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September 14, 2005
Average fuel efficiency unchanged in 24 years
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - In 1981, the last time gas prices breached $3, adjusted for inflation, the average car got 21 miles to the gallon.
Jump ahead 24 years, a period when there have been huge advances in automotive fuel-efficiency, and the average passenger vehicle on the road gets...21 miles to the gallon.
In fact, however, vehicles have gotten considerably more fuel-efficient, according to a recent EPA report. It's just that car buyers have wanted other things from that efficiency rather than simply to travel farther on a gallon of gas.
For the same 21 miles per gallon, America drivers today are buying bigger, faster vehicles with a lot more power. Light trucks, a category that includes SUVs and minivans, now account for 50 percent of passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. That's more than double their share in 1981.
Who needs hybrids? - Sep. 9, 2005
Posted by thdyck on September 14, 2005
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