MPG BS

"come in today and test drive the fuel efficient GMC Acadia today!" exclaims the announcer.

every automobile commercial today is talking all sorts of shit about fuel efficiency, gas mileage and environmental friendliness. i'd just about lost it after seeing the commercial for the new ford edge, with it's "drive the new ford edge, with the best fuel efficiency in its class." the starburst graphic proudly displays "up to 24 miles per gallon."

really? when did 'up to' 24 mpg become fuel efficient? 1982, that's when. that was the year that the average vehicle reached 21.5 mpg. so, pray tell, what the hell have we been doing in the intervening 26 years???? well, adding fancy new in-cabin entertainment, additional cupholders and approximately 1,000 lbs. per vehicle. that's what.

i find it hard to believe that no one--the government, detroit, even japan--has decided in the past quarter century that it may be a good idea to make some alterations to our vehicles to lessen their thirst for our fossil fuels. instead, the government decided that additional drilling, more purchasing and additional trade was the way to go. smart.

sooner or later, someone will wise up to the fact that drilling in alaska or off shore somewhere will only prolong the energy crisis we're experiencing now. yeah, we'll have more fuel for our cars now at the expense of possibly fueling anything else in the future. but who cares, right? live for today, they always say.

in the past 25 years we've seen the creation and identification of AIDS, mobile telephones, a world wide interweb machine doohicky and an assortment of other technological advances once thought impossible, if dreamed at all. in that same time frame our cars have gotten bigger, uglier and more home-like...but haven't improved an iota in performance.

as detroit feels the crushing burden of a shit economy--driven down by high fuel, a crap housing market, and the credit crunch--it seems now may be the most opportune time to begin truly innovating and leading the charge to bigger, better and more efficient things. being the first to market with a 70 mpg vehicle would certainly garner them some mad market share and would, more importantly, spurn a trend of innovation that finally resolves the issue of MPG. but the powers that be in auburn hills, the ren cen, and dearborn have yet to extract their heads from their collective assess, and their marketers are more than happy to try and pull the wool over the consumer's eyes.

and in other news, water is wet.