Dans Papers - June 1, 2007

Okay, so you want to save gas. Let's step back into the past when a gallon of gas cost less than 50 cents and cars got pretty good fuel mileage. In the forties and fifties most American cars achieved mileage between 20 and 25 miles per gallon. Mid-twentieth century vehicles were lighter than today's automobiles and in most cases had much smaller and less powerful engines. Obviously, the more horsepower an engine has, the more feed it needs.

Even the economy cars of the fifties, the air-cooled German Volkswagen Beetle, the French Renault Dauphine and the original British Mini, achieved only about 35 miles per gallon, which by today's standards is not exceptional, but was quite good in an era of cheap fuel. However, these three European vehicles had, by American standards, really small, low horsepower motors. Yet all of them would merrily cruise down any highway in the world at acceptable speeds.

Of them all, the Volkswagen was the most mechanically interesting. With its air-cooled, 43 horsepower 1300 cubic centimeter engine (one eighth the size of a big block Chevy V-8) mounted in the rear, the Beetle's top speed of 72 miles per hour was also considered its cruising speed. It was quite common to drive an early Volkswagen with the pedal to the metal most of the time. As everyone knows, this car was destined to become one of the best selling cars the world has ever seen.

Fast forward to today. Gas prices in America have reached all time highs. Most of our cars get worse gas mileage than those we drove 50 years ago. So what is the government and Detroit doing to get us out of this dilemma? Virtually nothing. The proposed government mandated fuel mileage rules are a joke, and Detroit, which is virtually on a self destruction mode, is still running expensive network television commercials proudly proclaiming how great their high horsepower, oversized and overweight vehicles perform. The American car buying public has pulled a Rhett Butler on Detroit with a "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" attitude toward their products. To save itself, what Detroit needs ASAP are high-mileage, extremely fuel-efficient products.

Even though I like small cars, I've come to the realization that most Americans like big things. In fact, we're the only country in the world that likes big vehicles. There are two obvious ways to give big vehicles better gas mileage - lightweight and smaller engines. Why does an SUV need 260 horsepower and a top speed of over 100 miles per hour in the states, where the speed limits on most of our highways are posted so artificially low that it forces every American driver to be a scofflaw? Our large cars can be designed smaller, with almost the same interior volume and made much lighter. Then a much smaller engine that would consume less fuel could power them.

Hybrid and electric power for automobiles is good, but complicated and expensive. There is another form of propulsion that was invented over 100 years ago that is a better solution to our fuel consumption woes. It's the simple diesel engine. If ever the time was right for diesels in America it is now. In city traffic, a diesel engine will get about 40 percent better fuel economy but on the highway expect about 15 percent. Diesel fuel is also cheaper to produce than gasoline because it is less refined. In fact, home heating oil and Jet A fuel used for jet planes is essentially the same as diesel fuel. In case of an accident and fire, diesel fuel is much safer than gasoline because it is considerably less explosive. Just recently, the United States Navy banned carrying all gasoline on its warships and the Navy Seals will be using special diesel powered outboards on their inflatables. Rudolf Diesel was indeed prescient.

Diesel motors work long, hard and well, especially in large vehicles. Every, and I do mean every, large over the highway truck is diesel powered. A well- built tractor-trailer rig purchased new usually comes with a 500,000-mile engine warranty. Some manufacturers of diesel truck rigs offer million mile engine warranties. I have a little 28 horsepower three cylinder diesel engine in my sailboat that should run trouble free for 10,000 hours, using one half gallon of fuel per hour. That's the equivalent of a million miles. Diesels have a stellar reputation for a long life. An immediate fix for Detroit is to offer diesel power in all large cars and SUVs. The timing is right. Fifty percent of all the cars sold in Europe are diesel powered. It can happen here. With diesel vehicles in GM's inventory, future television commercials might feature a nouveau Dinah Shore singing, "Save the USA in your Chevrolet, America is asking you to call."

Bob Gelber, an automotive journalist living in the Hamptons, appears regularly on television as an automotive expert. You can email him at bobgelber@aol.com