Wow!

[lynxreign]

An AP news article

The fuel economy of new cars and trucks is up in 2008, but the government says an increase in sales of smaller vehicles because of high gas prices may push fuel-efficiency numbers even higher.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that the average fuel economy of cars and trucks was 20.8 miles per gallon in 2008, up 0.2 mpg compared with 2007 model year vehicles.

The estimates were based on sales projections made before gas prices rose, so the EPA expects final fuel-efficiency numbers to be higher.

Honda lead the way with a projected 23.6 mpg, followed by Toyota with 23.4 mpg. Hyundai was third with 22.6 mpg.

Among domestic automakers, General Motors was at 19.6 mpg, Ford had an estimated 19 mpg and Chrysler came in at 18.9 mpg.

Wow!
That's pathetic!

0.2 mpg
Whoopie!

And American manufacturers still haven't broken 20 mpg? You have to be kidding! Honda, Toyota and Hyundai aren't showing great numbers, but they are at least in the low to mid 20s.

I would have thought they'd have hit the low 30s by now. They've been at these low numbers for nigh-on 30 years!

Comments

[neogrammarian.livejournal.com]

Hm. My Ford gets 30mpg highway. Shows how much averaging in trucks & SUVS drives the numbers down I guess.

[lynxreign.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my Toyota gets 46MPG, but the trucks drag the average way down. Part of the problem is the exemption trucks and SUVs get from the CAFE laws.

[neogrammarian.livejournal.com]

Absolutely- no reason they should be exempt. Also, I suppose Toyota & Honda may have better averages b/c they have fewer truck/SUV designs than the US automakers. (I'm not saying that those vehicles can't be fuel-efficient, but currently fewer are than small cars).

Heh. I keep seeing Businessweek articles touting Ford's newest clean-diesel car...and how it'll never be available stateside.

[lynxreign.livejournal.com]

That's odd. VW has just released a "clean diesel" car in the US.

[neogrammarian.livejournal.com]

oh sure. the tech is out there. It just pisses me off that the US automakers are going to shoot themselves in their collective feet AGAIN, and This time they've actually Got the tech (unlike electric), but are so serious about not selling in the US market that they aren't building the cars in NA/SA plants, so any that make it to us would be imports, technically. STUPID.

[emmalyon.livejournal.com]

I calculated my recent mileage when we filled the tank the other day: 45 mpg. I even double checked the math!!

To put in one good word for at least 1 American car maker: my '92 Saturn got between 30 and 40 mpg on average. I don't know about their current models.