Bill Pierre Ford

According to experts, US drivers are most likely going to have to wait about 3 years for a car to be sold that gets 50 miles per gallon, even though such models already exist in Japan and Europe. While we have a penchant for bigger and more powerful cars in the US, the biggest problem seems to be the cost to develop them for a mass market here.

To reach 50 mpg, buyers may have to compromise on one of the 3 pretty essential areas: cost, quality of the ride or safety. At this time, high tech equipment to make the car either lighter or more fuel efficient can’t help impact the ride and vehicle in one of these key areas. Ford recently estimated what it would take to build the Ford Focus out of a lighter-weight aluminum frame. This would pop the mileage up to 50mpg from its current 35 mpg, but it would cost $50,000. Hmmm… Gotta admit, that’s a pretty expensive Focus.