Okay, Now America's Dislike of Cars is Starting to Show

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The post-recession era was an interesting one. As automakers struggled to cram every last piece of fuel-saving technology into their vehicles, gas prices shot up and grimly stayed put. Engine displacements small enough to inspire locker room bullying were suddenly the mainstream.

Naturally, both corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) and sales-weighted fuel economy shot up like U.S. jobs numbers.

America’s rapidly growing lust for light trucks, crossovers and SUVs has been well documented, but until now, the trend has only served to flatline the average gas mileage of the country’s new vehicles. Well, the trend could only go so far before reaching a tipping point.

According to the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute, the truck-hungry month of October saw sales-weighted average fuel economy drop by 0.4 miles per gallon — the steepest drop since the oil price crash of late 2014. That puts the average fuel economy at 24.8 mpg, a full 1 mpg lower than the post-recession peak of August 2014.

Put another way, the last time collective gas mileage was this low was in July of 2013.

Of course, the landscape has changed since that long-ago time. Back then, trucks, SUVs and crossovers were only popular. Tried-and-true passenger cars made up the majority of new vehicle market share.

According to TTAC sales guru Tim Cain, passenger cars only made up 40 percent of new vehicle sales volume during the first 10 months of this year. In October? A mere 37 percent. Compare that to 2015’s YTD figure of 44 percent. So yes, 63 percent of new vehicles sold in the U.S. last month were some form of light truck, van, SUV or crossover.

In Canada, which the University of Michigan isn’t concerned with, that number was actually 66 percent. Traversing the barren wastes that lie outside the boundaries of Toronto requires a vehicle with rugged capability, it seems.

Expect fuel economy figures to change soon, but not because of any sudden advance in technology. The Environmental Protection Agency has changed the methodology behind its gas mileage ratings, with the new numbers appearing on 2017 model year vehicles. Supposedly, this should result in a more accurate estimate of a vehicle’s fuel economy.

Those figures will be retroactively added to historical fuel economy charts starting next month, the Transportation Research Institute claims.

[Images: General Motors; University of Michigan]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Lynn Ellsworth Lynn Ellsworth on Nov 14, 2016

    "America will never have a gas tax like Europeans because": Trump is going to cut inheritance taxes, rich people's taxes, and corporate taxes and then rebuild our infrastructure. So who is going to pay for the infrastructure improvements (which we do need)? Higher gas taxes or will an enormous debt be passed on to your kids? When Trump's 4 year old type emotions feel slighted and starts a nuclear war we will really need infrastructure repairs. Side note: If that NJ guy gets any position in the new administration can you imagine the future traffic jams when his ego gets bruised?

  • SuperCarEnthusiast SuperCarEnthusiast on Jun 13, 2017

    I see a lot more full size SUV on the roads now! My neighbor just got a new Tahoe Premier - $76K! I saving for a full size SUV too! It will be a few years but be worth it!

  • Master Baiter "That said, the Inflation Reduction Act apparently does run afoul of WTO rules..."Pfft. The Biden administration doesn't care about rules. The Supreme Court said they couldn't forgive student load debt; they did it anyway. Decorum and tradition says you don't prosecute former presidents; they are doing it anyway. They made the CDC suspend evictions though they had no constitutional authority to do so.
  • 1995 SC Good. To misquote Sheryl Crow "If it makes them unhappy, it can't be that bad"
  • 1995 SC The letters on the hatch aren't big enough. hard pass
  • Ajla Those letters look like they are from AutoZone.
  • Analoggrotto Kia EV9 was voted the best vehicle in the world and this is the best TOYOTA can do? Nice try, next.
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