October 4, 1999
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A two-seater Japanese import powered by a combination of electricity and gasoline is the winner of this year's Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy derby, getting three times better gasoline mileage than many automobiles.
The Honda Insight, which will be introduced into American showrooms in December, gets 61 miles per gallon in city driving, and 70 mpg on the highway, according to EPA fuel economy rankings released today for hundreds of 2000 model vehicles.
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The 2000 model vehicles getting the best and worst fuel economy by vehicle classification, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The numbers following the vehicles reflect fuel economy first in city driving, followed by highway driving.
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Among the biggest gas guzzlers were the popular large sport utility vehicles, many of which reported about 12 mpg in city driving and at best about 16 mpg on the highway.
Land Rover's Range Rover got the worst mileage (12 city/15 highway) among the SUVs, but the likes of the Ford Expedition and GMC Yukon did only a little better on the highway and no better in city driving.
The first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle available in America, Honda has touted the Insight as "breakthrough engineering" with high mileage and low enough pollution to meet California's toughest emission standards outside of an all-electric car. Honda has said the coupe would be priced at "under $20,000."
The Insight's electric motor, which draws power from an onboard battery, boosts engine performance and acts as a generator when the car slows down, recharging the battery, according to Honda officials.
Mileage varied widely among categories of cars from small two-seaters to large sedans, pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles.
Volkswagen had the most fuel efficient cars in both the subcompact and compact categories -- the New Beetle, Jetta and Golf. All diesel-powered, they got 42 mpg in the city and 49 mpg on the highway.
The Mazda 626 was the fuel economy winner among midsize cars (26 city/32 highway) and the Toyota Avalon among large cars (21 city/29 highway). The Dodge Caravan and its sister Plymouth Voyager were the most miserly among the popular minivans (20 city/26 highway).
In recent years with fuel prices low, the EPA's fuel economy rankings haven't gained as much attention as in years past. Today about half of the vehicles sold are SUVs and pickup trucks, which get poorer mileage than most automobiles.
As in years past, a string of high-powered sports cars and luxury cars took up the bottom rung of the fuel economy ladder. The two-seater Ferrari 500 Maranello was the biggest guzzler, getting 8 mpg in city driving and 13 on the open road. BMW models had the worst fuel economy in the compact, midsize, large sedan and small stationwagon classes.
Volkswagen's Eurovan had the worst mileage among the minivans, with 15 mpg in the city and 20 mpg on the highway.
The EPA last year dropped its practice of estimating how much each car costs motorists in fuel. Only 20 cars, mostly high-performance sports cars, of the more than 800 cars on the mileage list were subject to a gas-guzzler tax.
"Choosing the most fuel efficient vehicle within a class can save drivers at least $1,500 in fuel costs and avoid more than 15 tons of greenhouse gas pollution over the life of the vehicle as well as help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil," EPA Administrator Carol Browner said in a statement.
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