Features

WASHINGTON — Less than 6 percent of the 2002 model cars and trucks arriving in showrooms get better than 30 miles per gallon, and new cars on average get slightly less gas mileage than the 2001 models. 

America’s love affair with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and pickups again held down the overall numbers for the 865 cars, trucks and vans listed in the annual fuel economy statistics released Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Just 48 models, led by two hybrid gas- and electric-powered vehicles, get 30 mpg or better in combined city and highway driving. More than a third – 330 models – get less than 20 mpg. The majority – 487 models – get between 20 and 30 mpg. 

Overall, new passenger vehicles average about 21 mpg. Last year’s weighted average, based on sales for all new passenger cars and trucks, was 20.4 mpg – a 21-year low. 

While touting the need for fuel-efficient vehicles to decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil, two top Bush administration officials were reluctant Tuesday to embrace changing government standards to require that vehicles go farther on a gallon of gas. They said safety must be paramount in any such decision. 

Average fuel economy for the 491 cars is 23.9 mpg, a slight decrease from 24.2 mpg in 2001. That compares with 17.9 mpg for 374 models or variations of SUVs, vans and pickup trucks, a modest increase from 17.3 in 2001. 

The hybrids, the two-seat Honda Insight coupe and five-seat Toyota Prius sedan, topped the list of fuel misers for the third straight year, at 64 mpg and 48 mpg, respectively. They are followed by four Volkswagen diesel cars, the Honda Civic HX and Toyota Echo, all 37 mpg or better. By class, the best achievers are compact cars at 25.8 mpg, followed by small station wagons and subcompact cars at almost 25 mpg and midsize station wagons at 23.7 mpg. Cargo and passenger vans and standard-size four-wheel drive pickup trucks are the fuel spendthrifts at 16 mpg. 

Among midsize cars, the Mazda 626 and Honda Accord reported the best combined city-highway mileage of 28 mpg. The worst in that category is the luxury Bentley Arnage, at 13 mpg. Most cars in the category are in the low- to mid-20s mpg. 

Three similar minivans from General Motors – the Chevrolet Ventura, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Montana – again have the best mileage, 22 mpg combined, in the passenger van category. The Kia Sedona has the worst at 17 mpg. 

King-size SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator account for 13 of the 35 vehicles on the list with the worst gas mileage, all 14 mpg or less combined. 

The luxury sport import Lamborghini L-147 Murcielago is the biggest guzzler, at 10 mpg, followed by the Ferrari 360 Modena/Spider, at 12 mpg. 

EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said more fuel-efficient vehicles could save owners more than $1,500 a year.  

An increase of just 3 mpg industrywide could reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming by 140 million metric tons, EPA said. 

But the agency reported last week that the fuel economy of new passenger vehicles is as poor as it’s been in the past 20 years because automakers are trading mileage gains for larger, more powerful vehicles. 

In August, the House rejected by a 269-160 vote a proposal to make SUVs attain the same fleet average of 27.5 mpg that the government requires of automobiles.  

Both the fleet auto standard and requirement that SUVs, vans and light pickups have a fleet average of 20.7 mpg have been unchanged since 1975. 

The Bush administration has taken no position on whether fuel efficiency standards should be changed. 

“We’re seeing now a voluntary stepping up of car manufacturers to increase the gas mileage and fuel efficiency of vehicles,” Whitman said Tuesday. She said the 2002 models strike a balance by incorporating new technologies that “do not compromise safety at all” through reductions in size and weight. 

“Conserving fuel by driving a more fuel-efficient vehicle is one way for all of us to help cut oil consumption,” said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. “Energy efficiency is a security issue just as much as it’s an issue of conservation.” 

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On the Net: 

U.S. Department of Energy: http://www.fueleconomy.gov