Robert Lutz, vice chairman of global product development for General Motors, issued a warning for buyers of high-horsepower cars.

Looking into the future, when the new federal mandates on fleet fuel economy will demand an average of 35 miles per gallon, Lutz believes there will be little or no room for cars with high horsepower ratings.

He specifically said the new 2009 Camaro, which will hit showrooms around January, may only have a lifespan of three or four years. He also said V-8-powered cars of all styles are likely to be supplanted by high-tech V-6 models or four-cylinder versions with a boost from a hybrid electric power plant.

Manufacturers may be able to get the fuel mileage- city and highway combined- for trucks and sport utility vehicles to 30 miles per gallon. But for each of those vehicles they sell, they'll have to sell a sedan that gets 40 mpg or more to meet the fleet average.

That means there's little chance GM will continue to build cars like the new Corvette ZR1, with its supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 that produces 620 horsepower.

All of this is nothing new to us. We can all see the writing on the wall. Let's just enjoy the current muscle car war while it lasts!

 

I disagree about the corvette zr1 not being produced. People buying a car like that (or a top of the line camaro, or srt challenger) would get it whether gas was $2 or $10. And since I don't see them stopping production of the regular corvettes they might as well have a low volume showoff model. Also because of the low volume it's not likely to effect the fleet averages much. As gas goes up and sales of large suvs and trucks go down I think these cafe requirements will be met easier than everyone is saying. It will be hardest for american companies like ford and chevy though who rely so much on truck sales. To balance those sales out they need to sell a 40 mpg car. . . now making a car that gets 40 mpg isn't the hard part. It's selling as many 40 mpg cars as they do trucks when imports have taken over a large portion of that segment. They're on the right track though with better perceived quality. Furthest behind I think is chrysler. I'm making an assumption here but I'd guess chrysler has the worst mpg average of any of the car companies. Their smallest car, the caliber, only gets 24/29. Yeah they're bringing out a sub compact with nissan, but how are they gonna sell enough of them to balance out the: Chargers, 300s, Challengers, Trucks and SUVs etc.? When you think hey I need a small car do you think dodge?

 

Smoke 'em while you got 'em...

 

I would have to agree that Mopar is at the bottom of the pack. My wife's PT gets 17 to 20 mpg with a four cylinder. The Neons were probably thier best car as far as mileage and it was axed from the lineup a few years ago, not sure why, it was a good selling car, good mileage, and very reasonable in the comfort and quality catagories. Not sure it was a good choice to axe...

 

You guys got me feeling like a fuel sipper. My Stealth gets 25 mpg and I drive 75-80 mph. I guess a 3.0 will only allow so much fuel through Also 365000 miles on the odometer

 

Here's a way to solve the problem of fleet mandates. Put only the best mileage cars on the lot, base Calibers, Colbalts and Focus, and have the rest of us order the vehicles with the engines we want. Problem solved. Not really, and would never work, but still funny to think about, walking on a lot and seeing all of the same car, but ordering the car you want.