Getting the best MPG means putting efficient power plants in smaller, lighter vehicles. The European BMW 1 series are what we want to see. A big car will always be more wasteful.

peace

I selected the average EPA mileage because that’s what probably correlates best with the amount of fuel the car will be using in a year in the US (along with the total miles driven, of course).

Hope this helps.

-Of course, these are estimates based on the EPA for the US. You will predictably get someone who claims to get much better mileage figures, just as some people will complain about low figures, but it’s hard to generalize from these reports. No one should expect a car like the 7-series (or even a 5-series) to have very good mileage, based on the figures above.

-Diesels don’t necessarily equate to magical mileage. The original Hummer had a diesel, and many light truck diesels are not terribly fuel-efficient, even compared with their gas cousins, for several reasons.

-Anyway, we’ll see. I hope I’m wrong because we need to save fuel, but physics is physics.

FYI, American pollution controls make it very difficult to sell diesel vehicles here. Besides the extra costs, refilling a urea tank under the hood doesn’t sound like fun. In Europe, they are a bit more lax on the NOx values to make it viable. Then again, with US diesel at $1/gallon more than gasoline, the market here is probably limited anyway.

If the Big 3 did something like this, people would be screaming things like “greenwashing” or “over-hyped major disappointment.” BMW does it, and they will no doubt receive little but praise. Somehow, the European and Asian manufacturers seem to avoid the same negative press that has so deeply affected Detroit, whether it’s fuel economy, emissions, safety, reliability, or whatever.