Possibly – my next wheels – with the smallish Eco-Boost turbo
The average fuel economy of new cars sold in the US is going back up after dropping for a couple of months. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) calculated a 24.8 mpg average for new light-duty vehicles sold in the US during November 2013. That’s not as high as the 24.9 reported in August, but the numbers have been coming back up. The November rating was up 0.1 mpg from October.
Corporate average fuel economy is up 4.7 mpg since UMTRI researchers began documenting the data in October 2007. The figure is calculated by monthly sales figures of individual vehicle models and their combined city-highway fuel economy ratings published in the US Environmental Protection Agency’s EPA Fuel Economy Guide.
The Institute’s Eco-Driving Index also has seen improvements since the reporting began in 2007. The index tracks greenhouse gas emissions from a US driver who bought a new vehicle during the month. For September, the index was 0.80 for the fifth month in a row. That indicates a 20-percent improvement from the base score of 1 set in October 2007, said researcher Michael Sivak in a statement. The Eco-Driving Index figures in both the fuel used per distance driven and the amount of driving, Sivak said.
Yes, we continue to lag the world in improving the whole pool of vehicles on the road. Part of that is owed to the number of vehicles kept much longer as a result of our mediocre economy. Another sillier part is neurotic reaction to fluctuating gasoline prices. We never seem to learn to commit whole-heartedly to more efficient designs, still hoping to drive like someone in a 1950’s hot rod movie all the time.
I love the fact that if I decide to replace my 19-year-old pickup truck, I have some decent choices – though most of them are different body styles.