Fuel Efficient Cars in History

Throughout the history of the automobile, engineers and designers have often faced the question of how to make cars more fuel efficient. Fuel-efficient cars are loosely defined as those cars that can travel a greater than average number of miles on one gallon of gasoline. Today, most consumers and car manufacturers consider a car that gets 30 miles to the gallon on the highway to be fuel efficient.

Earliest Fuel-Efficient Cars

Early cars were rarely fuel efficient by design. Fuel efficiency was not as important in the development of early automobiles as was producing cars that were able to travel at faster speeds or for longer distances.
Perhaps the earliest car that actually took fuel efficiency into account during its design phase was the Volkswagen. The first Volkswagen was commissioned by Adolf Hitler and was produced in 1938. Hitler insisted that the Volkswagen be affordable to every citizen of Germany and fuel efficiency was part of his idea of affordability. So, he included a requirement that the Volkswagen be able to attain fuel efficiency of 30 miles to the gallon.
The Volkswagen Beetle and other VW models were popular fuel-efficient vehicles in America in the 1960s.

The 1970s

The 1970s was a period in which many countries experienced a severe gasoline shortage, spurred mainly by an oil-embargo against the United States and other pro-Israel countries by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries and, later, by the Iranian revolution in 1979. Until the fuel shortage occurred in the United States, domestic auto manufacturers had been creating cars that were increasingly large and powerful, but had not placed much focus on fuel efficiency.
When gasoline became scarce and expensive, popularity soared for small, fuel efficient automobiles, most of them from overseas. The Volkswagen Beetle continued to sell well and companies such as Toyota and Honda began exporting their fuel-efficient vehicles to America in ever greater numbers. Early Toyotas and Hondas were not known for being attractive, but they were known for requiring fewer trips to the gas station, where lines were long and, in many areas, the amount of fuel a customer could purchase was rationed.

The 1980s and 1990s

During the 1980s and 1990s, American car manufacturers recognized that they were losing a great deal of the car market to foreign auto makers. That led to American car companies such as General Motors to create their own lines of small, fuel efficient vehicles.
One of the most successful lines of small, fuel efficient American cars was the Geo line. The Geo Metro, a small, bubble-shaped hatchback, was built around a 3-cylinder motor that got close to 50 miles per gallon on the highway.
General Motors introduced the Geo line during a time when fuel was inexpensive and plentiful. Consumers soon grew less interested in small, fuel efficient cars and more interested in large "status" vehicles such as luxury sedans and sport utility vehicles, which featured more room and more power but significantly lower fuel efficiency.

Early Alternative Attempts

Although the production of fuel-efficient, gasoline-powered cars has risen and fallen with the price and availability of gasoline in the consumer market, attempts to produce a vehicle that does not run on gasoline have been ongoing. In fact, many early cars ran on electricity, although they never became popular. Experimental cars that run on battery power, water, and biologically-derived fuels have been produced by engineers, car companies, and universities for decades.
Most early alternative fuel vehicles proved to be cost-prohibitive, however, and not in high demand in the marketplace. Although they did not require gasoline, they were expensive to manufacture and maintain.

New Standards and Practices

A new urgency due to rising fuel costs and limited fuel supplies has led to a renewed public demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Environmentally conscious consumers are interested in driving vehicles that have both a lower impact on the planet and on their pocketbooks.
This new urgency has resulted in new efforts to create cars that run on alternative fuels and to create cars that have greater fuel efficiency. The United States government has responded with stricter standards that tie greater fuel efficiency standards to requirements that the auto industry produce cars with a lesser impact on the environment.
Hybrid vehicles that run both on gasoline and battery power are rolling in greater numbers off both foreign and domestic assembly lines. Bio-diesel stations that sell fuel made from corn and other crops are increasingly available in more populated areas.

References

• The Government's list of most fuel efficient cars
• Fastest Fuel Efficient Cars