Fuel economy for vehicles below late 80s level
So much for the environment and making the US less dependent on foreign oil. The new fuel economy numbers were announced by the EPA, and the fact that most new vehicles are SUVs is showing with automakers using the excuse that they are only giving what consumers want, according to this New York Times story (registration required):
The average fuel economy for the new 2003 model cars and passenger trucks is 20.8 miles a gallon, the Environmental Protection Agency reported today, about 6 percent below the high point set 15 years ago.
Among those with the best fuel economy, the share of the new models getting more than 30 miles a gallon dropped to 3.5 percent from 5.5 percent a year ago. Only 33 of the 934 cars, trucks and vans listed in the 2003 model statistics are that efficient, compared with 48 of 865 models available last year.
In 1987 and 1988, before Americans developed a fascination with gasoline-hungry sport utility vehicles, the fleet averaged 22.1 m.p.g.
"Clearly, it is disappointing that more than 15 years after fuel economy peaked, fuel economy is still hovering around an all-time low," said David Friedman of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Berkeley, Calif. "And yet the technology is out there. We could be averaging close to 30 to 40 miles per gallon, and that's with conventional technology: nonhybrids, better engines, better transmissions, improved aerodynamics."