Think Fuel Economy Standards Don’t Matter? Think Again.
What if the U.S. federal government raised fuel economy standards? How much further would your vehicle go on a gallon of gas?
The Sierra Club will show you with the MPG Calculator. Choose the make and model of your car, how many miles you drive per year and the average cost you pay for gas at the pump.
For example, I entered Volkswagen Jetta at 12,500 miles per year at $3/gallon. Click on the "I Want My MPG!" button and here's the results:
If fuel economy standards were modernized, I would
Use 182 fewer gallons of gas a year
Save $545 at the pump annualy
Reduce CO2 emissions by 5,083 pounds
It is a fun tool that really shows the impact of what increasing fuel economy standards could do: mainly saving you money and reducing green house gas emissions. Of course raising fuel economy standards relies on politicians and automakers getting on board, and there are a few proposals out there, but the call to action might also have to come from drivers. How much could you be saving?
Tags: Automobiles, CAFE, fuel economy, gas, mpg, sierra+club, Transportation, Travel, vehicle
May 27th, 2007 at 3:45 am
I don’t think the cost savings are there. Higher tech vehicles, with higher fuel efficiency are more expensive to produce and maintain. Higher manufacturing costs are inevitably passed on to consumers.
Get a vehicle that makes you happy. If fuel efficiency makes you happy, great.
May 28th, 2007 at 1:29 am
I bought a 2001 2wd Ford Ranger yesterday, filled up the tank, drove it 213 miles, and filled up again. It gets 29.3 mpg. That website says:
Something is fishy.
May 28th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
According to EPAs website the average for a 2WD ‘01 ranger is 18.7MPG.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=mpgData&vehicleID=16966&browser=true&details=on
May 29th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
My Honda Fit gets just over or just under 30 MPG, I have kept track of every mile I’ve driven and every gallon I’ve bought. The calculator says a Fit gets 22.7 MPG, that’s ridiculous.
Also, there is no “year” field to go along with the make and model. Cars are redesigned regularly, and gas mileage estimates change with the designs. For instance, the 2005 and 2006 Civic Hybrids have different mileage estimates, and there was a manual transmission option with the 05 version that isn’t available with the 06.