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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Top Sellers MPG

If the price of gas is such a problem, why don't Americans buy smaller cars? (Answer: because they don't want small cars.)

Here is the list of the 2006 top sellers, by volume, for the U.S. (list courtesy of Edmunds). I have added the average fuel economy numbers from the EPA's 2007 fuel economy list.

1. Ford F-Series (includes F-150, F-250 Super Duty and F-350 Super Duty) — 796,039
Fullsize and just plain huge trucks.
Ave. fuel economy: 17mpg (V8 combined City and Highway numbers)

2. Chevrolet Silverado (includes 1500, 1500 Classic, 1500 SS Classic, 1500HD Classic, 2500HD, 2500HD Classic, 3500HD, 3500 Classic — 636,069
Fullsize trucks.
Ave. fuel economy: 17mpg (V8)

3. Toyota Camry and Camry Solara — 448,445
Midsized car.
Ave. fuel economy: 29mpg (I4)

4. Dodge Ram (includes 1500, 2500 and 3500) — 364,177
Fullsized Trucks.
Ave. fuel economy: 17mpg (V8)

5. Honda Accord — 354,441
Midsized Car.
Ave. fuel economy: 29mpg (I4)

6. Honda Civic — 316,638
Compact Car.
Ave. fuel economy: 35mpg

7. Chevrolet Impala — 289,868
Large Car.
Ave. fuel economy: 26mpg

8. Toyota Corolla — 272,327
Compact Car.
Ave. fuel economy: 35mpg

9. Nissan Altima — 232,457
Midsize Car.
Ave fuel economy: 30mpg (I4)

10. Chevrolet Cobalt — 211,449
Compact Car.
Ave fuel economy: 28mpg
What I see in these numbers is that the love affair for large vehicles continues, despite fuel costs. Where is the landslide towards small thrifty cars? It isn't here yet.

Of the top ten best sellers, approximately 2,160,000 units (F150, Silverado, Ram, Impala) get worse than 28mpg (CAFE target is 27.5 for cars). 1,835,100 units (Camry, Accord, Civic, Corolla, Altima, Cobalt) get better than 28mpg.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It really has to do with where you live. The millions in crowded cities can't believe anyone wants to drive trucks, and the people living in country side can't believe you would want to lock yourself in a tuna can.

Politics are driven by the people in big cities...they have the loudest voice because big media is usually in large cities. They report what they see...and they only see over crowded roads and traffic jams.

Anonymous said...

The figures are meaningless unless you take miles driven into account. A lot of families run eco-cars when commuting and SUVs when the family rides together.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Detroit should have a problem meeting the new mpg standards.. what is it, 35 mpg?

I rented two Impalas recently (3.5's) and they returned a solid 32-34 mpg in highway driving (65-75 mph, varied terrain, mountain passes.)

Every day I sit in traffic surrounded by crew cab pickups commuting to work with one passenger - this in a small midwest town.

Detroit marketers did a great job selling the idea of a truck to America, because.. well, they generate the most profit right now for Detroit.

What would have happened if they had focused on making an excellent mid-sized car and THAT ended up being in high demand?

Anonymous said...

The 35MPG is overall fuel economy, not highway. It is very hard to get that kind of numer in city driving, and the average is based on city + highway mileage.

HoosierDaddy said...

The numbers for the pickups are worse than you post. The EPA numbers are for the 1500 Series (ie 1/2 ton trucks). Vehicles with a GVW over 8500 lbs don't receive ratings and don't count in the EPA calculations. The diesels would probably post decent highway numbers but in general the higher weight and sometimes larger engines of the bigger trucks results in lower MPG numbers.

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