Toyota tops big company CAFE ratings for 2007 model year with 29.69 mpg
The final 2007 model year tally of corporate average fuel economy for automakers selling cars in the U.S. is done, and Toyota came out on top of the heap again among the big brands. However, Toyota was not the overall winner. That honor went to none other than Lotus with 30.2 mpg! Lotus however is a very small fish in a huge if shrinking pond, having only sold six hundred 2007 model cars here. Toyota sold a couple more than that and averaged 29.69 mpg with its lineup of Priuses, Camrys, Corollas and Tundras. The no. 1 brand edged out Honda and Hyundai, which got 29.47 and 29.39 respectively. The Detroit based automakers? Well, not so good. GM, Ford and the then DaimlerChrysler brought up the rear with 25.16, 25.15 and 23.97. The 2008 numbers should show a significant improvement for all three companies now that truck sales have gone in the toilet and they are selling whatever smaller cars they have as fast as they can build them. Chrysler will also benefit by not including Mercedes-Benz in its numbers.
The averages are sales weighted and based on fuel economy numbers from 1970s era test procedures rather than the new lower mileage numbers that can be found on current window stickers, so keep that in mind. You can check out the full report at the NHTSA web-site including numbers for previous model years.
[Source: NHSTA, via Toyota Open Road Blog, Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2004m3driver 1:06PM (7/25/2008)
Honda no longer number 1? ouch
Reply
Stéphane Dumas 1:08PM (7/25/2008)
Interesting contrast to compare with the one at http://autos.aol.com/article/green/_a/best-worst-automaker-fuel-economy/20080711132109990002
Reply
The Other Bob 1:20PM (7/25/2008)
That is actually more interesting. The list at the link above ranks the companies by the average fuel economy per model, while the CAFE average is sales weighted, meaning that for every 20 MPG car you sell, you have to sell two 40 mpg cars to reach 30 mpg CAFE avearge. I
f you sell 4, 20 mpg cars and only 2, 40 mpg cars, your average will drop to 26.7. Who knew that Chevy's line-up is more fuel efficient than Toyota's?
The Other Bob 1:25PM (7/25/2008)
Opps, I did a typo in that math - sorry. I meant to say:
For every ONE 20 MPG car you sell, you have to sell ONE 40 mpg cars to reach 30 mpg CAFE avearge.
If you sell 4, 20 mpg cars and only 2, 40 mpg cars, your average will drop to 26.7.
Who knew that Chevy's line-up is more fuel efficient than Toyota's?
Dan 3:27PM (7/25/2008)
CAFE uses a harmonic mean, not an arithmetic mean.
One 20 mpg sale and one 40 mpg sale don't average (20+40)/2 = 30 mpg.
They average 2/(1/20+1/40) = 26.7 mpg.
tekdemon 1:50PM (7/28/2008)
Well, since a car company's impact on fuel consumption is mostly a function of how many vehicles they sell, it's fairly meaningless to use the comparison on the other site, since a car company that only sells 2 models, one that gets 100mpg and one that get 5 mpg would end up with an "average" MPG of a little over 50mpg, even if they only sold 100 of the 5MPG vehicles a year for a specialized purpose, but they sold 5 million of the 100mpg car. An extreme example, but the CAFE ratings would much more correctly reflect how efficient the actual cars sold are, not some theoretical efficiency if everyone bought the exact same number of every model a company makes.
Natredde 1:09PM (7/25/2008)
Actually, with as many low economy trucks sold by the big 3, recently reduced production should see a pretty big jump in that average. Seems like they should be able to net 4 mpg easy.
Reply
Snutz 1:10PM (7/25/2008)
So these are figured using the old testing standards, where the Prius was rated at 55 mpg instead of the much more realistic 46 mpg it is now. And they sold a lot of those last year, so this doesn't surprise me. Anyways, they're going to have a much easier time reaching the new standards than the US automakers regardless. Increasing the fuel economy of your entire fleet by 40% is no easy task.
Reply
Mulad 2:00PM (7/25/2008)
Heh, define "old".. The CAFE ratings are based on what you'd get with the FTP-75 test cycle introduced in the 1970s. They were downwardly adjusted by 10-15% in 1985, then we did a similar downward adjustment for the 2008 model year. The CAFE rating for any given car (not just the Prius) is now about 30% higher than the window sticker.
The Other Bob 1:11PM (7/25/2008)
Those are total shifts in numbers. A couple years ago GM was around 22, along with Nissan and Toyota about 2 mpg better. At the time, Ford was much lower. Honda was beating them all, but was below 30. Wish I had a source to cite.
Was there a change in the way it is calculated? Toyota has been getting worse every year for decades and sudenly has improved?
Reply
Dustin 1:16PM (7/25/2008)
Not the new lower mileage... so it's still counting the Prius as if it's a 60mpg car?
Reply
ItGuy 1:17PM (7/25/2008)
Tell me why I should care?
When I buy a vehicle, I buy what I LIKE and fuel economy is second. As long as it's not outrageous (under 15) I could care less.
Reply
C.W. 1:21PM (7/25/2008)
amen.
people who need trucks buy trucks (sometimes they buy them just because they are sweet to have)
people buy SUVs who need cargo and people capacity.
people buy Toyotas who have no loyalty for the country they live and pay taxes in (the U.S.).
you see, people will do what they want independent of which company ranks the highest on this list.
as the former Big 3 sell more cars you will see their number go up as well.
Dustin 1:23PM (7/25/2008)
Not to mention that you're not going to buy a whole fleet of vehicles from the same brand (or at all).
This only exists so the top rated company can brag about it in its commercials. And once again, Honda didn't capitalize on it for the past decade, but Toyota surely will immediately.
Corey L 1:31PM (7/25/2008)
"When I buy a vehicle, I buy what I LIKE and fuel economy is second. As long as it's not outrageous (under 15) I could care less."
Oh the irony...
fixitfixitstop 2:25PM (7/25/2008)
"Tell me why I should care?
When I buy a vehicle, I buy what I LIKE and fuel economy is second. As long as it's not outrageous (under 15) I could care less."
Because this is all about you. Right?
KCurtis 3:30PM (7/25/2008)
@ CW
"people buy Toyotas who have no loyalty for the country they live and pay taxes in (the U.S.)."
Ya know, even China lets people buy want they want... And they are a communist country.
2004m3driver 3:40PM (7/25/2008)
@ C.W.
Loyalty to ones county has nothing to do with what we purchase, but what we do to up hold our countries idea. Which is liberty and freedom for all. So if I don't buy a single domestic thing you can kiss my import loving ass. FYI american's profit off of imports too in retail and in the more obvious import taxes.
CEMan 9:39PM (7/25/2008)
Who 'freakin ray' for you chump
Just keep kissing that Saudi ass...
tekdemon 2:10PM (7/28/2008)
lol CW, everything you own is all 100% American made right? Because otherwise you're an evil traitor. To redeem yourself I suggest that you throw your computer out the window (since there's about a 99% chance that your computer and it's components are not made in the USA) and stop posting troll dung on the internet.
Only a complete moron would buy things only if they're made in the USA. I guess anybody who drinks german beer is also a traitor right? We're only allowed to drink Budweiser now? Oh wait a minute, Budweiser is now German so I guess we'd still be traitors.
Better throw your television out and go buy an American made set. Oh wait, no American made television actually works with modern digital TV broadcasts do they! And while us traitors could go buy a digital converter box, those aren't made in the USA either. Guess you can't watch TV either. Also, feel free to unscrew all your light bulbs, since those aren't made in the USA either.
And really who needs to eat or cook food right? Better throw out the vast majority of appliances in your kitchen from your coffee maker to your toaster to your range/oven.
When you're done getting rid of all your traitor goods go sit in your unlit and dark house with no television or computers or anything to cook with, and live the good loyal american life! Oh, and don't bother ever eating any bananas again or half the fruits and vegetables sold at your supermarket. If you ever eat another banana you'll be betraying AMERICAN APPLES!
Come to think of it, since our sugar is also imported, you should avoid ever eating anything that contains sugar ever again. Go back to living a life that people lived before trade ever began, one without spices, sugar, rum, and devoid of any technology. The rest of us? We're not so stupid as to think that buying goods from elsewhere is in any way betraying our countries, since free trade benefits all the countries involved.
And seriously? Other countries continue buying our airplanes, and even plenty of our goods. I'm in Shanghai right now (where Shanghai GM is) and it's like I'm in detroit with the amount of Buicks and Chevys I see. Ironically I see more GM vehicles here than I've ever seen on the east coast or west coast.
With your brilliant logic we'd all be stuck in the dark ages spending our whole days toiling in some crappy field to grow the same gruel that you'd eat every day for your short, short, life.