Unsafe at Any Speed

Hey Mr. Green,

Regarding your comment that safety features in cars add "only" 125 pounds to car weight, I remind you that an additional 100 pounds of car weight can reduce the mileage by up to 2 percent.

 –Sally in Newport News, Virginia

Hey Sally,

I'm well aware that 100 pounds can reduce mileage by 1 to 2 percent and have said so before.

But what's up with all you guys leaping to defend automakers from the menacing Mr. Green? My point was that 100 or so extra pounds is trivial compared to an additional 1,000-plus pounds. The auto barons piled that tonnage onto huge new petrol-guzzlers named for natural disasters and military raids, aggressively marketing aggressive vehicles to consumers unlikely to buy efficient cars.

The size factor was just another symptom of Detroit’s indefensible rapacity and stupidity, which got us into deep trouble during the mid-1970 fuel shortages because it wasn't making efficient cars. But the auto bosses learned nothing, repeated the same mistake, and went for a quick profit, with the result that they now face a 16-lane economic crash and are holding out their hubcaps begging for a bailout. I certainly hope the industry can be saved somehow, because I don’t want to see a couple million workers lose their jobs because of their bosses' incompetence. But we should all contact our senators and representatives demanding that they implement and enforce strict energy-efficiency requirements on the auto industry as a condition for financial help that comes from taxpayers. Otherwise, the same mistakes will be made again 30 years or so down the road.

Myth of the Little SUV Debunked

Hey Mr. Green,
I was very disappointed in your answer to the recent question about whether cars get lower gas mileage because of safety or antipollution devices. Your answer was these devices do not add weight to cars or reduce mileage. What are you talking about? At least admit that pollution-control devices like the catalytic converter impair good mileage.

I had a '90s Subaru Loyale that got more than 35 miles to the gallon, even after it was eight years old! My new Honda CRV, which I admit is a little bigger, can hardly get 22 miles per gallon, and I consider myself a good driver! –Carl in Bannockburn, United Kingdom

Hey Carl,
Your comparison actually proves my point about auto companies' stupid, inefficient giantism. Your Honda is more than a "little bigger" than the Subaru: It's a whopping one-third bigger. The Honda CRV weighs a half ton more and has at least 50 more horsepower. The CRV has a curb weight of about 3,500 pounds and a horsepower of 166, whereas the old Loyale wagon had a curb weight of around 2,400 and a horsepower of 90 or 115, depending on the type of engine. The difference in gas mileage is a result of that extra heft and oomph.

(Note: I call giantism "stupid" because Detroit is now in the same mess it was in 35 years ago. That's when car sales plunged because it had no efficient vehicles to offer during the gas crunch. You'd think that the old boys who run GM and Ford would have some recollection of this disastrous event.)