U.S. New Car Fleet Lags Government Mileage Standard by Over Four Years, According to Chug e-MarketView Report

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Chug (www.chug.net), the car buying engine, today released a new e-MarketView Report: 'Fleet on the Street,' which maps the mileage performance achieved by new cars sold vs. the CAFE mileage standards set by the U.S. government.  The report, which provides market-by-market mileage performance data based on the actual cars sold in those markets, reveals that the nation's new car fleet is lagging government mileage standards by over four years. CAFE targets for 2011 are 24.1 MPG, whereas the Chug report shows a mileage average of 22.18, which was the target for 2007.

"We think it is important to offer this real-world view into how we, as a nation, are doing compared to the mandate set by the government," said Len Short, CEO of Chug.  "This is the nation's gas mileage report card, and it's not going as planned."

Chug is the world's first real-time searchable index of all U.S. cars for sale.  Chug tracks inventory on 41,154 dealer lots, reporting over 4 million searchable units.

According to the report, only one market - Palm Springs, California - meets the 2011 government CAFE Standards of 24.1 MPG, while the national average is 7.9% (1.92 MPG) behind the standard set for all cars.  Urban areas on the east and west coasts dominate the list of better performing markets, while most of the nation's mid-section and rural areas fall behind - some by more than 10 percentage points.

The report also reveals the top and bottom 10 performers in the nations 210 DMAs.  Three California DMAs – Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and San Francisco – rank at the top of the list while North Dakota and Texas have the bottom three: Minot-Bismarck-Dickinson, San Angelo, and Fargo-Valley City.

"Unlike the theoretical exercises regulators use, with complex assumptions and 'predictive' models, Chug has the unique ability to track the actual marketplace and report the true results," added Short. 

To see an interactive  mileage by market map at Chug.net, click here .

The Chug "Fleet on the Street" report tracks new car mileage performance for 210 U.S. market areas vs. current year CAFE standard of 24.1 MPG.

To see all markets in the report, click here    

About Chug

Chug (www.chug.net) is the first true search engine for cars, with over 3.5 million vehicle listings for new and used cars for sale. By crawling and indexing over 40,000 US auto dealers, Chug provides new and used vehicle shoppers with access to the industry's most comprehensive and accurate view of available car inventory. On Chug, consumers can search for new or used vehicles from popular brand names such as Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, BMW and many more.   Moreover, they can find important car buying data such as vehicle asking price, CarFax reports, vehicle mileage, specific VIN, and other important information not readily available on other consumer car web sites.

Created by a veteran team of technology, Internet and media innovators to remove the barriers that frustrate both online car-buyers and sellers, Chug accelerates the connection between consumer and dealer.  Buyers benefit because they can easily search for any make, model, year, and/or color, then click directly to the dealer site to learn more -- or opt to interact without surrendering personal information.  Dealers benefit from broad exposure of their active vehicles to in-market car shoppers, and immediate connection to interested car buyers

Media Contacts:

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, [email protected]

Angela Jacobson, mWEBB Communications, (714) 454-8776, [email protected]

SOURCE Chug