🚀 go-pugleaf

>I hate to ask for references, but please provide references.  European
>cars that are sold in this country have the worst fuel economy, coming in
>third after the American and Japanese fleets.  American fleet averages
>are, in fact, the only fleet averages that are increasing - both the
>Japanese and European averages are, and have been for years, declining.
>-- 
>John F. Haugh II      | VNET: LCCB386 at AUSVMQ | "Physical Fitness is the

I remember reading this in a Greenpeace newsletter (I think). I will try and
dig out something more solid. Note that I am referring to European cars sold
in Europe, not here. European car manufacturers realize that demand for fuel 
efficient cars is not all that great in the US. Whatever market exists has been
cornered by the Japanese. Hence they sell their larger more expensive cars like 
BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Saab, Jaguar, etc. A case in point is Volvo which does 
not sell its 343 compact here. When efficiency is not really a selling point, 
why bother with it?

A possible reason for the decline in the Japanese avg. is that Japanese
manufacturers are moving into the luxury car market, thus lowering the avg., 
and not because the efficiency of the Japanese (sub)compact has fallen.