The Environmental Protection Agency released its 2012 report earlier yesterday (March 15,2013) on average Fuel Economy across the board and found that on average the nation’s fuel economy was 23.8 MPG, the highest ever in history.
Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, stated,
“The historic steps taken by the Obama administration to improve fuel economy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil are accelerating this progress. His administration's efforts will spur economic growth and will create high-quality domestic jobs in cutting edge industries across America.”
The simple fact is that over the last 5 years, the number of hybrid vehicles offered to the public has doubled, average new vehicle fuel economy has gone up by 16% and emissions have decreased by 13%.
According to the report,
“Fuel economy is expected to continue improving significantly under the Obama administration's historic National Clean Car Program standards. The program cuts greenhouse gas emissions and would double fuel economy standards by 2025. The standards will save American families $1.7 trillion dollars in fuel costs, and by 2025 will result in an average fuel savings of more than $8,000 per vehicle. The program will also save 12 billion barrels of oil, and by 2025 will reduce oil consumption by more than 2 million barrels a day – as much as half of the oil imported from OPEC every day.”
This is all well and good, but according to one keen commenter on AutoBlog,
“There are no 40 MPG non-hybrids. The highest combined fuel economy of a non hybrid (AFAIK) is the Smart ForTwo at 36 MPG and they don't sell very many of those."
Here is a snapshot of the top ten vehicles in the USA:
- Ford F-Series 56,299
- Chevrolet Silverado 30,674
- Honda Civic 30,075
- Toyota Camry 28,765
- Honda Accord 26,248
- Ram pickup 24,337
- Toyota Corolla 22,616
- Honda CR-V 22,333
- Ford Escape 20,970
- Nissan Altima 20,305
3 of the of the top 10 are full size pickup trucks like the F150.
This is good news from the EPA, but there is still alot to be done in terms of real change when it comes to the majority of cars and trucks on our nations highways.
Source: EPA
Comments