Fuel efficiency in automobiles has become a hot topic of discussion in recent years in the United States. This is largely due to the environmental devastation caused by fuel emissions, but is also triggered by rising fuel costs. Making fuel-efficient cars not only saves consumers money, but will also dramatically reduce pollution caused by emissions. Today, automakers are making enormous efforts to make their cars more fuel-efficient, both to meet government regulations and to make their cars more attractive to the consumer. During the late 1900s, fuel efficiency had been given very little attention by auto manufacturers. Instead, they competed with each other by producing larger, more powerful vehicles every year, and in doing so they sacrificed fuel efficiency, because each new vehicle they built got fewer miles per gallon. Americans wanted bigger, more powerful cars, so to meet the needs of car buyers, this is what car companies built (Surowiecki 25). However, “polls show that, given an option, about three-quarters of them vote for a dramatic increase in fuel economy standards” (Surowiecki 25). Since there were no government-established fuel economy standards until 1975, the fuel efficiency of automobiles has been steadily declining. In the early 1970s, the average American vehicle got less than 13 miles per gallon. However, in 1973, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries placed an embargo on all oil sent to the United States as a way to extract retaliation for American support for Israel in the Six-Day War. The long lines and gas rationing initiated by this embargo made many Americans realize how dependent they were on foreign oil. The thought that they relied...... on the medium of paper...... put into the atmosphere. Works Cited Barry, Patrick. “Diluting the fuel before injection increases efficiency.” Science News 174.9 (2008): 9. Premier academic research. Network. November 26, 2011. Bezdek, Roger H. and Robert M. Wendling. "Consumption efficiency and economics". American Scientist 93.2 (2005): 132-139. Premier of academic research. Network. November 26, 2011. Knight, Ben. “Better mileage now.” Scientific American 302.2 (2010): 50-55. Premier of academic research. Network. November 26, 2011Murray, Charles J. "Automakers Find New Ways to Increase Efficiency." Design News 66.2 (2011): 28-32. Premier of academic research. Network. November 26, 2011. Romm, Joseph J. and Andrew A. Frank. “Hybrid Vehicles Gain Traction.” Scientific American 294.4 (2006): 72-79. Premier of academic research. Network. November 26, 2011. Surowiecki, James. "Fuel for the mind." New Yorker 83.20 (2007): 25. Premier academic research. Network. November 21. 2011