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MEMA: Americans Are Driving More, but Paying Less for Fuel

2 July 1997

Americans Are Driving More, but Paying Less for Fuel, Reports MEMA

    RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., July 2 -- In the past two
decades, Americans have increased the number of miles they drive by more than
half, but they're paying less for their vehicle fuel than they did in 1978.
Since that year, vehicle fuel efficiency measured in miles per gallon has
increased by more than 60%, and the price of gasoline (adjusted for inflation)
has fallen 21%, according to the current issue of Market Analysis, a
newsletter published by the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA)
for its members.
    "Technology improvements, many of which were developed to meet the
requirements of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), account for the
majority of these improvements," said Philip Stafford, a senior economist at
MEMA.  "When we figure in all the factors, these numbers mean that, in
inflation-adjusted terms, consumers pay 51% less today for a mile's worth of
gasoline than they did in 1978.  American drivers' inflation-adjusted yearly
gasoline bill has dropped 23%."
    Overall, Americans are using only 5% more gas than they did prior to
implementation of federal CAFE standards, while they're driving 56% more miles
per year than they did two decades ago.
    Founded in 1904, MEMA exclusively represents and serves more than 700 U.S.
manufacturers of motor vehicle components, tools and equipment, automotive
chemicals, and related products used in the production, repair, and
maintenance of all classes of motor vehicles.  MEMA is headquartered in
Research Triangle Park, NC, and has offices in Washington, DC.; Yokohama,
Japan; Brussels, Belgium; and Mexico City.  It will open an office in Sao
Paulo, Brazil later this year,

SOURCE  Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association