U.S. Cars More Fuel Efficient Than Ever, Says EPA

If it were possible to sum up in a single number the auto industry's response to all of the slings and arrows of its recent fortune?an economic recession, subsequent bailouts, and spiking gas prices?that number would be 23.8. According to a recent annual EPA report on carbon dioxide emissions and fuel economy trends, 23.8 mpg is the average fuel economy of all the cars on U.S. roads. It's the highest collective milage figure to date. While the EPA points out that these are preliminary projections, cars on U.S roads are, as a whole, more efficient by 1.4 mpg compared to 2011. If those projections prove to be true, then that margin would mark the biggest year-to-year improvement since the federal agency started tracking fuel economy data in 1975.

This short-term jump in fuel economy is part of a long-term trend of steadily increasing fuel efficiency in the last five years. According to EPA data, since 2007 CO² emissions have dropped 13 percent while fuel efficiency has risen by 16 percent. These figures don't even factor in the contribution of alternative-fuel cars such as electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and compressed natural gas vehicles. Although gasoline hybrids and diesels are gaining popularity in the U.S., the EPA data projects that they made up 5.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, of the U.S. vehicle fleet in 2012.

The lion's share of the fuel economy bump can be attributed to two dead-simple factors. Collectively, cars are watching their weight and the engines that powers them are getting more efficient.

While cars today aren't as light as the ones found on the roads during the early to mid-80's, according to the EPA, a combination of record-high vehicle power and generally stable vehicle weight signals a shift in automotive engineering. From 1987 to 2004, cars got progressively heavier as they got faster, and since fuel economy wasn't a primary concern for consumers, it suffered. Recently, the industry has tried to strike a balance between performance and vehicle weight?producing faster 0-60 times while maintaing vehicle weight to keep mpg figure in check.

In addition, fuel efficient engine technologies the debuted decades ago are finally nearing ubiquity. EPA projects that 90 percent or more of new cars sold in 2012 will have variable valve timing and multi-valve engines, while even more advanced technologies such as gasoline direct injection and six-speed transmissions are growing in market saturation.

Add it all up and the number of fuel-efficient vehicles available to consumers has increased tremendously. In the past five years, the number of cars that can achieve at least a combined 30 MPG has jumped six-fold, while the total that reach at least 40 combined MPG has increased from 2 to 15. Even SUVs are getting better. Compared to 2007, there are now almost three times as many models available with combined MPG figures of 25 or more.

The fact that more efficient cars are available is great. But what jumps off the page when reviewing the EPA's data is that people are actually buying them.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/auto-blog/us-cars-more-fuel-efficient-than-ever-says-epa-15236284?src=rss

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