I was in D.C. visiting some relatives the past weekend – trying to work on my terror level and maybe get a few good jokes on the way. Unfortunately, Bush wasn’t in, so I had no one to do blow with while I was in town (Zing!) so I had to settle for martinis and some excellent conversation.
Now, my friends, the relatives have two SUVs. One Land Rover, one Lexus SUV (and for a point of understanding, this guy had a FREAKING ASTON MARTIN until the wife convinced him to go to a Land Rover Family Car). On one drive, he pointed out the Land Rover has more horsepower than the Lexus, and it leads to the conversation of how back in the day, people sacrificed economy for horsepower.
I’ve got a brother-in-law with a 1969 Firebird – you think that gets great fuel mileage?
Will we replace Horsepower with Fuel Economy?
I’m really curious about this. We used to be about Trans Ams, Camaros, Hemis… and to a degree we, as Americans, have given up the SUVs from “compact” SUVs and cross-overs with huge engines (and mildly better fuel economy).
Will we start shelling out for hybrids instead of a mini-tank? Or will mini-cars show up as the dominant driving force? Point in case – the Smart Fortwo. A cool little two-seater that can go up to 90mph and gets 33/41 mpg. From SmartUSA:
According to information obtained on fueleconomy.gov, the smart fortwo is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid
gasoline-powered vehicle in the USA today. The gas tank of the smart fortwo is 8.7 gallons.
For reals? For reals!
This is kind of cool – I know SOMEONE downtown has one of these, because whenever I walk over to the Northmarket for lunch, and sometimes on my way home from work, I see a woman driving one. I believe you can get one over by Easton – I think it’s an Acura dealership as well.
Basically, this keeps piqueing my interest – I want a small, fast compact car. Fuel Economy? MosDef.
As my current car – a 1997 Honda Civic starts to approach the end of its life, my journey in the realm of “new age vehicles” will begin.
