[greenyes] Auto Fuel Economy

["Peter Anderson" <anderson@no.address>]

NYTimes 5/6/03
Fuel Economy Hit 22-Year Low
By DANNY HAKIM


ETROIT, May 2 - The average fuel economy of the nation's cars and trucks
fell to its lowest level in 22 years in the 2002 model year, the
Environmental Protection Agency reported today.
The technological and engineering leaps of the last two decades have been
poured into everything but fuel economy, according to the agency's
statistics. Since 1981, the average vehicle has 93 percent more horsepower
and is 29 percent faster in going from 0 to 60 miles an hour. It is also 24
percent heavier, reflecting surging sales of sport utility vehicles.
But over the same period, fuel economy has stagnated, contributing heavily
to the nation's rising oil consumption. Cars and light trucks - S.U.V.'s,
pickups and minivans - account for about 40 percent of the nation's oil
consumption and a fifth of its carbon dioxide emissions, which many
scientists see as the leading contributor to global warming.
______________________________
Peter Anderson
RECYCLEWORLDS CONSULTING Corp
4513 Vernon Blvd. Suite 15
Madison, WI 53705
Ph:    (608) 231-1100
Fax:   (608) 233-0011
Cell    (608) 438-9062
email: anderson@no.address