Cars, Trucks More Fuel-Efficient than Ever

By Marty Padgett August 12th, 2008

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2007 Toyota Camry

Good news, gas hogs--the fuel efficiency of the U.S. fleet of cars and trucks has never been better.

The Detroit News relays the data put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which shows that in 2008, cars and trucks average 26.8 mpg, as of March. Last year's figure was 26.6 mpg, and that was an improvement on the 25.7 mpg registered in 2006.

Passenger cars fared even better in the survey, on average turning in 31.2 mpg for the first half of 2008. Light trucks made 23.4 mpg, an increase from 23 mpg in the year prior.

By 2015, cars and trucks will have higher bogeys to meet. Cars will need to meet a 35.7-mpg fleet average, and trucks will be required to hit a 28.6-mpg figure.

The NHTSA breaks down the automakers' fuel economy as thus:

• General Motors Corp.: 29.4 mpg for domestic cars, 31.5 mpg for imported vehicles, and 22.5 mpg for light trucks.

• Ford Motor Co.: 29.5 mpg for domestically produced cars, 30.1 mpg for imported cars, and 23.2 mpg for light trucks.

* Chrysler LLC: 29.3 mpg for domestic vehicles, 27.2 mpg for imported vehicles, and 23.6 mpg for light trucks.

• Toyota Motor Corp.: 34.7 mpg for domestically produced cars, 37.9 mpg for imported cars -- including Prius hybrids -- and 24.0 mpg for light trucks.

• Honda Motor Co.: 35.2 mpg for domestically produced cars, 33.2 mpg for imports, and 25.4 mpg for light trucks.

• Nissan Motor Co.: 28.8 for imported cars, 33.5 mpg for domestically produced cars, and 23.2 mpg for light trucks.