Magnulus wrote:
>
> "Matthew Russotto" > wrote in message
> news
> > >
> > > On the Civic? Compare the Civic to the Ford Focus, the Civic has
> much
> > >better fuel economy by a wide margin (high 30's vs. mid 20's).
> >
> > As Ronald Reagan might say "There you go again"... comparing two
> > completely different vehicles and trying to pretend one particular
> > difference is the cause.
> > --
>
> The Civic and Focus are directly comparable. They are both compact cars.
>
> If the Civic is not good enough for you, compare the Focus and Corolla.
> The Corolla hsa better fuel economy, too. The reason is in the engines.
> Ford does not use variable valve timing in most of the Focus engines- or any
> of their cars. Most American automakers don't.

As with the Civic, some Corolla models are better than some
Foci models and some are not. However, all Corollas are
smaller and slower than the Focus. The 1.8L (premium gas), 6
speed manual Corolla "Sports" model is rated 26 city / 34
highway. The comparable 2L, 5 speed manual Focus is rated 26
city / 35 highway despite being both larger and faster (but
only a little faster, both are faster than the fastest
Civic). And the Corolla is even smaller than the Civic.

Makes you wonder about the supposed technological advantage
of the Japanese small cars. Apparently if you can live with
small and slow, then the Japanese cars will get better fuel
mileage. However, as soon as you go for better performance,
the fuel economy advantage vanishes...iamagine that. And you
still have to live with small.

Ed