America’s Greenest Cars Still Aren’t American

Producing the most fuel-sipping cars will have no impact on environment or oil reserves unless people buy those cars and carmakers sell them. This should be a truism, but too often it is ignored. Some cars are built with green halos, but with little regard for marketability.  Who's cars really are the greenest? Not much has changed since last time we looked at TrueCar's TrueMPG  ranking. This is a sales-weighted ranking that tracks the MPGs of the cars that actually get sold, including engine size and drivetrain that affect a vehicle's MPG ratings.   Average TrueMPG Manufacturer Aug-12 Aug-11 YoY % Hyundai 28.1 26.2 1.9 Volkswagen 26.6 25.2 1.4 Honda 24.9 23.9 1.0 Toyota 24.5 23.3 1.2 Nissan 23.9 22.8 1.1 Industry 23.2 21.7 1.5 Ford 22.0 20.4 1.6 GM 21.6 20.4 1.2 Chrysler 19.9 19.3 0.6 Overall, the industry gained a mile and a half over August a year ago. The market share of small cars and smaller SUVs is up, which lifts the rating. Detroit does not look good on that scale. Ford is the best-looking of the top seven manufacturers, it also delivered an impressive 1.6 mile improvement.  Hyundai is far ahead of the field and delivered the best overall improvement.   Average Car TrueMPG Manufacturer Aug-12 Jul-11 YoY % Hyundai 30.0 28.2 1.7 Toyota 30.0 27.5 2.6 Volkswagen 27.8 26.6 1.2 Honda 27.8 27.5 0.3 Industry 27.2 25.3 1.9 Nissan 27.1 25.5 1.7 Ford 26.4 25.2 1.1 GM 25.7 23.6 2.2 Chrysler 23.6 23.0 0.7 Looking at cars alone, Hyundai and Toyota are even, with Toyota having the most impressive improvement. Detroit is at the bottom.   Average Truck TrueMPG Manufacturer Aug-12 Aug-11 YoY % Hyundai 23.7 23.5 0.2 Honda 22.3 20.9 1.4 Volkswagen 21.8 21.0 0.8 Nissan 20.1 19.7 0.4 Ford 20.0 18.4 1.6 Industry 19.8 19.0 0.8 Toyota 19.2 18.8 0.5 GM 19.0 18.6 0.4 Chrysler 18.3 17.9 0.4 Do I hear "But this is unfair?" Detroit is heavy with trucks, and they use more gas. Well, they do. When looking at trucks alone, GM and Chrysler are at the bottom of the field, with Toyota taking third. Ford has an impressive showing with two notches over the industry average. However, even with trucks, Hyundai reigns supreme. TrueMPG by Brand Brand Aug-12 Jul-12 Aug-11 YoY% MoM% smart 35.7 35.7 36.2 -0.5 0.0 Fiat 32.1 32.0 32.5 -0.4 0.1 MINI 30.0 30.0 30.3 -0.3 0.0 Hyundai 28.3 28.1 27.1 1.2 0.2 Volkswagen 28.0 28.0 26.6 1.5 0.0 Kia 27.9 27.5 25.1 2.8 0.4 Mazda 27.2 27.1 23.9 3.3 0.1 Scion 27.0 27.2 25.8 1.3 -0.1 Honda 25.4 25.6 24.4 1.1 -0.1 Mitsubishi 25.2 25.5 22.5 2.7 -0.3 Toyota 24.7 24.4 23.3 1.4 0.3 Subaru 24.7 24.8 23.5 1.3 0.0 Nissan 24.4 23.7 23.2 1.3 0.8 Suzuki 23.6 23.7 23.7 -0.1 -0.1 Buick 23.2 23.1 20.5 2.7 0.1 Industry 23.2 23.1 21.7 1.5 0.1 Audi 22.4 22.4 22.3 0.1 0.0 Chevrolet 22.3 21.8 21.0 1.4 0.5 Lexus 22.3 22.4 22.3 0.0 0.0 BMW 22.2 22.5 19.9 2.3 -0.3 Ford 22.0 22.1 20.4 1.6 0.0 Chrysler 21.7 21.8 21.0 0.7 -0.1 Acura 21.3 21.5 20.7 0.7 -0.2 Volvo 21.3 21.4 20.5 0.8 -0.1 Lincoln 21.3 21.0 20.3 1.0 0.4 Dodge 21.0 20.5 20.3 0.8 0.5 Mercedes 20.7 20.4 18.5 2.2 0.3 Porsche 20.6 21.8 19.0 1.6 -1.3 Infiniti 20.2 20.4 20.0 0.2 -0.2 Jeep 19.2 19.4 18.6 0.5 -0.2 GMC 19.1 18.9 18.5 0.5 0.2 Cadillac 18.9 18.9 19.1 -0.2 0.0 Jaguar 18.0 18.1 18.1 -0.1 -0.1 Ram 15.8 15.8 15.5 0.3 0.0 Land Rover 15.1 17.8 14.3 0.9 -2.6 Looking at it by brand gives this picture.  If you want it broken out in different ways, head on over to the TrueCar site. If you want it broken out in ways TrueCar does not supply, I'm sure that for a nominal fee of $50,000  to $100,000 per report, it might be possible to supply the data. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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