Gas Guzzlers

New research says that the US will have to completely overhaul its transportation system

The land of milk, honey and excess —the United States of America—has increased the fuel efficiency in its motor vehicles by only three miles per gallon over the last 80 years. On estimates, at least 60 per cent of US cars and buses on the road are from the 1980s and hugely fuel inefficient. Clearly, America’s oil-related crises begin with its cars. New research by Michael Sivak and Omer Tsimhonia, of the University Of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, says that the US will have to completely overhaul its transportation system. That’s another way of saying the country has to invest massively in public transport. But equally, it has to pump money into research and development of the automobiles. The report points out that despite greater awareness and rising fuel prices, the average fuel efficiency of an American motor car is only 17 miles per gallon as of 2006. New models in Japan and Europe can deliver as many as 40 miles per gallon. Industry experts say that while research and development is crucial to solve the problem, replacing older cars is likely to take over a decade, a process that could prove vexed and expensive.

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Ninad D. Sheth