The effect of the energy crisis on the private car in the U.S.

Abstract It is often claimed that the future energy crisis will make the private car obsolete and demand a carless society. Some perspectives on this view are given here and it is shown that these claims are based more on emotion than on facts. The possible savings in gasoline by better design are such that we could allow a growth of 50–80 percent in total mileage without any increase in total gasoline consumption, while maintaining safe convenient cars. The different options of achieving this are summarized and the possible compromises between high efficiency and low pollution are discussed. It is shown that higher compression ratios would have a significant advantage in reducing total energy consumption. So would lower weight, better maintenance and emphasis on designs which allow easy maintenance. The possible savings, due to better design, more reasonable size, and other options are as large or larger than the possible savings by public transportation.