Here in the Netherlands, we'd translate 31mpg to "1 per 11". One can drive 11km on 1L of fuel. 1 per 11 is a joke. It's associated with heavy petrol cars from the 80s and 90s, before anybody even attempted efficiency.
Even my 15 year old diesel car had an efficiency of 1/22. Adjust you driving style and I'd get 1/25. Range: 1000km, with an ordinary sized tank.
It seems Americans haven't even started with efficiency, quite likely because there was no pressure to do so due to low fuel prices. Not in their homes, not in their cars, not anywhere.
What's with these weird, grandiose generalizations I've been seeing about America on this site, based on single data points?
Do you realize that other brands and models exist in the USA? Do you realize Tesla is and American company? Did you even check look into Chevy Cruze's mileage? Here's a guy getting 70mpg in a Chevy Cruze by driving 55mph on the highway. That's 30km/l.
I'm not even american, but it is getting so tiring. Especially when it comes from europeans, something about throwing stones from glass houses I guess? Self loathing americans aren't much better since they usually have a completely laughable view of the outside world ("America is a third world country!!").
It's not even the fact that most of those generalizations are factually false, it's mostly just that it leads to every. single. discussion circling back to be about the USA.
(It reminds me of the super patriotic american circlejerk on the internet a decade+ ago, that had tons of europe bashing/america exceptionalism. But with the sides reversed and the delusional misplaced self-praise mostly coming from Europeans.)
Even my 15 year old diesel car had an efficiency of 1/22. Adjust you driving style and I'd get 1/25. Range: 1000km, with an ordinary sized tank.
It seems Americans haven't even started with efficiency, quite likely because there was no pressure to do so due to low fuel prices. Not in their homes, not in their cars, not anywhere.