Americans may just soon get a chance to get themselves behind the wheels of small premium cars like the Audi A1 minicar which is scheduled to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Audi A1 have been previewed before in several auto shows the past years and we can say that the A1 is very similar to the MINI Cooper looking at the premium, small segment.
The A1 is expected to have a range of powertrains from 1.2 to 1.6L and may come as a convertible and a 3-door or 5-door hatchback.
The small premium car market has been doing very well in Europe. In the United States, premium and small might not really blend well. The North American market has a tendency to equate size with value and buying smaller vehicles is not how the consumers do business. Audi thinks this way of thinking can be change and they believe that their small cars have a market to supply in the U.S.
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Audi, Micro Cars
Audi, Audi A1, Micro Cars, Small Cars
A recent study by JATO Dynamics showed that average U.S. market cars release 85% more carbon dioxide (CO2) and incinerate twice as much fuel compared to Japanese and European market cars. The study also proved that Japanese and European vehicles are fast becoming environment-friendly.
In France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, the average emission of CO2 for all new cars in all categories (SUVs included) is 3.26 tons/year (since the beginning of 2008) based on 12,000 miles/year. While in Japan, the average emission of CO2 is 3.10 tons/year. In the U.S., the average CO2 emission for new cars is a surprising 5.77 tons/year.
When it comes to consumption of fuel, the study found that cars, minivans, and SUVs in the U.S. market consume 10.6 lt/100 km. While European cars consume 5.83 lt/ 100km and Japanese cars consume only 5.79 lt/100km. I suppose American drivers should counter this by reading up on some fuel efficiency tips.
Note that the European CO2 results are affected by the big proportion of compact cars and diesel engines, and the Japanese CO2 average is affected by the large proportion of minicars. While SUVs make up 30% of the total U.S. new car market.
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Auto Industry, Carbon Dioxide, Diesel, Emissions, Micro Cars
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