[user-the-name]

Renault Twingo III gets 66 mpg, while having much more space and being generally more useful.

[ppf]

Yep, there are modern engines that will do that. I was using the example of an older engine, because they are generally much more fixable (which was OP's original point).

[user-the-name]

But my point is, the equivalent today gets a lot better milage, and the reason why has lots to do with why it is not fixable.

[ppf]

Yes, modern engines are optimised for fuel and emissions efficiency to within an inch of their lives. This was my entire point - we could move a couple of people in a Fiat 500 and get 43mpg, in 1957. Without the incentives I mentioned in my first post, we could easily make an engine much more efficient than that, and fixable.

[ppf]

As you ignored my comment on our other discussion, and continue the conversation here - I also assume you have electric heating and hot water at your house. After all, everyone needs to do everything possible to reduce fossil fuel usage, right?

[busterarm]

But it's so much more complex than the 50+ year old Fiat 500 that the home mechanic can no longer work on it.