For the 2007 model year, cars sold in the U.S. averaged 31.3 mpg and light trucks averaged 23.1 mpg. Keep in mind that these numbers reflect a complex equation that takes a car or truck’s “footprint” into account. Based on this equation, DOT says, Porsche will have to average 41.3 mpg by 2015 without buying another manufacturer’s credits, or paying a gas guzzler tax (unless it can by then count the fuel economy of every Volkswagen AG model sold in the U.S.), whereas newly independent Jaguar/Land Rover will have a lower number to achieve for cars, because Jaguars make a larger “footprint.”

April 23rd, 2008 | On The Road | 0 comments | Continued