Saving Money and the Environment

High gas prices and stricter federal fuel economy rules are helping put more fuel-efficient vehicles in the nation’s driveways than ever. According to the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich., the average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. - as of November 2012 - is 24.1 mpg, which represents an 18 percent increase over the past five years. Not only are higher-mileage models helping motorists save money at the pump, vehicles sold since October 2007 saved a total of 6.1 billion gallons of fuel, according to Michael Sivak, the U of M’s director of sustainable worldwide transportation. Sivak says that’s enough to operate every car in the U.S. for about 13 days. Best of all, this also represents about 120 billion fewer pounds of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases - said to contribute to global warming - spewed into the ecosystem from vehicle tailpipe emissions. Talk about a “win-win” situation.