Someone told me they just passed new standards that all new passenger vehicles starting in 2010 must get 23mpg+. WOW!! I hope the technology really gets that much better, QUOTE]
Get Better??? Hmm. As I recall all of the 4-cylinder, and some of the 6-cylinder cars from the early to late 80's all got better mileage than the new models.
I had a 86' Toyota MR2. And it got about 35-Hwy 27-City.... 90' VW Fox
That got about 30-hwy 25-city..... 88' Mazda MX6 about 32-hwy 27-city..... All of them had more than enough power to roast the tires any time I wanted..
But people ,(mostly younger buyers ) wanted more power..So the manufacturer's designed the motors to make more power. They also started making the motors bigger in the same cars. All of which people loved , And kept asking for more power. So the Cookie Crumbled....
It was never a matter of Technology.. We had it already..still do. But everyone's simply forgotten..
A friend of mine got his old VW Diesel Rabbit truck out of his yard. (early 80's model ) and it's still getting about 50-55 MPG on the Hwy.
So its still simply about people with lots of money and power wanting more money.