Honda is EPA Friendly

Honda vehicles are the most fuel efficient in the United States according to an Environmental Protection Agency report filed last week.

The study, which takes “real world” numbers rather than those reported by manufacturers, listed Honda models with an average of 23.6 miles per gallon. The final numbers will not be released until late next year, but past preliminary reports have proven to be very accurate.

The final report for 2008 was also released and showed an increase of 0.4 MPG within the national fleet for all cars.

• Hyundai moved up to seconds with 23.4 MPG, while Toyota slipped to 3rd at 23.3 MPG.
• Volkswagen came in 4th with 22.3 MPG, followed by a tie between Nissan and BMW ar 21.6 MPG.

The Big Three from Detroit were at the bottom of the list, as they have a higher density of trucks and SUVs within their model lineups.

Honda has always strived to be conservative in their new vehicle offerings, notes Brookhaven MS Honda. For example, when entering the full-size truck segment the Ridgeline was not an attempt to take over the segment leaders, but instead Honda stayed to to its unique character. As a result, the Ridgeline not only featured distinctive styling, but it also featured a fuel-efficient V6 as the only engine choice rather than having a thirsty V8 in the lineup.

While the general increase in fuel economy is positive, manufacturers must step up to meet the fleetwide average of 34.1 MPG by 2016 that they recently agreed to achieve.