Without any fancy hybrid technology etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzvmPpXTAqM This subaru is actually bigger than the Smartcar which I think does like 35-40MPG and only seats two. The Subaru sits 4 and does 66mpg. I wonder why not introduce such a vehicle again. It would be cheap and would probably sell well.
i don't get it either..i use to work @ delivery on 95 nissan sentra. 1.6L gas engine, everything powered. this baby can make 40 mpg easy. use to cost us around $60 to get to Orlando. now there is great diesel technologies out there but looks like nobody in US is interested..
All the environmentalist convinced congress to make car companies use PCV valves, caltalytic converters and a host of other power robbing devices and addons now. You'd have to get out an push to get the engines of those days to move the car. Plus, they would be sued after the first crash for making such a flimsy piece of crap. We have to be protected from ourselves these days, you know.
The thing had a lawnmower engine, took 3 days to get to highway speeds**, and weighed about the same as a dumpster diver's bag of aluminum cans (meaning if you crashed, you were dead). **The actual tested performance was 37 seconds - over half a minute! - to get to 50mph. In today's world, it would be an accident-magnet anytime it got within a zipcode of a traffic light or (god forbid) a highway on-ramp. In actual street driving tests, the car also only got about half the claimed 66 mpg. Hope that helps...
With top speed at 60mph, 0 to 50 in 34 seconds, I don't think it fits on any interstates highway. Beside its chase is out date, not safe on today's road.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sentra B14 95-99 Engines * GA16DE 1,597cc 7,200 rpm redline 1.6 DOHC 115 hp (86 kW) @ 6000rpm 108tq @ 4000 rpm. available in 5 speed manual/4 speed automatic 30/40mpg 5spd man 28/37 4spd auto 0-60 mph in 8.5 seconds on 95 GXE M/T: Car and Driver 6/95
360 was the size of the two stroke engine. The claims of 66 mpg was greatly exaggerated. "Fuel economy claims were as high as 66 mpg, but in Consumer Reports tests, acceleration was modest, with 0-50 times over 37 seconds compared to 14.5 seconds for a Volkswagen, and they reported to expect 25â35 miles per gallon." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_360 The car weight at 900 lbs and you have to manually mix 2 stroke engine oil with gasoline. In addition, there were safety concerns: "The Subaru 360 received notoriety in 1969, when Consumer Reports magazine branded the automobile "Not Acceptable" because of safety concerns and lack of power. Because the car weighed under 1000 pounds, it was exempt from normal safety standards, but it was reported that it fared badly in a test crash against a large American car with the bumper ending up in the passenger compartment of the Subaru.[4]."
50mpg all day long. I have a '91 as a beater, gets 43mpg in this hilly ass state with 268k on the original motor. Best part is it only cost me $800.