Over the past few years, the American consumer has shifted attention from smaller sedans to SUVs and trucks. Automotive manufacturers recently turned business models to reflect this change in demand and have cut back on the production of small vehicles. With the recession fading out of the current economic landscape, the price of oil has remained stable, and purchasing a bigger vehicle makes the most sense. During President Obama’s administration, much legislation relating to fuel-efficiency passed with opposition from the Republican party. Since these automotive manufacturers keep improving fuel economy technology, these regulations made sense at the time. However, President Trump has stated numerous times that he would like to see these regulations loosened quite a bit. When thinking about how to improve fuel economy, many analysts believe these fuel-efficiency guidelines should follow President Obama’s lead.
Improving Fuel Economy
As technology continues to develop in this area, vehicles should become much more fuel-efficient over time. While many oil companies would like petroleum to remain the primary source for fuel, it is only a matter of time until electric vehicles take over. The process of electric cars taking over the marketplace has indeed been slow over the past decade. Companies have not done an excellent job convincing consumers on the idea of leaving gasoline behind, and it is difficult to blame them. Only one auto manufacturer at this time is incredibly focused on making the electric vehicle the norm.
Improving the Motor Cities Fuel Economy
Reports released last year demonstrated that the big three auto manufacturers from Detroit had the lower performing fuel-efficient vehicles. Detroit should be leading the charge in this area by gradually transferring over to electric cars. While this should be the case, consumer behavior is not making these companies want to perform any drastic changes to current operations. If consumers continue to demand petroleum-based cars, these companies will certainly supply them.