With an opinion like that I must conclude that I need to move to your state.

You're telling me if you drive the freeways you don't constantly see tiny, slow cars holding up traffic? And driving in the fast lane on top of that? And even worse on the regular roads?

Sign me up. That's the state I need to move to.

Granted, my statement was from an American environmentalist who can't drive a car due to a visual acuity slightly below the minimum standards (unaided) and rides a bicycle wherever he goes. And yes, he's had to haul a fair bit of crap on his bike.

Maybe that's why Mr. Cofield thinks I'll go to hell without the handbasket.

In his defense, however, he would like to point out the uses that BeachAV8R has gotten out of his tiny Honda.

That would be a big improvement. Most N.A. cars look like bricks with wheels and big chrome grills

Diesel engines nowadays are cleaner and more efficient (get better mileage compared to petrol/gasoline engines). They also generally produce more torque compared to similar sized petrol/gasoline engines.

Over here, more and more consumers are looking for diesels when buying new cars even though the price of diesel is a bit more compared to petrol/gasoline.

4 cyl econoboxes were getting 30-40 mph twenty years ago. My father's old 1987 Plymth Horizon would get 40 MPG on the freeway and that was with a bloody auto-choke carburettor and distributor ignition. The technology for higher fuel economy has been completely offset by the demand for higher power and more accessories. If people wanted cars with tiny engines and no options they would still be sold. I think now you would be hard pressed to find a new car with less than 110 HP. Even VW who is pushing their turbodiesels right now as a fuel economy solution has gone totally away from 4 cyl on their base models, and the Rabbits and Jettas now come standard with a 5 cyl engine. Drivers want powerful vehicles that can do more than just commute to work. It's a far cry from the Geo Metro, Rabbit, and Civic of the 1980s.

Not sure what state you live in but could you please tell me which cars can't do over 65 mph (which is the max speed limit afaik), just because they going slow doesn't mean they can only go slow. Perhaps it's because the people driving them would go that "SLOW" regardless of the car they are driving.

Smaller cars have seen huge crash safety and body stiffness driven weight increases since that time, even though engine tech has become a lot more efficient a lot of the gains are eaten by the need for more power to move these surprising hefty small cars.

Blame the drivers, not the cars...but yeah, for people who couldn't live without their cars, California drivers are pretty terrible.

Ah I stuffed up, it's not 54mpg in real numbers it's 78mpg, or 3.62 litres/100kilometres.
That's atually really very good.

Fifty cents more a gallon for diesel wouldn't matter with mileage numbers like that.

Clydewinder is correct. My wife had a 1970 Austin Mini that got over 60mpg on a long drive...and that was 38 years ago. North Americans have been brainwashed by "consumer advocates" and insurance companies into "needing" crap like airbags, crumple zones, 5 mph bumpers etc etc. I can go to the UK and rent nice little cars made by Ford or GM (or other manufacturers) that will never come to North America.

I remember some years ago having a 93 Ford Escort with a 1.8L engine. A very nice reliable little car that would get about 45mpg on a long run. I drove it for 8 years. During that time I was in the UK and rented an Escort that (on the surface) looked very similar BUT it was faster and got better mileage on a 1.3L engine......why? It was not laoded up with all the "stuff" North Americans "must have"

Now I have a Focus, which is considered a "medium sized" car in the UK. Over there you can get the Ford Ka...a great little vehicle....but it will never see the light of day here because it's too small and "not safe enough" for us.....any of you ever drive in the UK or Europe??? don't talk to me about "safety"

http://www.ford.co.uk/ie/ka/-/ka_intro_4col/-/-/-/-

No105_Archie, Ford KAs are made for two groups. Women and Airline stewards. Focus are built for men, ST Focus are built for men who like to visit the petrol station every two miles, and pay the max tax next year. Like me. D'oh! 225 BHP 150+MPH 30 MPG, and not available in the USA. What more car would the USA want? It has everything. But then it is fast, goes round corners like a snake and looks good too...so I see the point of not exporting it to 'em!