Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
These are the worst kind of graphs; the kind that cut the bottom off to make it look like fuel economy quadrupled. Fuel economy barely improved. Laws may have had an influence, but rising fuel prices and improvements in technology were also factors.
The nearly worthless graph represents an almost 20% improvement in fuel economy 6 years.
This still terrible graph shows the trend started in 2004; 3 years before congress saved the world.
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1. 20.8 mpg to 24.5 mpg is huge. That is 110 gallons of fuel per year for a typical driver.
2. Yes, the trend started in 2004 / 2005. If you think back that is when fuel prices doubled. However, the trend continued in the 2010's when fuel prices flatlined and then fell. Why? CAFE forced automakers to continue to improve fuel economy regardless of the price.
If you follow a specific car the trend is very clear. These are the last 8 generations of the Camry. Toyota kept the same basic 4 speed auto for DECADES. In 2008 they had just gotten back to the fuel economy that they had back in 1988. Then new CAFE regulations come into effect that say Toyota has to increase fuel economy 5% per year and presto, fuel economy takes off.
EDIT: for some reason I used the model breaks for a Honda Accord instead of Toyota Camry. Still the trend remains. Flatline then huge spike in fuel efficiency.