When a new full-size Chevy Suburban parks alongside you at the store and the owner slips out from behind the wheel, rather than giving him grief for guzzling gas, give him a hug for saving it.
Full- and midsize SUVs and full-size pickups are considered by many as the worst energy offenders on the road today.
Yet in analyzing sales for the first six months of this year, CNW Marketing Research, a company that studies why people buy the cars they do, found that those who purchase new full-size SUVs actually get nearly 2 mpg more in the new car than they did in their old one (19.9 mpg vs. 18 mpg).
At $3 a gallon, that's not only a savings of $186 in gas over a year's driving, it's a savings of more than 60 gallons of fuel.
Since the trade-ins were, on average, 6.5 years old, that's another low-mileage, high-emission-belching relic off the road.
Those who bought a new midsize SUV are now getting an average of 21.7 mpg, up from 19.9 mpg on their 6.4-year-old trade-in.
Savings there is $136 a year and about 44 gallons of gas
Those moving into a full-size pickup truck found their average mileage increasing to 19 mpg from 16.8, a savings of $292 or about 98 gallons of fuel over their 7.3-year-old trade-in.
Of course, new small cars conserve lots of fuel, too. Those buying small cars found they averaged 32 mpg, up from 20 mpg in the 6.3-year-old trade-in, a hefty $673 savings and 224 fewer gallons of fuel consumed.
"When you see a new full-size Suburban pass, don't look down at the owner as a gas hog," says Art Spinella, general manager of CNW.
"Look at the driver as someone who is interested in conserving gas by buying a vehicle that gets better fuel economy, regardless of size.”
Car Dealerships Directory has listings of local car dealerships with price quotes, savings and coupons.
