Comment on American automakers are losing the race to make more fuel-efficient vehicles
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 9 months agoMaverick is 7 inches longer, 4 inches wider, and 5 inches taller than a 1990’s Ranger.
CAFE standards favor the larger footprint.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 9 months ago
Because they have 4 doors. That’s not part of any CAFE standard.
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 9 months ago
The reason they don’t make a 2-door version is because the shorter length of a 2-door would tighten the CAFE standards, and it would not be able to comply.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 9 months ago
It doesn’t have to be shorter
Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 9 months ago
All other things being equal, the smaller vehicle will have better economy than the larger. So the more relevant observation is “it doesn’t have to be longer”. There is no engineering reason why the Maverick has to be bigger than the Ranger, and it would be more economical if it weren’t. It is bigger only to satisfy regulatory compliance.