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Average fuel economy of vehicles sold in June 2011 fell to 21.6 mpg

Discussion in 'Other Cars' started by cwerdna, Jul 8, 2011.

  1. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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  2. Chuck.

    Chuck. Former Honda Enzyte Driver

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    ^ for emphasis, the average US vehicle has been getting 21 mpg since 1988 and varied no more than 1 mpg since. Stayed the same even with more efficient engines and vehicle weight increase from 3200 pounds for 4000 or so.
     
  3. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    LOL. I really thought it was changing in the past few months. It just proves you can only lead a horse to water. These people are paying through the nose on gas and it's not like this a strong economy so throw caution to the wind, is it? I doubt hybrid sales changed this much, and with a TON of compacts now getting mid 30's or better on highway I am surprised at this.
     
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Yep. The executive summary and full report tables (Excel) at Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2010 | OTAQ | US EPA has supporting data.

    When looking at the full report tables, be sure to look at the "cars and trucks" section, not just cars. SUVs, minivans, pickups, some vans, most "crossovers" and even some vehicles that look like cars (e.g. PT Cruiser) are considered "light trucks".
     
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Well, those are highway figures. An '11 Cruze 1.4L 6AT for instance, is rated 36 mpg highway but only 28 mpg combined.

    Per the executive summary I cited, 41% of vehicle production for MY2010 were (light) "trucks". Average weight of the vehicle for that year being 4009 lbs. ('11 Prius is 3042 lbs). and avg. hp being 220, doesn't help.

    You can see CAFE performance at http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/rulemaking/pdf/cafe/2011_Summary_Report.pdf. Remember these are based on unadjusted EPA dyno numbers (so you need to take about 30% off to translate to Monroney sticker combined numbers) and this includes the benefit of the E85 scam/incentive that the Big 3 has taken great advantage of.

    It doesn't help that the largest auto company in the US by sales, GM (http://www.autoblog.com/2011/07/01/by-the-numbers-june-2010-summer-daze-edition/) still sells plenty of inefficient vehicles and land yachts. See http://media.gm.com/content/Pages/n...ar/download/file.res/Deliveries June 2011.pdf (linked to from http://media.gm.com/content/media/u...tml/content/Pages/news/us/en/2011/Jul/gmsales). Take a look at Silverados, Tahoes, Suburbans, Ice Capades, Sierras and the like. The 4WD Tahoe is rated at only 17 mpg combined and the Buick Enclave "crossover" is rated at 19 mpg. It irks me that the press likes to use refer to crossovers are "fuel efficient".

    Compare with chart downloadable via http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+sales+chart+june+2011.htm.
     
  6. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    My fleet averages over 38mpg so we do our part. :)