Richard Prosser wrote:

> 20km/l seems very efficient. I get 15km/l out of a small 3 cylindar 
> 1000cc motor (1987 vintage) . I can't see modern engines being that
> much more efficient

My father had a VW Passat Variant with a 55 kW Diesel motor and got an
average of 20 km/l. He bought that car in the 80ies. Diesel is lower in
consumption, but I know that also gasoline motors have gotten better since
then. At least in Europe, due to the high fuel prices, the economic and
marketing pressure to develop more fuel-efficient motors was and is pretty
high. 

One source is manufacturer data, another for example here:
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2004/11/average_fuel_co.html

The difference in fleet averages between the US and Europe is IMO due to
the fact that the average vehicle (and engine) size in the US is bigger,
and that fuel consumption is not (or has not been) a big concern for most.
Which of course causes the manufacturers to spend their R&D money
elsewhere.

Gerhard

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