Average MPG for 2010 cars went down from 2009... SUV sales up.

i think you'll see things change this year, at least for a while. not getting much prodding from the government unfortunately.

 

2011 will be different. The Ford Fiesta and new Focus (it will be on dealer lots before the end of the month) both get 40mpg. The Hyundai Elantra gets 40mpg and the Sonata gets 35mpg (true, these are HWY mpgs). The Ford Fusion hybrid gets 41mpg. And have you seen the new Chevy Cruze? No, not the one on dealer lots right now; the one coming out soon that gets 40mpg (regular ICE, not hybrid yet).
I'm sure there are plenty of others that don't depend on Japanese Fukushima production that can fill in the gap until Toyota's parts suppliers relocate away from Fukushima.

 

Those ratings for highway miles wont help a lot, not unless the city miles and the combined miles also go up. Lots of cars rated higher than 30mpg highway, but the actual fuel efficiency is a lot lower in real life due to city driving and high-speed (greater than speed limit) highway driving.

A good example of misleading mileage is the Chevy Traverse, which they advertise as having outstanding mileage at 24 mpg (highway), when city driving drags that down to 16 mpg.

Vic

 

Vic, read this for a laugh:
2010 Chevy Traverse: 10 MPG?!

He writes: 12.9 mpg is slightly worse than EPA 17 mpg, so that is OK.

 

It just makes me sad.

 

FWIW, looking at Consumer Reports (which does have the Traverse on their recommended list), they got 11 city/23 highway, 16 mpg overall and 19 mpg on a 150 mile trip on an 09 Traverse LT AWD w/3.6L V6 6AT.

I do wonder sometimes about optimizations for the EPA test, esp. on the Cruze. It's been widely reported (like at 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ: The Good, the Bad and the Reflash and Cruzetalk) about how their automatics seem to come w/lackluster behavior that were partly/completely resolved w/newer firmware. I wonder if early Cruzes and those used for EPA testing shipped w/firmware well optimized for the test but poor for driving. These updates might improve drivability but hurt mileage... but, hey you gotta get those high highway numbers for marketing purposes... Who knows if the EPA test/retest Cruzes w/updated transmission firmware?

 

poor pedal response has always been feature of such optimized vehicles... at least with Prius, when you gun it, you get instant response due to electric motors...

I was very disappointed when I tested euro Ford Mondeo diesel which took 2 seconds to downshift when slammed, even with their much lauded PDC transmission (dual clutch).

 

Agreed

While I was walking home from work today to avoid useless short distance driving, a big, hulking Ford F-350 diesel SUPER DUTY (not regular duty...) came huffing by and turned into a parking lot. On its back side was an American flag stretched out along the back. The driver slowly lumbered out, left the truck idling with the lights on, and walked into the hardware store to do a little shopping.

It's a wonder that the average mpg for America is as high as it is...

 

that's cause we're working so hard to offset him!

 

The F-350 has a GVWR over 8500 lbs. and thus is currently exempt from fuel economy testing (Which Vehicles Are Tested) and even counting against Ford's CAFE numbers. We're not offsetting him since his F-350 doesn't even count.

Oh yeah, it's just so great that "light trucks" (SUVs, minivans, some vans, pickups and some vehicles that look like cars) are exempt from the gas guzzler tax (http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/guzzler/420f06042.htm). Oh yeah, the above above GVWR 8500 lbs. non-light trucks are exempt from fuel economy testing anyway...

I'm a a little unclear on the 22.2 mpg figures being thrown around in the freep article. Are these combined/total fleet unfudged CAFE numbers? That's what the "35.5 mpg" by 2016 is.

Per Fuel Economy: Doublespeak at its Best (and many other articles), 35 mpg for CAFE purposes equals about 26 mpg combined on the Monroney sticker.

 

Our Fiesta is averaging between 33 and 34 in town, no highway at all. We are close to our first fill-up, I am looking forward to resetting and watching the numbers. The big downside vs. our Prius is watching the MPG drop while you are sitting at a light.

I think our hybrid driving habits help a bit too.

 

If I am not mistaken, the fleet MPG that OP posted is CAFE, not actual consumption. The last time I checked actual consumption by googling national fuel use and miles traveled I calculated ~ 17 mpg.

Here is data summarized from the US DOT.

 

That would be exactly the sort of BS I expect from GM, but I am skeptical the EPA would let it happen. Not impossible, but I say unlikely unless more information is available ?

 

I got 24.87 MPG at the pump on Accord last fillup. city/highway mix of driving, but really no very short trips and no accessories use. Betcha money a regular Cruze would get only 27 or 8 under same circumstances. Enjoy your Prii.

 

I was just throwing out some pure speculation. It would be interesting if CR or the EPA tested cars w/initial firmware revs vs. current ones.

 

Don't want to be a party pooper but I am surprised and amazed that average fuel consumption has actually increased in the USA because here in the UK it is down by 3.5% from the previous year (2010 compared to 2009) and an amazing 20% since 2000.

SMMT review last decade's CO2 reduction from new cars | Next Green Car

Perhaps the high price of fuel has helped? Maybe more people are just down sizing (like my gf did) or maybe it's just a bit of everything.

But a 20% reduction since 2000 (however you argue the figures) is a big step and people are still managing to tow horses and boats or carry their tools around for their trade. The world as we knew it HASN'T ended despite the reduction.

 

It's coming here...soon every used car lot will be a used SUV lot.

Now to rid ourselves of those horrible minivans.

 

While it's not good to see a drop, do remember that 2009 had a double whammy: recession and CARS. Both of those would tend to push fuel economy up.

 

LOL. It's like moths to a flame. People still think they need an SUV. Even if they need 7-8 seats they can buy a more fuel efficient minivan. They must be really loving the current price of gas.

Yep, the Cruze Eco will do 42 mpg highway but only 28 city, but that's the manual. The auto does 37 highway, 26 city--worse than a highlander hybrid.

How is that traverse getting such bad mileage? They must floor it ALL THE TIME.

FWIW I found pedal response on the camry hybrid bordering on dangerous. I timed floor-to-max-throttle on the Prius and I recall it was maybe a half second or so and about 1.5 on the camry. It was really noticeable. Its acceleration is very strong once it gets going but it took a criminal amount of time for full acceleration.

The gov could step in and sort this out, but although nobody knows where oil is going with it at current prices it sorts itself out. I guarantee there are second thoughts hitting a person's mind looking at an SUV with $3.70 gas (national average). If it hits a national average of $4 you'll see a bottom fall out of SUV sales until it goes down again and people forget about the price once more.

You guys need a second mortgage to pay for a tank of gas so I'm not surprised. The reason fuel consumption hasn't dropped here is because gas is still just too cheap. In place of less gas use people ask for more horsepower and larger vehicles.

I like minivans