They may very well incorporate something in to meet the 07 standards. Maybe that'll be part of how the trucks plan to meet diesel emissions standards. Which makes me wonder how these things would effect diesel fuel's lubricity... Hmmm...
I personally think that the answer for just insane mileage is an absolute no. We have the technology to make a 140 hp engine in a 3000lb car get 60 mpg. And thats a gasser. And not a gas/electric hybrid. Just a gasser.
VW has a diesel/electric hybrid coming out that'll kick the shit out of the gas/electrics, but still won't be as efficient as it could be.
Using the computize technology that we have the car itself could base fueling patterns, amounts, timing, when to run 1 cyl or 6 cyl's, if the AWD is necessary at the exact moment... There are so many things that could be included, that engineers may even include in the original designs but the accountants "edit" down.
For an additional $4 a car, Ford could have put a special liner inside the Pinto's fuel tank that prevented puncture and leakage. In fact, in the model that got safety tested, it WAS included. But the accountants decided it wasn't necessary. Now what happens when you hit the back of a Pinto? BOOM. Just a few $$ a car could have saved lives, property costs, mental trauma/physical trauma, and I bet the Pinto would've kept on selling for a good bit of time.
Could Toyota have put airbags in our cars? Yes. The $$-mongerers decided it was not needed. How about a rear shoulder-strap setup? How about TBI injection? Better lighting? A rollbar built in?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Could fuel companies convert to a significant amount of bio-fuel sales, which would benefit the environment among other things? Yes. That doesn't mean a full conversion to bio-fuels. It'd be hard to procure that much growing land. But could they do it? Yes. Something you grow in a few months, grab off the surface of the earth, ship across the country versus something that took millenia to develop, is hundreds/thousands of feet under the earth or ocean typically, has to be shipped around the world...
$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$
In the eyes of a greedy idiot, $0.05/per car is equal to $5 saved in 100 cars. Going to be just a few more than 100 cars made. Using that logic.. How much do the mileage-mobiles like the Geo's were, and the baseline Civics are, cost? Cheap. Not a lot at all. They tend to be bare-boned machines meant for timid economy. Sure, the Prius and the TDI Jetta are mileage-fiends, but they are also something "different" so by sellers logic must cost more.
Lets just assume a $0.05 accessory was put on all Tercels in 1986. Pull 300,000 out, and by that point, $15,000 has now been spent on the accessory that will likely be looked on as useless to an accountant. Sure, they could jack the price up a few $, but what if the Subaru looks a little more appealing because of that few $ strike-up on the Terc? And that aside, how many more cars could be bought MSRP for $15,000? Almost 2 of the highest package available in 83.
Sure, seems pointless and moronic, but that seems to be how it works.
BTW, check out
http://www.mundi.com
