Gas mileage figures belie complaints

The Enquirer
July 23, 2006

If we are what we drive, then most of us are not as upset as we say we are about U.S. dependence on foreign oil, global warming or the high cost of gasoline.

The Environmental Protection Agency's annual analysis of average fuel economy reported no improvement in 2006 model year vehicles over 2004 or 2005. The estimated average for 2006 "light-duty vehicles" stayed constant at 21.0 miles per gallon. Most U.S. car buyers and carmakers do not put their money where their mouth is, no matter how much we grumble about being held hostage by Mideast oil or gouged by volatile fuel prices.

EPA's calculations provide a sobering reality check to the Enquirer Editorial Board's summer campaign urging readers to share ways they are trying to move the supply-and-demand needle by "Easing Off the Gas." The market on its own won't rescue us. Informed consumers can make a difference by smarter car-buying and driving practices.

Current mpg averages in fact have slid back 5 percent from a peak average fuel economy of 22.1 mpg in 1987-88. That's not to say carmakers haven't been making fuel-saving technological improvements. They have. But heavier and higher-performance vehicles have mostly wiped out those gains. EPA says 2006 models on average are the heaviest, fastest and most powerful since the agency began reporting such data. Other factors being equal, heavier vehicle weight and faster acceleration decrease a vehicle's fuel economy. Average light-duty vehicle weight increased from 3,220 pounds in 1987 to 4,142 pounds in 2006. Light trucks, including sport utility vehicles, vans and pickups, have accounted for about 50 percent of the light-duty market since 2002. Model year 2006 SUVs average 18.5 mpg, pickups, 17.0 mpg.

At a time when Mideast violence is widening, U.S. energy security is not just some wonkish policy matter far removed from how much fuel we burn up daily in our vehicles. Light-duty vehicles account for about 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption, and much of that oil is imported. Whatever you may think of Al Gore's warnings about global warming, the EPA says light-duty vehicles contribute about 20 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

It is disheartening to see how U.S. carmakers' fuel economy averages lag those of Asian automakers. Honda (24.2 mpg) and Toyota (23.8 mpg) led the fuel economy rankings, but even their averages slipped some from model year 2005, as those companies, too, have started bulking up with larger vehicles.

Honda's Civic (49.8 mpg) led the compact cars, Toyota's Prius (55.3 mpg) led midsize sedans, and Ford's hybrid Escape (33.3 mpg) led midsize SUVs. Those who want to do their part for healthier air or a healthier planet can check the 2006 model scores for how low-emission vehicles are at www.epa.gov/greenvehicles.

We can't blame it all on terrorists, Big Oil or smokestack industries. Motorists could exert some control in the choices we make as to vehicles, fuels and trips we take.