Gas Mileage Tauted As "Amazing": You've Got to be Kidding!

This morning, I caught a television ad for one of the KIA sedans, tauting its supposedly amazing gasoline mileage. The ad shows a young couple trying to figure out which side of the car should be closest to the gas pump for refueling. The implication, actually stated at the end of the commercial, is that this couple has to fill up so infrequently, they have forgotten where the gas tank is located.

Turns out the amazing mileage this car gets is a measly 32 mpg. on the highway.

I have no idea why automobile manufacturers for the US market keep thinking that 32 mpg. is good.

My little SCION XA (no longer available as 2006 was its last year in production) gets approximately 38 mpg. on the highway. To me, this is still not good. How 32 mpg. is good escapes me.

Tokyo's Concept Car Show

Mitsubishi i-MIEV Sport

This baby electric car concept from Mitsubishi is designed to show that a zero-emission car can look great and have a sporty feel. It has three electric motors, two of which are built into the wheels, and a convenient wireless charging system that uses microwaves. A limited number of (non-sporty) i-MIEV experimental cars are already on the road (even Mitsubishi’s company president uses one) and Mitsubishi thinks the technology may be ready for series production as soon as 2010. The microwaves sound a bit ambitious, but otherwise we think it looks like a credible idea for a city car that’s practical, fun, environmentally friendly, and, perhaps, available in the not-too-distant future.