300-M.P.G. Car

Now comes Amory Lovins, an environmentalist with no professional experience in auto design, who announces that the 300-miles-per-gallon auto lies at hand. His friend Donella Meadows, who has even less pertinent experience, eagerly praises him (Column Left, Oct. 4).

I have a little challenge for Lovins: Design and build your vehicle, and see if anyone will buy it.

Quite a few inventors already have built cars such as Lovins envisions. In the local area, Doug Malewicki of Irvine got 150 m.p.g. in his “California Commuter.” He made it very small, flimsy and lightweight, with room for only the driver. Others have gone so far as to build autos powered by solar cells. However, no such vehicles have ever reached production.

The reason? In constant dollars, gasoline prices are close to their all-time low. Indeed, prices at the pump have shown little increase in over a dozen years. People nevertheless want gas mileage--but they also want size and comfort, power and acceleration, low cost, and enough ruggedness to offer hope in a collision. A Honda or Geo Metro offers these things, while also giving good fuel economy. The California Commuter does not, while Lovins’ creation would be even worse. In sum, the day of the 100-m.p.g. car will be long in dawning. The reason is that whereas Lovins and Meadows regard good mileage as the sole goal in auto design, car buyers in the real world demand much more.

T. A. HEPPENHEIMER

Fountain Valley