Ford sells 65 mpg car …in Europe only?!

If you have an emergency and call 911, it feels like forever until the ambulance arrives, right? That's the mindset of the American people today as we instantly want automakers to put more fuel-efficient cars on the road.

Business Week recently reported on the Ford ECOnetic, a vehicle that gets 65 mpg, runs on diesel and is available in Europe only. Huh?! One of our automakers making a great vehicle like this and not selling it in the United States? It turns out Ford can't figure out how to manufacture the ECOnetic over here without losing money on each car!

As a nation, we went from wanting the biggest Terminator-style gas-guzzling SUVs to wanting total gas sippers almost overnight. But there's been major lag time on the manufacturing side.

Yet all hope is not lost. Clark promises we'll have a lot of choices over the next 24 months. By 2010, we'll have the GM Volt and other fuel-efficient cars. In the next few months, Honda will have an affordable hybrid available with a price tag in the upper teens.

It just takes a while to make a long-term change. We will get there as long as we don't lose focus when gas becomes cheaper.