UPDATE - Honda, Toyota models top US mileage list
Date: 10-Oct-01
Country: USA
Author: Christopher Doering
The Insight, equipped with a manual transmission, retained its top spot on the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy's annual survey of vehicle efficiency for the third year in a row.
Toyota Motor Corp's Prius, which has an automatic transmission, ranked a distant second with 48 miles per gallon (mpg).
Both are electric hybrids, which have technology combining a small gasoline engine and a self-charging motor. "In addition to helping conserve energy, consumers who purchase fuel-efficient cars and trucks are helping to protect the environemnt as well," EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told reporters.
Manufacturers are "beginning to recognize the trend and they are looking for more efficent vehicles," Whitman said. The Honda Insight has a teardrop-shaped body with its rear wheels 4.3 inches closer together than the front wheels. The car's space-age appearance was designed to be aerodynamic and cut down on wind resistance, improving energy efficiency.
The government report found that only six automobiles posted an average fuel efficiency that topped 40 mpg. The worst performers were luxury cars lead by the Lamborghini L-147 Murcielago with a dismal average of 10 mpg. The Ferrari 360 Modena/Spider and the automatic Bentley Azure followed with 13 mpg.
MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS IMPROVE MPG
Cars with manual transmissions generally get better gasoline mileage than automatic transmissions, although new engine technology has considerably reduced the gap in some models, the report said. Fuel economy has gained new attention during the past year amid spikes in U.S. gasoline prices, the congressional debate over opening an Alaska wildlife refuge to drilling, and a continued decline in the average efficiency of new cars.
Still, Americans have continued to boost purchases of sport utility vehicles, vans and minivans, which now outsell sedans and cars. The shift toward bigger, heavier vehicles slashed the overall fuel mileage for the 2001 model year vehicles to an average 20.4 mpg, the lowest in two decades, according to government data.
The average fuel efficiency for 2001 models plunged 15 percent from 2000, when new models averaged 24.0 mpg, the EPA said in a separate report last week. Among the 2001 models, sport utility vehicles averaged 17.2 mpg, pick-up trucks 16.5 mpg and cars 24.2 mpg, the EPA said. In yesterday's survey, mileage among sport utility vehicles ranged from the Toyota RAV4 with 27 mpg to the Ford Explorer with 17 mpg.
U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said while consumer purchases of sport utility vehicles and light trucks continue to soar, the public also is putting pressure on automakers to improve fuel efficency. "People, although they might want a different type of vehcile than in the past, still want them to be more efficent, and that is going to drive the market," Abraham said. "That doesn't mean that the government, through (tougher fuel efficentcy standards,) can't also affect that decision," he added.
Congress first established fuel standards in 1975 following the Arab oil embargo. The required minimums - 27.5 mpg for passenger cars and 20.7 mpg for light trucks and minivans - have been frozen for years. Safety, emission and fuel economy rankings for model year 2002 vehicles are available at www.fueleconomy.gov, a Web site operated by the EPA and Energy Department.
The government's annual ranking of the 12 best and worst vehicles for fuel efficiency include the following:
BEST MILEAGE WORST MILEAGE Name MPG Name MPG Honda Insight 64 Lamborghini L-147 10 Toyota Prius* 48 Ferrari 360 13 Volkswagen Jetta Wagon 45 Bentley Azure* 13 Volkswagen Jetta 45 Bentley Continental SC* 13 Volkswagen Golf 45 Bentley Continental T* 13 Volkswagen New Beetle 45 Rolls R
