The dogs aren’t eating the dog food” is a “Mad Men-era saying that sums up the frustration marketers feel when consumers do not behave as expected.
California may be drying up and calling for another 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030, but thanks to low gas prices, consumers are buying cars like it’s 1999, shunning fuel-efficient small cars and hybrid-electric vehicles for SUVs, CUVs and old-school muscle cars.
That exasperation was clear at the recent SAE World Congress, where powertrain engineers worried major technical advances in fuel economy and emissions would be nullified by lack of consumer interest in HEVs and other green vehicles, making it impossible to hit the U.S. government’s unadjusted CAFE goal of 54.5 mpg (4.3L/100 km) by 2025.
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