• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: "A Path Filled With Hardships"
  • Q&A: Volvo CEO Jim Rowan Talks Hitting Targets, Future Vehicles
  • FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing
  • Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV
  • First Look: 2024 Lexus GX
  • GM Investing $500M in Texas Plant for Gas-Powered SUVs
  • New Battery Chemistry Promises Increased Range, Cell Life
  • Labor Unrest at West Coast Ports Threatens U.S. Automakers
  • Used Car Wholesale Prices Decline; Retail Prices Don't
  • Pandemic Accelerated Auto Dealers’ Shift to Digital-Oriented Sales Process
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Chevrolet Trax Activ
    • A Week With: 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Golf GTI 2.0 SE
    • A Week With: 2023 Kia Niro SX Touring
    • A Week With: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Estrema Q4
    • A Week With: 2023 Lexus NX 350h Luxury
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-Line
    • First Drive: 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander
    • A Week With: 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E Premium RWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > New Vehicles Getting Less than 20 MPG on Decline

        New Vehicles Getting Less than 20 MPG on Decline

        One in four new vehicles average less than 20 mpg in 2014.

        Joseph Szczesny
        Joseph Szczesny , Executive Editor
        Feb. 27, 2015
        Small cars, like the Chevy Sonic, have helped to push the average fuel economy of vehicles to new heights.

        As automakers and the federal government head toward a potential clash over the 54.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy mandate for 2025, a recent study shows that automakers are making substantive gains in fuel economy: about one in four new vehicles get less than 20 mpg.

        That’s a significant uptick in just six years, according to the University of Michigan, which show that in 2008, half of new-car buyers in the U.S. bought vehicles that were rated at less than 20 mpg.

        Stay Informed!

        The shift is a reflection of several factors that helped push the industry into building and American consumers into buying more fuel-efficient vehicles. The rising price of gasoline, which jumped in wake of a series of hurricanes in fall of 2005, beginning with Hurricane Katrina that swept through the Gulf of Mexico and disrupted the production of gasoline and diesel fuel, set helped renew interest in fuel economy.

        Two years after Katrina, the U.S. Congress, with support of environmental groups and national security experts concerned about the risks posed by large imports of crude oil, particularly from the Middle East, finally succeeded in passing a bill that allowed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to boost fuel economy standards for the first time in decades.

        Fuel-economy standards had been frozen since the late 1980s.

        Finally, the 2008-2009 recession pushed American consumers to look for more fuel-efficient vehicles while the long-standing opposition by Detroit’s automakers evaporated under the pressure created by the domestic industry’s financial crisis. The combination of economics, regulation and the resulting investment in fuel efficiency, as well as the advent of electric vehicles, make backsliding very difficult.

        The figures from the University of Michigan study underscore the scope of the shift.

        The University of Michigan’s research shows average fuel economy has improved 4.5 miles per gallon between model years 2008 and 2014, University of Michigan researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle document sales-weighted distributions for the same model year vehicles.

        (Congressman pushes nationwide traffic camera ban. For more, Click Here.)

        The new report found that improvements are present throughout the distributions of vehicle fuel economy.

        About 24% of new 2008 vehicles bought reported fuel economy ratings between 11 mpg and 17 mpg, and 26% purchased vehicles got between 17 and 20 mpg. Six years later, less than 9% of car buyers purchased a new 2014 model with fuel economy less than 17 mpg. Another 19% drove new cars that averaged between 17 mpg and 20 mpg.

        (Click Here for details about why recall levels will remain high.)

        While about 35% of new vehicles sold in 2008 had average fuel economy between 20 mpg and 26 mpg, compared to roughly 31% for model year 2014, huge improvements were made in the sales of fuel-efficient cars, the researchers say.

        Nearly 41% of new-car buyers bought 2014 vehicles with mpg of at least 26, including 27% who purchased vehicles averaging at least 30 mpg. In 2008, the corresponding figures were 15% and 5%, respectively.

        (To see more about the rise in February auto sales, Click Here.)

        Overall, average fuel economy for light-duty vehicles improved from 20.8 mpg for model year 2008 to 25.3 mpg for model year 2014, the last full year for which results are available.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: “A Path Filled With Hardships”

        Today
        FIA Formula E 2023 Jakarta teams on track REL

        FIA’s Formula E is Changing the Way We Look at Racing

        Yesterday
        2024 Lexus TX - debut front 3-4

        Lexus Lifts the Covers Off New, Three-Row TX SUV

        Yesterday

        One response to “New Vehicles Getting Less than 20 MPG on Decline”

        1. Jorge says:
          February 27, 2015 at 9:39 am

          Auto makers have little choice with the absurd Obama/EPA decree of 54.5 mpg. Consumers will pay dearly for this technically meritless decree. Will the EPA and Mr. Obama buy back all the junk inoperable EVs in five years at the customer full purchase price?

          Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: