Doesn’t look too shabby, does it?
Volkswagen is looking to get into the hybrid market with a70 mpg diesel-electric vehicle. That’s good news for us and the atmosphere, but bad news for Detroit automakers. Despite the huge increases in gas prices over the last few years, American automakers have still not begun producing and aggressively marketing fuel-efficient cars. Of thetop ten most-efficient autos sold in the US, not one is from an American car company.
That the Detroit automakers have been so consistently behind the curve with respect to fuel efficiency is a long, fascinating, and depressing story. It has to do with how much the government needs them to stay in business, the machinations of oil and auto lobbyists, and just plain stupidity, among other things. Ultimately, the people who pay the price for all that maneuvering and idiocy are the men and women who work in assembly plants in America and the towns devastated by factory closures.
There is one small red flag with this article, though. It’s a diesel-electric vehicle.
The last time the Germans started making a fleet of diesel-electric vehicles…
That’s right.