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2003 Fuel Economy Trends Report Now Available on the EPA’s Website
Release Date: 05/02/2003
Contact Information:
Cathy Milbourn 202-564-7824/milbourn.cathy@epa.gov
(05/02/03) EPA is releasing its report, “Light Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2003.” The report summarizes key fuel economy and technology trends for cars and light trucks (vans, SUVs and pickup trucks) sold in the United States for model years 1975 - 2003. The average fuel economy for model year 2003 vehicles is 20.8 miles per gallon (mpg), about 6 percent lower than the peak value of 22.1 mpg achieved in 1987 and 1988. The report shows that there is a continuing decline in fuel economy due to the increases in light truck sales, increased vehicle weight, and the use of more powerful engines. The report can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm . A copy of the EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide giving city and highway fuel economy data for individual models is available at: http://www.fueleconomy.gov . EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide that gives information about the environmental performance of vehicles is at: https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles . The recent Department of Transportation (DOT) decision to increase CAFE by 1.5-mpg over three years more than doubles the increase in CAFE for light trucks that occurred between 1986 and 1996. Between 1986 and 1996, the standard for vehicles in the light truck category increased from 20.0 mpg to 20.7 mpg. DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates this CAFE increase will effectively save 3.6 billion gallons of oil over the lifetime of these trucks. Information about the DOT CAFE regulation is found at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings (click on CAFE05-07).
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