Automakers continue to backpedal on car mileage

I was reading a new-car review of the 2007 Honda Fit.

Despite having a smaller 1.5-liter engine than my 2001 Corolla’s 1.8-liter, and a five-speed auto versus a four-speed, it only is rated at 2 mpg better on the highway, and is rated the same as a 2005 Corolla similarly equipped to mine.

A car like this should get an even 40 with its base engine that size.

And, contrary to Honda PR, this is NOT a subcompact. It weighs within 100 pounds of a 2005 Corolla and as much as mine.

The biggest problem? The engine is a cheapie. Honda only put a single cam in it.

I thought that was something just American carmakers did.

Toyota’s Yaris does better, at 39/34, with a four-speed auto; of course, it comes in 200 pounds lighter and has a dual-cam engine. Now, if Toyota would just bump the auto tranny to a five-speed.

Nissan’s Versa is the worst. It is clearly, even more than Fit, a compact, not a subcompact. It’s a foot longer and 200 pounds more than the Fit. So, it has no choice but to have a 1.8 liter engine, I guess. But, that engine, even with a dual cam, only weighs in at 28/35 on mileage.