I’m not convinced of that. Cars in Europe already get higher mileage, so the automakers have the technology and experience. We could make 35mpg the reality today, if the car companies sold us their European models. That doesn’t happen today. In America you can’t buy a reasonably priced car that gets more than 40mpg.

I’m all for letting the free market decide, but it isn’t the lack of proven technology that holds us back from higher gas mileage. The technology is available and in use today.

The number of vehicle models sold in the United States that achieve combined gas mileage of at least 40 miles per gallon actually has dropped from five in 2005 to just two in 2007 — the Honda Civic hybrid and the Toyota Prius hybrid. Overseas, primarily in Europe, there are 113 vehicles for sale that get a combined 40 mpg, up from 86 in 2005.
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In general, cars are far more fuel-efficient in Europe, where gas is much more expensive. In Europe, cars on average get 40 mpg, compared with 20.4 mpg for U.S. cars. Most European vehicles cited in the CSI study run on diesel engines, which tend to achieve greater fuel efficiency than gas engines. Selling those cars in the United States is difficult because of emission standards.
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Another reason why many European models are not marketed in the United States is that labor unions object.

So there’s the truth. America’s autos get crummy gas mileage because of 1) shortsighted environmental regulations, and 2) labor unions. If Congress really wants to solve our energy problems, they’ll relax the emissions standards for diesel automobiles.