Any one that has owned and driven vehicles built over several decades (60's, 70', 80's, 90', 00's) will know there is something going on at the American auto factories and not for the improvement of fuel economy.
They boast and proclaim the modern engines and drive trains along with the aerodynamic bodies are the most fuel efficient designs ever created.
SO, why do the older vehicles from decades past typically have equal or even better fuel economy Than the new stuff? I know people around here that have old diesel farm pickups built in the 70's and 80's that still get an actual 20+ mpg on the highway but the new diesels pickups cant get half that.
I had a 1983 Mercury topaz in high school And I drove it like a high school kid does, Hard and aggressive. I had to pay for may own fuel too so I kept track of the fuel usage and it honestly ran low 30's driving that way and often did around 40 Mpg highway at interstate speeds.
The new cars weigh a 1000 pounds less and are smaller and have these so called supper efficient engines and aerodynamics but yet they dont get much over the upper 20's and occasionally low 30's if driven like conservative old Lady's owned them.
Plus ask a truck driver what a 80,000 semi truck gets for fuel mileage. I bet he says not well, maybe 5 - 6 mpg.
WTF! How come a 6000 pound pickup only gets double that?
80,000 / 6000 = 13 .33
So shouldn't a 6000 pound pickup get at least 5 times that? Or 30 -35 mpg?
And a 3000 pound car sould be double that yet!
No auto industry conspiracy my ass!