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Dec. 9, 2004 In an earlier article I argued that it is ridiculous for us as a nation to be driving SUV’s with the price of gasoline what it is. It has been pointed out to me that SUV mpg ratings are better than many cars currently on the road. I never said they weren’t, only that we, as a nation, consume an unforgivable amount of oil because we simply do not care about anything except our own consumerism. But now that I’ve looked into SUV mpg ratings, I find that they do, um, suck. But first things first. According to J.D. Power and Associates, American consumers account for 25% of world oil consumption. That is not insignificant, considering we account for only 5% of the world’s population. So we do use a bit of oil. And while the mpg rating of cars has improved in the last 14 years, the overall fuel efficiency rating has decreased, because of SUV’s. I direct your attention to Forbes.com, 2001, the year that marked the beginning of the SUV purchasing craze: While fuel mileage in passenger cars continues to improve, the fuel efficiency of the overall U.S. auto fleet has actually declined since the mid- 1990s. The reason: SUVs. Light trucks--pickups and minivans as well as SUVs--now account for just under half of all vehicle sales in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Back to today’s SUV’s and their fuel efficiencies. I looked at Honda and Ford, two of the more popular types. I further looked at each maker’s three highest-rated. I find (city mileage/highway mileage): Honda CRV 5 speed manual transmission, 4wd 21/25 4 speed automatic transmission, 2wd 23/28 4 speed automatic transmission, 4wd 22/26 Honda Element 5 speed manual transmission 21/26 Honda Pilot 5-8 speed automatic transmission 17/22 Ford Escape 3 liter v6 2wd; 23/28 3 liter v6 4wd; 19/25 Ford Explorer v8 2wd; 15/20 v8 4wd; 15/19 Ford Explorer FFV 4 liter 2wd; 16/21 (gasoline); 12/16 (ethanol) 4 liter 4wd; 15/20 (gasoline); 12/15 (ethanol) I think these mileage numbers speak for themselves. We haven’t improved much in ten, twenty, thirty years of making automobiles. In fact, looking at my copy of Literary Digest, 1922, on page 24, I see that when automobiles were first mass produced, their average miles per gallon was 15 to 20. ------------ About the author Mark Davis: I am currently working on two books: one is a fantasy adventure, and the second is a humorous look at call centers in America. Email: teljaan@gmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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