That video had absolutely no technical merit to it and no credibility. And I'm sooo tired of the consiracy theories going around.
Modern cars get poor gas mileage because that's what we demand. No one wants to drive a rattle box, and to make a car that is structurally sound, with reduced interior noise, and seats that are heated AND wipe your butt takes a great deal of mass, not to mention, no one wants compromised interior space for aerodynamics.
The EV-1 disapeared because it was for LEASE ONLY and GM could not make a profit on the car. Simple econmics.
The technical input into this thread to this point is generally very inaccurate. Leaner air-fuel mixtures do get slightly better mileage, but not significantly. Part of the reason is that the peak temperatures are HIGHEST at stoich (14.7:1) mixtures. Simply put, leaner than stoich mixtures make less power, forcing the engine to work hard.
Also, super lean mixtures are not very possible. At 17:1, you'll notice a 'lean surge'. Any higher and it becomes more difficult to ignite the mixture and the engine will start missing.
There was a lean burn honda civic, I believe in the 90's. The problem with lean burn is that emissions go through the roof, and you don't really gain much from it, hence manufactures don't build cars that run lean.
