Car Fuel Mileage
Car fuel mileage refers to the distance in miles a car can drive on 1 gallon of fuel. The unit of measurement is mpg (miles per gallon). When comparing car fuel mileage figures you need to know which gallon is being referred to - the U.S. or gallon or imperial gallon. The imperial gallon is approximately 20% larger than the U.S. gallon.A higher mpg means better fuel economy - you can travel further for the same amount of fuel.
The two extremes of car fuel mileage figures are a top fuel dragster which consumes about 24 U.S. gallons per mile (or 0.042 mpg) and the world record holding Pac Car which manages 12,660 mpg. Most people in standard cars achieve a fuel efficiency of between 15 and 40 mpg. Governments want to raise this figure. New cars sold today in the U.S. must meet a fuel economy standard of 27 mpg however this will slowly be increased to 35.5 mpg by 2016. The European Union is going further, demanding a car fuel mileage of 47 mpg by 2012.
The biggest factor affecting car fuel mileage is choice of car, although driving style also plays a very important role. The fuel efficiency of both petrol and diesel engines has improved markedly in recent decades (some diesel engines are now up to 45% efficient), as manufacturers have devoted a lot of effort in improvements in this area. The main ways manufacturers have improved car fuel mileage are:
The best vehicles for car fuel mileage return average figures in excess of 50 mpg. Most are small cars such as the Fiat 500, Smart for Two and Citroen C3, but there are some larger cars returning similar car fuel mileage figures, most notably the Toyota Prius hybrid, which is the most successful hybrid car worldwide to date.
An average U.S. household spends $5000 a year on gas. By changing to a vehicle with better car fuel mileage the savings that can be made are considerable.
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