The Cadillac Escalade, the Ford Expedition, the Lincoln Navigator. Top-of-the-line sport utility vehicles are the newest, most popular vehicles on the market, meeting consumer demands of size, safety and quality.
These SUVs are eye-catching and you may look good driving them, but those who own these vehicles fail to realize how they affect carbon dioxide emissions or how much money they waste on gas.
King-size SUVs such as the Escalade and Navigator are among the worst gas mileage models of the new 2002 passenger vehicles, as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency. They all carry rankings of 14 mpg or less.
Two hybrid gas- and electric-powered cars, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius, have made the top of fuel misers’ lists for the past three years. The Honda Insight gets 64 mpg combined highway and city driving, and the Toyota Prius gets 48 mpg.
And, although they’re not as big, they look just as good.
Consumers should take into consideration the money and resources that would be saved by investing in a more fuel-efficient vehicle. The EPA estimates a 3 mpg increase in fuel efficiency would save $25 billion a year in fuel costs and reduce 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
But until Americans stop thinking bigger is better, overall fuel efficiency will suffer. Average fuel economy for cars decreased to 23.9 mpg from 24.2 mpg a year ago.
America’s class and style is beginning to come at an expensive cost.
