The figure is the same as last year and the lowest since 1980. In the late 80s the average fuel economy had climbed to 25.9 mpg. Light truck sales captured 46 percent of all U.S. passenger-vehicle sales this year.
Light trucks tend to weigh more than cars and get fewer miles to the gallon.
The average 2000 car gets 28.1 mpg, while light trucks get 20.5 mpg. The Alliance of Automobile Manufactures, which represents 13 automakers, says the industry produces cars that get 40 mpg, but consumers don't buy them. The Sierra Club retorted that automakers spend a disproportionate share of their advertising dollars pushing lower-mileage SUVs with high profit margins. Environmentalists want fuel-efficient vehicles because, they say, the better gas mileage would reduce oil consumption, lower fuel costs and lower carbon dioxide emissions. Passenger vehicles discharge about 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, they say.