Why do European vehicles get better MPG than American ones?

[rei101]

In Venezuela the cars give more miles per gallon as well and our gallon of gas is like 5 cents.

 

[elistan]

Funny how you guys talk about cost of fuel. I could care less. There is something wrong with our cars. Another ago top gear had a program where they were driving 600 miles on one tank of gas. They had a jag, Volkswagen, and I believe a Suzuki. Each one of them was getting way over 50 mpg and they showed the computer showing 64 mpg. The main character was trying to do everything possible to get less, but he stilly aged over 35 mpg. With a jag!!' So tell me why are we still struggling with our cars. A Prius struggles to get 45. I think our govt and fuel companies are good winking us!! I would neloeve that Better gas mileage will be less emissions since you burn less fuel???

What's your agenda? Just curious since this is your one and only so far post on MR. And on a thread that's been dormant for 9 months.

 

[Mousse]

I don't know why folks just won't state the obvious... political correctness be damned.

The reasons Europeans cars get better mileage than American cars is because Americans are FAT.

 

[palmharbor]

European = Diesel

Anyone know why cars sold in countries like the UK get so much better fuel economy than those sold in the US? Even after i convert MPG from imperial gallons to US gallons, the MPG is still off the chart compared to US sold vehicles. Any thoughts?

Even their very small cars run on Diesel...no small car sold in the US runs on Diesel.
Diesel costs much, much less than Gasoline in the UK and mainland Europe.
Few Americans would drive a three cylinder car as many Europeans do.

 

[0dev]

Anyone know why cars sold in countries like the UK get so much better fuel economy than those sold in the US? Even after i convert MPG from imperial gallons to US gallons, the MPG is still off the chart compared to US sold vehicles. Any thoughts?

They're bigger, heavier, and have more powerful engines.

The typical European car is small and has a small engine. A normal modern VW Golf for example would probably have a 1.8 Blue Motion engine or something like that. It's built specifically to be driven on city or country roads at the speed limit and that's it, so it can be low power and economical.

The typical American car is the same size as a tank, has a V8 engine, and is built for... drag racing, presumably, considering none of them can turn corners.

Plus don't forget petrol is a lot cheaper in the US than it is in the UK and I assume much of Europe too, so there's just simply a lot more demand for economical cars in the market where petrol costs a fortune.

 

[quagmire]

The typical American car is the same size as a tank, has a V8 engine, and is built for... drag racing, presumably, considering none of them can turn corners.

Corvette, CTS, ATS, and Camaro 1LE/ZL1/Z28 from the top of my head can all turn corners......

The biggest difference is imperial gallon and the US gallon. The cars can be exactly the same as the European version, but get worse fuel economy in the US.

 

[Tomorrow]

The typical American car is the same size as a tank, has a V8 engine, and is built for... drag racing, presumably, considering none of them can turn corners.

Tank? Hardly. Full-size autos have all but disappeared over the past 15 years or so - Chevrolet Caprice, Ford Crown Victoria, and their relatives have all been discontinued. Only a handful of luxury cars remain.

And V8 engines are practically nonexistent except in trucks and performance cars.

 

[Jbart610]

Don't forget that the EU gets a lot of variants that don't make it to the US. This includes diesels and smaller displacement engines, as well as more aggressive ECU mappings. The safety standards also vary slightly, causing the US cars to be somewhat heavier, though that should be relatively insignificant for mpg calcs.

 

[lxbru]

Well.... Foreign cars > US cars, on a majority of aspects. After the bailouts and such I feel like the cars made here have been far out made by other countries.

 

[quagmire]

Well.... Foreign cars > US cars, on a majority of aspects. After the bailouts and such I feel like the cars made here have been far out made by other countries.

And you base this on what?

 

[xShane]

Gasoline has traditionally been much cheaper in the United States than in most developed nations so American manufacturers just haven't had to worry about it as much.

Plus people here seem to have a thing for bigger or more powerful cars. I don't get the fascination but apparently it's nationwide.

I don't know why folks just won't state the obvious... political correctness be damned.

The reasons Europeans cars get better mileage than American cars is because Americans are FAT.

Image

Most Americans think bigger is better. Just walk into any McDonald's here in America and you'll see for yourself

 

[seanf]

Diesel costs much, much less than Gasoline in the UK...

Diesel is more expensive than petrol (Gasoline) in the UK

Sean