Fuel Economy in Stasis

This is interesting...out of Tom Friedman's "Hot, Flat, and Crowded", "...In America, the average car and truck sold at the end of the [1990s] went about a mile less on each gallon of gas than it did 10 years earlier". Its surprising that the auto industry made little to no progress in improving fuel economy over a period of ten years. This goes to show that without a push or reason for automakers to increase their vehicle's fuel economy, nothing will happen. This can also be attributed to Americans and their desire for larger and more powerful cars.