Somebody please explain this to me...

[TheMightyFavog]

According to the official website, the base model Smart Car available in the UK has a 61 horsepower engine and gets an average fuel economy of just a little over 50 MPG.

According to the official website, the Base model of the American Version of the Smart Car has a 71 Horsepower engine and gets 33 city / 41 Highway.

Why can't we have the version that gets 50 MPG rather than the version that gets 33/41 here?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. because they think we are stupid

or they think we only want big engines. Pshaw! I travel 40-45 mph in my commute to work, because I find I get a couple more mpg when I don't go faster. I have a 4-cylinder Toyota engine. I'm regularly passed by huge trucks with engines that have to be V-8s. I find they get to town about a minute before me, and have probably dropped a buck or two in fuel.

[napi21]

2. Most likely air pollution standards here in the states.

European standards are different.

[magellan]

3. Safety standards

Sorry to say, but the British are much safer drivers than we are, so they don't need all the extra armor plating we do in America to protect us in crashes. The required standard means a bigger engine and less fuel efficiency for us.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. European models don't meet US (EPA) standards.

[Sal Minella]

5. Don't the Brits use the "Imperial gallon?"

Imperial (UK) gallon is legally defined as 4.54609 litres (~277.42 cu in), which is about 1.2 U.S. liquid gallons. This definition is used in the United Kingdom, and is based on the volume of 10 pounds of water at 62 °F. (A U.S. liquid gallon weighs about 8.33 pounds at the same temperature.) The Imperial fluid ounce is defined as 1/160 of an Imperial gallon. The Imperial gallon is no longer legal, in the UK, for trade or public administration purposes, but it is used colloquially (and in advertising) for fuel consumption figures in miles per gallon. The Imperial gallon continues to be used as a unit of measure for fuel in various countries (for example, United Arab Emirates and Sierra Leone).

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/imperial+gallon

[TheMightyFavog]

6. I actually accounted for that in my first post.

Sorry, I should have made that clearer.

[Sal Minella]

7. I was just desperately trying to find some crumb indicating that the oil companies DON'T actually

have all the car manufacturers by the balls.....I'm still reeling in disbelief that Congress went eleven years without tightening up the CAFE standards, and then made only a sorryass effort of it.