UMTRI: new vehicle fuel economy hits record high of 25.8 mpg

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GRA

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
14,018
Location
East side of San Francisco Bay
Via GCC:

"UMTRI: new vehicle fuel economy hits record high of 25.8 mpg in August"

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/09/20140904-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
This was part of my frustration in looking for new car to buy. Almost none of them get better mileage than my 1994 Honda Del Sol. Now granted, Del Sol is a two seater. But... in 20 years? I suppose I need some means of normalizing my own driving with that of the MPG tests. But, when you're consistently (in the Summer) getting 40+MPG, it's hard to buy most of the "high mileage" cars available today and step back in mileage. Seems CAFE has done little over the last 20 years.
 
kikngas said:
This was part of my frustration in looking for new car to buy. Almost none of them get better mileage than my 1994 Honda Del Sol. Now granted, Del Sol is a two seater. But... in 20 years? I suppose I need some means of normalizing my own driving with that of the MPG tests. But, when you're consistently (in the Summer) getting 40+MPG, it's hard to buy most of the "high mileage" cars available today and step back in mileage. Seems CAFE has done little over the last 20 years.

You are correct. The CAFE standard for passenger cars was unchanged from 1990 to 2010. That's changing and is scheduled to change rather significantly over the next decade.

800px-CAFE_Fuel_Economy_vs_Model_Year_and_Footprint_with_2017-2022_Proposals.png
 
Nubo said:
kikngas said:
This was part of my frustration in looking for new car to buy. Almost none of them get better mileage than my 1994 Honda Del Sol. Now granted, Del Sol is a two seater. But... in 20 years? I suppose I need some means of normalizing my own driving with that of the MPG tests. But, when you're consistently (in the Summer) getting 40+MPG, it's hard to buy most of the "high mileage" cars available today and step back in mileage. Seems CAFE has done little over the last 20 years.

You are correct. The CAFE standard for passenger cars was unchanged from 1990 to 2010. That's changing and is scheduled to change rather significantly over the next decade.
There's no question that the cheapest gas at any time in constant dollars (lowest was in 1998 IIRR) in the '90s drove the move to BRoD-class SUVs and de-emphasized gas mileage, until prices started their rapid rise in 2004. But it's also true that cars are bigger and heavier now thanks to safety improvements as well as being cleaner, so comparing the mileage of a car designed to 1990s safety and environmental standards with a current one is not apples to apples.
 
GRA said:
Nubo said:
kikngas said:
This was part of my frustration in looking for new car to buy. Almost none of them get better mileage than my 1994 Honda Del Sol. Now granted, Del Sol is a two seater. But... in 20 years? I suppose I need some means of normalizing my own driving with that of the MPG tests. But, when you're consistently (in the Summer) getting 40+MPG, it's hard to buy most of the "high mileage" cars available today and step back in mileage. Seems CAFE has done little over the last 20 years.

You are correct. The CAFE standard for passenger cars was unchanged from 1990 to 2010. That's changing and is scheduled to change rather significantly over the next decade.
There's no question that the cheapest gas at any time in constant dollars (lowest was in 1998 IIRR) in the '90s drove the move to BRoD-class SUVs and de-emphasized gas mileage, until prices started their rapid rise in 2004. But it's also true that cars are bigger and heavier now thanks to safety improvements as well as being cleaner, so comparing the mileage of a car designed to 1990s safety and environmental standards with a current one is not apples to apples.
The reason auto companies push to sell pickups and SUVs is because they have considerably lower safety requirements and lower fuel economy targets than cars - that's why they're so profitable. It's apples and oranges to assume that car safety + car economy also applies to trucks. ;)
 
AndyH said:
GRA said:
There's no question that the cheapest gas at any time in constant dollars (lowest was in 1998 IIRR) in the '90s drove the move to BRoD-class SUVs and de-emphasized gas mileage, until prices started their rapid rise in 2004. But it's also true that cars are bigger and heavier now thanks to safety improvements as well as being cleaner, so comparing the mileage of a car designed to 1990s safety and environmental standards with a current one is not apples to apples.
The reason auto companies push to sell pickups and SUVs is because they have considerably lower safety requirements and lower fuel economy targets than cars - that's why they're so profitable. It's apples and oranges to assume that car safety + car economy also applies to trucks. ;)
That's part of the reason they're cheaper, but mainly it's because they're still body on frame construction. Introducing a new model of SUV reduces the development costs substantially, as pickup-truck based SUVs are essentially pickups with an extra set of doors and a covered cargo area. Development was cheap and quick, and by tarting them up they convinced customers to pay a premium price. Add to that high volumes because so much was common with the bread and butter pickups, and major profits are guaranteed (as long as gas prices are low, that is). Been awhile since I read "High and Mighty", but that's the way the high profit margins were explained.
 
Via GCC:

"UMTRI monthly report shows large drop in new-vehicle fuel economy in September"

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/10/20141003-umtri-1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Down to 25.3 mpg, a drop of 0.5 mpg from August. Nothing like lower gas prices to boost the sales of vehicles with poorer mpg.
 
Via GCC:
UMTRI: average fuel economy of new vehicles in US in October unchanged from September
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/11/20141111-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I expect it will drop in November, as people react to lower gas prices. Sad, but true.
 
Presumably to no one's surprise, via GCC:
UMTRI: average new vehicle fuel economy in US dropped in December
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/01/20150106-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

25.1 mpg, down 0.2 from November and 0.7 from the peak in August. For the year, new vehicle fuel economy averaged 25.4 mpg, up from 24.8 for 2013. Two steps forward, one step back.
 
Via GCC:
UMTRI: average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in US in January up 0.3 mpg
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/02/20150204-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's up 0.3 from December, but still down 0.4 from its high of 25.8 mpg in August.
 
A bit of a surprise, to me at least:
UMTRI: new vehicle average fuel economy in March up 0.2 mpg from February
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/04/20150403-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's 25.4 mpg, up from 25.2. I would have thought it would stay low with fuel prices, although until the past two or three weeks prices had been climbing; they've since dropped about $0.35/gal. at my corner station.
 
Via GCC:
UMTRI: average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in US in April down 0.2 mpg to 25.2 mpg
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/20150504-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Meanwhile, the price of regular gas at my corner station has jumped $0.66 in less than three weeks, from $3.00/gal. to $3.66.
 
We'll see if this continues as gas prices rise (via GCC):
Ford US sales up 5% in April; SUVs post an April record, hybrid sales down 31%
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/05/201505-ford.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In April, Ford sold 62,730 SUVs, which should help put the sales totals of all PEVs in perspective.
 
Via GCC:
UMTRI: Average new-vehicle fuel economy in US in May up 0.3 mpg from April
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2015/06/20150604-umtri.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

25.5 vice 25.2 mpg for April. Still below the 25.8 mpg peak from last August, but probably reflects the reality of higher gas prices starting to sink in.
 
Back
Top