回复：Can you explain why Corolla is 103 lbs heavier than Focus

Great question. Your persistence in getting to the bottom of everything deserves a round of applaud.

The question everyone has to answer is:

When you have access to $3 per gallon fuel today, do you still want to buy a car designed for $10 per gallon gas?

Let’s set up the ground rules for a clear discussion.

Domestic vehicles cover the automobiles primarily designed by the US engineers and assembled in North America

Japanese vehicles cover the automobiles primarily designed by the Japanese engineers, and manufactured around the world

European vehicles cover the automobiles primarily designed by the European engineers, and produced around the world

If you finished reading the articles, you should know by now that the Focus was designed by the team in Cologne, Germany.

You were comparing the design concept between the Japanese and European engineers, not American engineers.

A fair comparison would be between Toyota Avalon and Ford Taurus. Both full size cars, both 3.5L V6, similar wheel base.

The Taurus is over 500 lbs heavier than Avalon for the current model year.

The Japanese engineers and their colleagues in Europe are doing the right thing to cut weight and to save gas. If you have driven in Europe or Japan, you would appreciate that you are not driving an American car when filling up your tank. Gas prices in Japan and western Europe are about 200-300% of the price in the States.

When gas is $10 a gallon, safety is secondary. (Weekly average reached $10.64 a gallon in Holland in July 2008)