The automobile industry since the 1970’s has been reluctant to increasing the gas mileage in their vehicles because of the money they will have to spend in order for engineers to create powerful engines that can give high gas mileage. Since we were very lucky in the 1990’s and were buying gas at an average $0.60 a gallon we did not care about how many miles to the gallon we got on our cars. Ever since 2001 and leading up to 2012 we see that we have paid on average 3.15 per gallon. For many people who owned SUV’s and vehicles with high horsepower vehicles; this changed the way they shopped for vehicles.
The government controls what the regulations are for vehicle gas mileage. What was the 27 mpg, President Obama has raised that regulation to 55.4 mpg. In an effort to help conserve the little oil we have left in the world and also help people who need to use their vehicles. He has given car companies till 2025 to create cars that can get at least 55.4 mpg.
We starting to to see Hybrids cars become very popular in today’s world. An interesting fact is that the first hybrid was created in 1899 by Henri Pieper. Today, hybrid cars are all run differently. Some hybrid (dual mode) use alternative fuel in order to run. They do this by mixing diesel or petroleum with another fuel for example, ethanol, butane or biobutanol. Other Hybrids run on 100% electricity for the first 25-35 miles per hour than the it will on petroleum after that. In most of these vehicles as well engineers have created technology where heat created from friction when braking gets created into electricity and then stored until needed. Hybrid cars are a great alternative in increasing mpg and reducing green house emissions.
The body of a vehicle is very important to its gas mileage. The more box-shaped a vehicleis, the less mpg it gets because of the wind resistance it face. The aerodynamics of a vehicle can make the difference of 5-10 miles per gallon. This is one reason why we see that SUV’s get less mpg than sedans. Sedans today are being created carefully in order to get great gas mileage. Look at the picture I put forth of the Volkswagen Jetta. The Top one
is the 2012 version and the bottom one is the 2002 version. We can see that the 2012 version is much more Aerodynamic than the 2002 version.
Their are many 100% electrically run cars today than ever. In downtown Boston at government center we see that while you park your vehicle you can have it recharged. More people are buying electric cars today because the engineers of car companies have found the right technology to do so.
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