MIT study rubbishes thoughts of drastic improvement in fuel economy in vehicles
A large selling point for a ton of automobiles these days is their gas mileage. Cars have supposedly become much more fuel efficient in the last decade or two. However, a study by an MIT economist learned that the increases in economy are overstated a bit Source for this article: Study from MIT finds fuel efficiency has not improved much
Do not think every little thing you see
Just about every car manufacturer emphasizes the fuel economy for some, if not all, of the cars made by that manufacturer. Certainly, there are exceptions; Bugatti is not go-ing to be caught lauding the economy inherent to the 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged Veyron.
There is also a belief that in the past decade or two, great increases have been made in the realm of fuel economy. Car makers are imagined to be making automobiles that are more fuel efficient than the autos of yesteryear and, to an extent, it is true. However, an economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently published a study asserting that fuel economy increases have been fairly modest.
Numbers do not lie
Even though the average engine fuel economy increase from 1980 to 2006 was 60 percent, there was actually only a 15 percent in-crease in the average gasoline mileage, as reported by a report done by Christopher Knittel, as reported by USA Today. The paper, “Automobiles on Steroids,” was published in the academic journal, the American Economic Review.
In 1980, the average fuel economy was 23 miles per gallon. It increased in 2006 to 27 miles per gal-lon.
Weight of vehicles
The cause of the modest gain in gasoline mileage is that automobiles have become heavier and have gained more horsepower. According to the New York Times, the average car, excluding body styles such as vans, trucks or SUVs, weighed in at 3,041 pounds in 1980. By 2006, the average car had ballooned to 3,455 pounds. The average curb weight across all automobiles, such as trucks, etc., in the study in 2006, was 26 percent heavier and 107 percent more powerful than the average automobile in 1980, as reported by the Washington Post.
In 1983, the Honda Accord had 34 miles per gallon. It dropped to 29 miles per gallon in 1990 and jumped back up to 30 in 2005. It gained 100 horsepower in that time. It also went up 1,000 pounds in weight.
Weight and power cancels efficiency
Gaining gas mileage is harder when you're also gaining weight and horsepower, as reported by Knittel. Knittel says that gas mileage would be much higher if automobiles weighed the same that they did in 1980. They would be around 37 miles per gallon instead.
According to Knit-tel, individuals would drive less and fuel mileage would increase if the govern-ment increased taxes on gasoline. That is what the government should do instead of increasing CAFÉ standards, according to the New York Times.
A large selling point for a ton of automobiles these days is their gas mileage. Cars have supposedly become much more fuel efficient in the last decade or two. However, a study by an MIT economist learned that the increases in economy are overstated a bit Source for this article: Study from MIT finds fuel efficiency has not improved much
Do not think every little thing you see
Just about every car manufacturer emphasizes the fuel economy for some, if not all, of the cars made by that manufacturer. Certainly, there are exceptions; Bugatti is not go-ing to be caught lauding the economy inherent to the 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged Veyron.
There is also a belief that in the past decade or two, great increases have been made in the realm of fuel economy. Car makers are imagined to be making automobiles that are more fuel efficient than the autos of yesteryear and, to an extent, it is true. However, an economist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently published a study asserting that fuel economy increases have been fairly modest.
Numbers do not lie
Even though the average engine fuel economy increase from 1980 to 2006 was 60 percent, there was actually only a 15 percent in-crease in the average gasoline mileage, as reported by a report done by Christopher Knittel, as reported by USA Today. The paper, “Automobiles on Steroids,” was published in the academic journal, the American Economic Review.
In 1980, the average fuel economy was 23 miles per gallon. It increased in 2006 to 27 miles per gal-lon.
Weight of vehicles
The cause of the modest gain in gasoline mileage is that automobiles have become heavier and have gained more horsepower. According to the New York Times, the average car, excluding body styles such as vans, trucks or SUVs, weighed in at 3,041 pounds in 1980. By 2006, the average car had ballooned to 3,455 pounds. The average curb weight across all automobiles, such as trucks, etc., in the study in 2006, was 26 percent heavier and 107 percent more powerful than the average automobile in 1980, as reported by the Washington Post.
In 1983, the Honda Accord had 34 miles per gallon. It dropped to 29 miles per gallon in 1990 and jumped back up to 30 in 2005. It gained 100 horsepower in that time. It also went up 1,000 pounds in weight.
Weight and power cancels efficiency
Gaining gas mileage is harder when you're also gaining weight and horsepower, as reported by Knittel. Knittel says that gas mileage would be much higher if automobiles weighed the same that they did in 1980. They would be around 37 miles per gallon instead.
According to Knit-tel, individuals would drive less and fuel mileage would increase if the govern-ment increased taxes on gasoline. That is what the government should do instead of increasing CAFÉ standards, according to the New York Times.
Sources
USA Today
Washington Post
New York Times