ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, September 30, 1996 TAG: 9609300151
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
When Elizabeth Stout, a nurse in suburban Maryland, went to trade in her Nissan Maxima, she decided she wanted something different after five sedans in 20 years.
She got it: A loaded, V8-powered Ford Explorer, a sport utility vehicle complete with leather seats, automatic transmission and a sticker price close to $30,000.
``I have a dog; my boyfriend has a dog, and we take a lot of road trips,'' she said. The Explorer is perfect, she said: the roominess, the zip in the engine, the four-wheel drive that will get her to work this winter even in several feet of snow.
Did anyone say gas mileage?
``It's not a big deal to me,'' she said on being reminded that the Explorer and the other utility vehicles are hogs for fuel: 14 mpg in city driving, maybe 18 on the highway. Her Maxima cruised along the open road at 28 mpg or so.
As the Environmental Protection Agency releases its annual automobile fuel economy findings for 1997 vehicles, it's clear that the drive toward greater fuel efficiencies is on hold - moving backwards, say fuel conservation advocates.
The rush to sport utilities, minivans and pickups, as well as higher speed limits, is as much of an explanation as any, says automotive and fuel economy experts. This summer's surge in gasoline prices has done nothing to dampen motorists' love for gas guzzlers.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the craze for sport-utility vehicles, or SUVs. Officially classified as light trucks, SUVs, minivans and pickups are under less stringent government fuel-economy rules.
``It's the hottest, most profitable segment of the industry,'' said Steve Kosowski, an analyst with the California-based consulting firm AutoPacific Inc. ``The industry's response has been, `Let's build more.'''
Industry figures show the so-called ``light trucks'' now account for 43 percent of vehicle sales in the United States. Sales of SUVs alone are expected to total 2 million this year, double the number just four years ago.
The growing popularity, along with rising speed limits in every state, has some environmentalists and fuel-economy advocates worried.
``Fuel efficiency trends are stagnant. Efficiency improvements have stopped,'' said John DeCicco of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a research and lobbying firm promoting energy conservation.
He said the doubling of the market share for light trucks - almost 6 million vehicles a year - means Americans are using 14 percent more gasoline even without taking into account increased speed limits.
According to the EPA, passenger sedans have had a fleetwide average of just under 28 mpg over the past decade. By contrast, the average fuel economy for light trucks, including SUVs and minivans, has been just over 21 mpg.
The agency's latest fuel efficiency rankings of 1997 cars and trucks show that despite a handful of fuel misers, led by the subcompact Geo Metro at 44 mpg in city driving, there is little overall improvement in fuel efficiency numbers from last year or the year before.
And the most fuel-efficient cars aren't selling, says Diane Steed. She is president of the Coalition for Vehicle Choice, an advocacy group that opposes federal fuel-economy requirements. She said the 10 best gas savers accounted for only about 120,000 sales last year out of 8 million passenger cars sold.
What is selling are vehicles like Stout's Explorer, which Ford touts as the most popular sport-utility vehicle on the road with 400,000 sold last year.
David Van Sickle, who reviews scores of car models annually for the American Automobile Association, said he's puzzled by the seemingly universal appeal of the SUVs.
He admitted to a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses element: ``Your neighbor's got one, so you have to have one, too.''
But compared to sedans, he said, ``They ride hard, handle badly, cost more, are harder to maintain and get terrible fuel economy.''
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB