Forbes: The Cars You'll Drive In 2014
 ELectric Vehicle - 2013(?) Cadillac Converj |
MORE: TACH Editorial - No More Gasoline Powered Cars By 2014
May 20, 2009; Hannah Elliott writing for Forbes reported that everybody knows the auto world has shifted. The trick is divining which brands have got the gumption to last.
Now, with President Obama's new efficiency standards requiring a fleet-wide fuel economy average of 35.5 miles per gallon, automakers have their work cut out for them.
Domestic carmakers in particular are gearing up to battle forthcoming offerings from new-to-the-U.S.Fiat ( FIA - news - people ), with its diminutive 55.5-mile-per-gallon Fiat 500, and Chinese newcomer BYD, maker of the staid hybrid-electric F3DM sedan.
Motor City had better get cracking. It takes four years to produce a market-ready vehicle, and a typical lifecycle for one model is seven years. While we wait to see what brands emerge victorious, Honda's ( HMC - news - people ) mod CR-Z and Ford's ( F - news - people ) "eco-boosted" Euro models point to the types of cars we can expect by 2014.
Incremental Improvement
Just don't get your hopes up for lots of choices when it comes to plug-in
cars. Automakers insist there's still much to improve about the humble
combustion engine, and they plan to eek out all the improvement they can
get.
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