Automakers Adapting & 'Moving Toward Electrification'
By Joel Hillan
DENVER (CBS4) - Technology is not only making the vehicles we ride in more comfortable and convenient, but also more efficient.
"With Land Rover we've gotten away from the old days where cars were getting eight miles to the gallon and 10 miles to the gallon, and now we have vehicles like this one that get up to 30 miles a gallon in a turbo diesel," said Dash Fitz, General Sales Manager of Land Rover Denver.
Federal regulations are forcing automakers to become more fuel efficient while at the same time consumers continue to demand SUVs.
"Coloradans, we love our trucks. We want to take our equipment and go skiing. We want to haul our families, and we want to be safe on snow and ice," said Tim Jackson, President and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.
When an automaker comes out with a new SUV, it has a marked difference on their sales.
"The Jaguar F Pace and the Jaguar E Pace has increased sales of Jaguars in Colorado by as much as 800 percent," said Jackson.
This has caused the industry to adapt, looking to get more efficiency out of the internal combustion engine while also embracing other technologies.
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"Every major automaker is moving toward electrification. Either in the hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or fully-electric cars," said Jackson.
"It's incredible, it's a completely different thing than it was even five years ago, just the technology moving forward is better than anything we even comprehended," said Fitz.
Joel Hillan anchors CBS4 This Morning on weekends as well as reports stories for CBS4 News at 5 and 6 p.m. Follow Joel on Twitter @joelhillan.