Today Cars No More Efficient than 1963 Models

The average car on Australian roads today is only as fuel efficient as its predecessor was back in 1963. That’s the finding of prominent transport researcher Paul Mees, of Melbourne University, who is crunching numbers for the Garnaut climate change review. Paul says that “the current rate of progress in making cars more fuel efficient is no progress at all.” In 1963 the average Australian car went 100km on 11.4 litres of petrol. (That’s 20.6 mpg) They can only manage the same efficiency more than 40 years later.

Gathering data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, he has revealed that while engine efficiency has improved, this has been countered by the addition of 'enhancements' such as air-conditioning, power steering and windows, safety and entertainment systems. The static nature of overall fuel efficiency has also been hampered by the roll out of more freeways. "If you drive at 110kmh you use more fuel than if you drive at 70kmh." From ::Sydney Morning Herald, via Ecomedia