Reducing the fuel consumption of vehicles is of vital
importance, in view of the fact that hydrocarbon fuel is here for
the foreseeable future.
Consequently, the French Agency for Energy and Peugeot have
signed in 1979 an agreement concerning the study and development of
a fuel efficient prototype named VERA: the work achieved reduction
of 35% in petrol and even 45% in Diesel.
This original concept has proved that it is possible to design
and develop a production line car with much improved fuel economy
aligned to a high level of specification.
The spin-offs of this programme affect, design, CAD/CAM
techniques, engines, handling, weight saving, aerodynamics... The
introduction of a fuel efficient model certainly has only a limited
impact upon the fuel bill of a country; but competition always
reacts, creating a snowball effect on national fuel savings.