Should cars be more efficient - Essay Example

Lately, there have been world issues that have resulted in “unprecedented high costs of gasoline,” and consumers are feeling the effect of this increasingly (Barke, et al., 2009, 62). There is also the issue of reducing the environmental footprint of vehicles, as they are made more efficient. Despite the increasing need for efficiency in cars, there has not been significant progress until the past decade or so. Strategies prior to this time revolved around “weight reduction through material substitution” (Chialin & Jun, 2008, 22-23).

The small lightweight cars tend to be more efficient than the full-size sport utility vehicles. Other hurdles in the development process were not tackled early on, and as a result, the “technology efficient frontier… did not improve significantly,” until the most recent time (Chialin & Jun, 2008, 30). Not everyone struggles to meet ends meet, nor do all hold the environment as the most important artifact in the world. On average however, many do have to compromise, and a major hurdle to consumers adopting efficient technology has been that these hybrid, or more efficient cars “have been substantially more than comparable conventional vehicles” (Barke, et al.

, 2009, 71). Even though the need for more efficient technology is increasing, there are many economic restraints in “raw material costs and availability,” that means until now that conventional engines dominate in their affordability (Lang et al., 2011, i). However, conditions are improving and the many types of efficient technology can mean that the idea of an efficient car can head towards mass adoption rather than appealing to a smaller niche market. As the masses can afford efficient cars, and fuel costs continue to rise, there will likely be many more developments in these type of locomotive composites, at an increasing rate. As the