As well as the federally mandated safety content, there is also the market mandated luxury content. This is a more affluent country than it was 25 years ago. Very few shoppers will settle for a slow, noisy car with no AC. The ones who will won't pay new car prices.
Regarding claimed mileage, you can't compare 80s window sticker numbers to modern cars. The EPA changed the test to give lower results in 1984, and again in 2007. 50 then would be about 35 now.
Good post. You made some very solid, succinct, inarguable points. 0bama is about to take the one above away from you.
Regarding claimed mileage, you can’t compare 80s window sticker numbers to modern cars. The EPA changed the test to give lower results in 1984, and again in 2007. 50 then would be about 35 now.
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Who goes by window stickers? I bought a 1980 Pontiac Pheonix new and on a trip from Florence, South Carolina to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania with three adults, a twelve year old and a trunk full of luggage I averaged 34.2 miles per gallon as calculated from meticulously recorded mileage and fuel records. The car was reasonably roomy and comfortable for the trip,(I am 6’ 4” and weighed about 220 at the time) it was air conditioned and I drove at interstate speed. Why is it such a big deal to find a car that will do the same thing today, almost thirty years later?