US stuck in reverse on fuel economy

Its true. When I bought my Landcruiser, I looked into buying a diesel model. They are quite popular in Europe where fuel economy is important, but they are not available here.

Also, some models available with a flex fuel (ethanol > 10%) option are not available here either.

Most people can cut their fuel consumption substantially by changing driving habits. You do not need to park your car and leave it. Remember, the last arab oil embargo created the 55 mpg speed limit. Just cutting cruising speed on highways by five percent will help a lot. Around town, do not join the "who can get the the next red light first" contest. Coast and play the lights. If you drive stick shift, short shift. Combine trips. Stay off brakes- do you left foot brake? Make sure you do not use brake as a footrest. If you raise your fuel economy 15%, it is like getting a 15% discount on gas.

After reading some of the comments posted, I think it's more about how we transfer energy to motion. Changing our dependency on the combustion engine is the big step. Getting rid of it in the near future, next to impossible.

We are using diesel-electric / gas-electric almost everywhere in boats, trains and large trucks. Don't see why car builders can't come up with a smart solution.

Ramsay

Actually, the whole industry moving backwards is inaccurate. There is a HUGE movement of overunity machines, pulse magnet motors, and several other motors using concepts by Nikola Tesla. If you don't know who he is, you're not alone. His story is the most amazing in world history. You owe it to yourselves to look at, or read a biography of his life and then ask the question, why does nobody know who this guy is. He brought about the electrical revolution at the turn of the 20th century, and in death, he'll do it again around the corner of this century. You may have heard about the Lotus Tesla. That is the new electric sports car that does 0-60 in under 4 seconds. That car was named after Nikola Tesla to pay tribute to the greatest man in recent history. His concepts and ideas are being revitalized into a revolution that will rewrite physics (that process has already started, the term electricity is already being retooled as far too vague). You can also search the web for some of these Tesla spawned words and phrases like:

Back EMF Perendev motor Bedini motor (sometimes spelled bodini) Overunity Free Energy

Study Tesla, understand his actual achievements (not theories like Einstein, but actual magnificent feats and inventions that we still use today) and then see where he was headed before he was basically shut down by misinformed popular opinion. Juxtaposed with the technologies being brought forth by several of his pupils, it's not hard to see how the possibilities of what's being created right now. If you miss the step of studying Tesla before you go and see some of these devices working, you may think they are impossible. If you look at Tesla's history, his 111 US patents, 500 Worldwide patents, (inventions such as: AC in which the world receive electricity today, AC Induction motors, and transformers, still used today, harnessed the energy of Niagra Falls (his statue is in front of the largest power plant and 9 of the 10 patents posted on the door are his), X-Ray (MRI are measured in Tesla Units), Fluorescent Lights, Neon Lighting, The Coil (like the one in your car), the alternator of course (AC is Alternating Current - hence where the term Alternator came from), wireless transmission (including Radio & Television frequencies and how to tune into them). Don't you think that's a pretty amazing resume for a guy who's almost unknown. Study Tesla and you will see that this stuff was only the beginning of the incredible things he had planned to do before he ran out of funding. He was labeled by the press as a man who lost his mind toward his mid life, largely due to public announcements that he was receiving signals from outer space while developing the radio technology. The damage was done, people thought he was a loon, only now of course we know that planets radiate a signal that we receive on a daily basis. (not aliens, but planets surging with energy like the ones throughout our solar system, sending a frequency signal). It's the most fascinating story ever, and you have only been told a snippet. Search for the news, don't let big business feed it to you. A decent film biography on Tesla called, "Tesla: the genious who lit the world," can be rented on Netflix. There are better biographies, but that's the only one I know how to reference, some others can be seen on YouTube and downloaded by bittorrent. (try torrentscan.com)

Once you've learned about him, and his future of his possibilities, tell everyone you know. The word needs to be out.

Not bilge at all.

I choose neither of the above...Nor am I a "creation scientist" or "flat earther".

They call them "hybrids." While a diesel-electric need not have batteries, some battery equipped (true hybrids} locomotives are appearing now.

The best way to improve your car's fuel economy is to adjust the nut behind the steering wheel.