Fuel prices, oversized cars and Schadenfreude

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Sometimes it's still quite shocking to me when I notice older generations of full-size trucks are smaller than a modern mid-size (which Americans may still be used to classify as a compact). This 43y.o. F-100 may not look or feel oversized compared to a brand-new Ranger for instance...

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

A seemingly desperate attempt to improve fuel-efficiency was the fitment of smaller engines into large vehicles, in a time when people tended to see the amount of cylinders as inherently tied to fuel-efficiency. For instance, in Brazil Ford went as far as offering the 4-cyl 2.3L OHC Lima engine to a local version of the F-100.

[paniwew]

It’s always interesting to see how different regions react to fuel prices. In Europe, high costs have made efficient cars, public transport, and motorcycles the norm, whereas in the U.S., trucks and SUVs are still king. A price hike definitely hits harder when your daily driver gets 15 MPG. Long-term, though, shifting to more efficient transport seems inevitable.