Gas Mileage Figures Belie Complaints

Gas Mileage Figures Belie Complaints

EDITORIAL

7/23/2006
The Cincinnati Enquirer

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...DIT01/607230347

Excerpt:

"At a time when Mideast violence is widening, U.S. energy security is not just some wonkish policy matter far removed from how much fuel we burn up daily in our vehicles. Light-duty vehicles account for about 40 percent of all U.S. oil consumption, and much of that oil is imported. Whatever you may think of Al Gore's warnings about global warming, the EPA says light-duty vehicles contribute about 20 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

It is disheartening to see how U.S. carmakers' fuel economy averages lag those of Asian automakers. Honda (24.2 mpg) and Toyota (23.8 mpg) led the fuel economy rankings, but even their averages slipped some from model year 2005, as those companies, too, have started bulking up with larger vehicles."