>Remember how the Europeans are light years ahead of the U.S. in terms of fuel efficiency? They are at it again with the new 62 mpg Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion – www.greencarreports.com. No, it is not The Force driving these cars. New engine design along with low rolling resistance tires, an on-off switch that turns the car off when stopped, aerodynamic design and a braking energy recovery system add to the efficiency.
Of course they are only being sold in Europe because people in the U.S. are comfortable driving less efficient cars and paying the bargain price of about $3.00 a gallon of gasoline. Furthermore, the new golf runs on diesel and the cost is about $10,000 more than a comparable gasoline powered Volkswagen. Of course you would be paying for less than half as much fuel because of the efficiency of the car but the upfront cost is scary (rightly so) to many people. Also, with gas prices so low it would take a while to pay for the extra up front cost. Shouldn’t we be encouraging fuel efficiency not making it prohibitively expensive? Maybe its time for green bailout. The banks got one, why can’t environmentally conscious consumers get one too?