Summary :

The oil price surge has caught the market watchers and media agog. Expert views war on price insulation, energy security and our vulnerability. But oil price peaks do not make lasting impression on the public memory as the Government either makes generous cuts in petrol and diesel prices and taxes or caps its increase to take the heat off the price rage. Consumers are thus insulated at a huge cost. Vehicle industry is not pushed to innovate to ensure substantial fuel savings through efficiency gains. There are no checks on them as they continue to drift towards bigger and more powerful cars. Price shocks have not provoked policies to prevent the oil guzzle for a more energysecure and low carbon future. How fuel efficient, are our cars? Nobody knows. The fuel economy level of Indian car models is confidential. There is no official policy to get carmakers to publish the fuel economy levels of models they make. The valued Indian customer relies on anecdotal information, the car-owner grapevine, car companies' self-proclamations or data the niche car magazines publish. There is no official certification data to back the claim of the car companies.

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