks? Or any of the other hatchbacks?

[Norante]

Nice..

[Dashel]

Happened to the BMW 1 as well. I really wish they were easier to get here though at usually $1 over premium its even tougher. It used to be around silver prices.

[+Gary7 Subscriber²]

Most cars in the 1990's up to now have Governors.

I guarantee that your wife's 2007 Camry wont go above 110 MPH, same goes for the Lumina.

I own a 2000 Acura TL and it does not have a governor or any type of speed restriction device. I have had it way over 110MPH.

[+Fulcrum Subscriber¹]

I didn't read any replies to this, and just read the part of the article that lies to everyone "Ford's cost-benefit analysis doesn't show them capable of making a profit in the USA with the Fiesta...", I believe it, because Ford is run by a bunch of neenkamputs. But honestly, this is all a red herring, there's soo many Gasoline Lobbyists in America and THAT is the reason they don't want to bring it here is, as Exxon is already paying Ford enough money to keep it out of the states.

[Kami-]

Another car for me to not buy :)