The CBC reports:
In January, Ottawa announced plans to create new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks. The new standards aim to match U.S. standards of at 6.7 L per 100 km for 2011 model year vehicles.
With my current car, I’ve seen fuel consumption as poor as 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres only once. If you want this kind of economy, you don’t have to wait three years.
The story focuses on a $90 million three year program to offer rebates and transit passes in an attempt to get old gas guzzlers off the road. Unfortunately, the story offers no further details. I was eager to read what they have in mind to replace the cancelled program that gave me a rebate when I bought my car.
WTL
I can’t agree more. It also drives me to distraction that our 1993 VW Gold Turbo Diesel gets up to 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres (50 MPG), depending on our usage.
I wonder what would have happened if we had pushed it to 5.7l/100km.
Rick
At 5.7l/100km, the imports would take over. Well, they’d take over faster.
I think I bought my diesel too late. I’ve read of some of the amazing mileage figures from the previous generation VWs. Certainly I could get better numbers if I didn’t drive in the city or in traffic.
Driving to visit my folks is an ideal path to better economy. My best to date was 1131 km on a tank (54 litres) which works out to 4.79l/100km or 49mpg. I was using A/C too. This involved a 650km highway drive, ferrying my mom around town for a week, then making it back to within a few hundred kilometres of Ottawa again. Given how the efficiency of these engines improves for the first 100K km, I’m looking forward to giving it another try this summer to see if I can improve on those numbers.
Even if people don’t want to drive diesel, Sethra said she gets similar economy in her Yaris. Granted mine will improve as the weather warms, but it’s still better than this 2011 requirement.
It’s all about what’s important to people. Sure everyone says economy is important, but it’s not near the top of the list if they then go and buy an SUV. Do that and I don’t want to hear any bitching about the price of gas!
Shawn
I had heard they cancelled the rebate program, yet kept the tax program in effect.