August 2014 US New-Car Fuel Economy Hits All-Time High Of 25.8 MPG

by Cameron Aubernon

Published: September 5th, 2014

august 2014 us new car fuel economy hits all time high of 25 8 mpg

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute’s monthly United States new-car fuel economy report is out, and it’s a doozy: August 2014 saw an all-time high of 25.8 mpg.

Automotive News reports the figure is the highest recorded since UMTRI began calculating averages in October of 2007, when the average then was 20.1 mpg. The most recent peak came in May, when the average was 25.7 mpg before dropping to 25.5 mpg the following month.

As for greenhouse emissions, the institute’s Eco-Driving Index fell to 0.78 in June, tying the record low first calculated in November 2013. The metric posits the lower the number — beginning at 1 in October 2007 — the lower the emissions.

#August2014 #Eco-DrivingIndex #GreenhouseEmissions #June2014 #U.S.NewCarFuelEconomyAverage #UniversityOfMichiganTransportationResearchInstitut

Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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Big Al from Oz on Sep 05, 2014

I do think the mpg should be removed from the graph and a number as a measure or value of new cars sold with the CAFE number given. I have read that owners' of pickups, like the Pentastar Ram are returning a real life FE average of between 16-17mpg. The same goes for the Eco Boost F-150s with around the same or a little less. I have also made this comment before and the fanboi's always manage to maintain the manufacturers' FE. But yet they describe how fast their trucks accelerate...Hmmmmm??? I see a lot of debating using the manufacturers figures during debates on FE. But these figures are far from accurate. I have read that diesel FE figures are the most reliable and much closer to the what the CAFE or EPA figures are.

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Zykotec on Sep 06, 2014

I'm quite sure 25.8mpg has been regarded as a 'gas guzzling dinosaur' in most of Europe for at least 25 years by now. Seriously, people wonder how I can afford to run my CR-V, and it averages roughly 24mpg. On the other hand, most people do buy underpowered boring diesel wagons over here. Again, people wonder why I need that huge 150 hp 2 liter engine... A V6 Accord would be considered a (very cheaply assembled) luxury racecar over here (and would be taxed as one too).

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- Hummer on Sep 06, 2014
  
  Pretty sure the average at my house is 15-16. But the 11mpg I average in the DD is cheap enough to feed. Gas has been going down, at $3.18 a gallon now, lots of driving for me.
  
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- Highdesertcat on Sep 06, 2014
  
  @Hummer For many people the average is meaningless because of the amount of driving they are required to do. I don't know what the average is at my house, spread over three vehicles, but up until my 17-yo grand daughter moved in with her mom in El Paso, TX, I was going through ~ 110 gals of gas a week at my house, at roughly $3.50 a gallon (on average) for 91-octane gas. But that usage also includes business travel and construction/repair/hauling done in support of her family's business, and running my AC generators for six hours every Sunday.
  
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- HotPotato on Sep 12, 2014
  
  A V6 Accord really IS a luxury racecar. I drove my friend's Accord V6 Coupe, manual transmission, for a while. So fast, so easy to drive. Japanese V6 engines are a marvel: smooth, reliable, and in the real world no thirstier than a turbo four. Unfortunately, the real world isn't where the American EPA test takes place, and Europe taxes by displacement, so increasingly everyone gets turbo fours instead: less tractable, and requiring more frequent and more expensive repair. Boo.
  
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- Danio3834 on Sep 12, 2014
  
  @highdesertcat Why are you running everything on 91 octane?
  
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