JakeBanman
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Well, you have answed part of it in your own question... cars are much heavier, go much faster, have much greater tire surface friction and wind resistance, and generate much more heat... but all this means the intake of fuel is greater in order to have the vehicle run at certain speeds, thus reducing the MPG rating.
Also, Mopeds use a much smaller engine, similar to that of a 4 cycle engine, they have a much lower fuel to air intake that is required for it to run at optimum range.... thus they are able to get greater MPG, not to mention because the above factors (weight, ect.) are much less, it requires less fuel intake to move at certain speeds... this also betters the MPG rating.
Hope that helps.
2 months ago
Source: My father was a mechanic for 20 years, you pick up a bit of knowledge like this.
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danlwalker
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A gasoline Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is the major limiting factor on fuel efficiency regardless of what type of vehicle it is installed in. Furthermore, a diesel engine would improve fuel efficiency, but not by much. When the engine efficiency (or inefficiency) is combined with the entire vehicle system for movement (ie. chain, driveshaft, transmission, etc) again there are loses in efficiency that occur.
My current method of transportation, to and from work (10 mile round trip) is an electric moped/scooter. It weighs 100 pounds and goes approx. 22 MPH. The electric motor (600W) is installed in the rear hub so it is pretty much direct drive with very minimal energy loss. It is powered by 4x 12V batteries in a self contained box. Recharing requires approx. 1KWH of electricity ($0.10).
2 months ago
Source: ME405-3 Internal Combustion Engines and Gas Turbines, SIU College of Engineering
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