What Exactly Is Fuel Economy?

First off, if you missed our post yesterday, which featured Subaru's National Car Care Month, coupons and your free inspection, click here to view it first!

Now let's get started. There are two ways to measure fuel usage. The first is by consumption, or the amount of fuel per distance that you’re using. The second is fuel economy, which is determined by output per input; the distance traveled per unit of fuel used – also known as miles per gallon (MPG). Another measure that relates to consumption and economy is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the combustion process in a vehicle. This is why when you see fuel economy ratings on vehicles, the ratings typically mention both miles per gallon and CO2 emissions. The latter determines the real desirability of the said miles per gallon in a specific vehicle. Unless they’re 100 percent electric, all vehicles emit CO2, a greenhouse gas that is one of the largest contributors to climate change. We can’t control that just yet, but we can control is how much we’re emitting.

So why is it so important? There are a few reasons, but the two biggest are the environment and your wallet. The environment is of course the most important thing to protect, but your wallets are as well, so we can’t forget those. Less than four years ago we were paying a mere $1.61 per gallon, which came directly after the price spike in 2008 that asked for $4.12. Today, prices are at roughly $3.87 per gallon, depending on where you go for gas – which means we’re looking at prices that are dangerously close to the all-time record of 2008.

How do you protect your wallet? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, How-to: save your money and keep driving.


Image 1 via Artemis
Image 2 via PresenterMedia