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The Largest Independent Automotive Research Resource
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Uncle Sam Isn't Happy with Your Buying Habits

December 10, 2001

Sacramento - You might say that you are damned if you do, and damned if you don't. All any of us have heard since Sept. 11 is go out and shop, buy things. And so in October and November we turned out and bought passenger vehicles at a pace never seen before. We set records.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, however, says we bought the wrong vehicles. Our love affair with SUVs, they say, has increased the average fuel consumption of all 2001 motor vehicles to 20.4 miles per gallon, the lowest in twenty years.

The EPA realizes that no one cares right now when gasoline prices are at their lowest level in four years. But, that could change quickly says the EPA and place even more pressure on maintaining regional fuel supplies in the future.

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, bargain financing deals by automakers helped push sales of SUVs and light trucks up 13.7% over last year in the month of November. Half of the top 20 best selling vehicles so far this year have been trucks or SUVs. This rate of purchase for new fuel inefficient vehicles is far outpacing the rate of retirement for older automobiles. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration reports that the number of vehicles on the road grew by 5.2 million over the last two years.

Meanwhile gasoline consumption during the month of November averaged about 8.6 million barrels a day, that's up nearly 3% over November of last year. While Congress and the Bush administration are overwhelmed right now with fighting terror, there appears to be a mood within the EPA and other federal agencies that once the war on terror winds down, there may be another war, a fuel consumption war that is also important to national security and the future economy. That war will be on higher CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) standards.