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Today everyone is talking about the high cost of gas. About 30 years ago, I went to the Chicago Auto Show and watched as one of the General Motors executives took the stage and said, “You want bigger engines? We are giving you bigger engines!” It wasn’t long after that when I saw one of the big oil executives on the news saying, “America is too addicted to oil, we are going to raise the price of oil.”
It makes no sense to manufacture cars to cruise at 120 mph and up when you have speed limits of 65 or 70 mph in every state. I also remember several decades ago when U.S. automakers said it would take 20 years to bring the gas mileage up, but when the price of gas started to affect their own wallets, they found they could do it in 60 days.
Next time you go and price a new American car, tell the salesman you want an economic engine. They will tell you it is not available. I drive a Toyota Prius hybrid and the price of gas doesn’t bother me at all. I get 49 miles per gallon.
Bob Moty
Crystal Lake