JAN 23

I have kind of suspected this, but I will NEVER buy a GM product or Ford, Dodge for that matter ever. Someone once said it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to destroy it. They seem to destroy it every 5 minutes. I have had it up to the top of my head with them and feel a lot of people feel the same way. They have constantly put out crap, knowing we will buy it because it's a USA product (it has come off as that a lot!). And finally take my taxes dollars instead of putting it to better use, KISS MY ASS GM!

While I've didn't have good luck with the GM car that I owned. While the fuel economy wasn't too bad for the age of the car it was a stone cold b**ch to work on. The Fords I've owned were no trouble at all I had a 92 Escort that got 30-33MPG for 12 years and didn't have too much in the way of maintenance costs over the years. My new Ford get about 27MPG but it is a bigger car as I was tired of squeezing my 6'3" frame in to a 6' car. I haven't had any major problems in the two years that I've had it. So you can get good American cars with good gas mileage you just have to look.

Hank,

I have loved reading your blog for months now, but this is not a great post. How were these figures calculated? The average city+highway mileage for each car, regardless of how many sold? I bet that's it. If so, what does that tell you? Besides, like TheGeek says above, the smaller cars get great gas mileage but aren't practical for the taller people like me.

And finally, what does it mean that Toyota was #10? Well, it seems that they were 0.73 mpg from being in position number 4.

Is this really worth pointing out?? Is it really worth calling out a green leader like Toyota for a variance of 0.73??

I can't find any support for these numbers on the web. I'm not saying they aren't accurate but the only stats I'm finding put Toyota's average mpg at around 30.

Thanks for a rational approach to this issue. People love to hate America and American corporations. They easily forget the amount of taxes and charity these huge corporations contribute to the social programs and help for the poor. They also forget that a company like GM employs thousands if not millions of union workers who align themselves with the Democrat party and green issues. If they would listen to Obama, who wants to bailout the auto industry, they would understand that GM is a crucial part of our economy, small towns, and the welfare of blue collar workers.

How much time, energy, fuel, and expense does it take to repair a new GM-made junker that will be near-worn-out or broken by the time the payments are done? And how much more energy goes into making the replacement for it?

As opposed to my 15-year-old Honda and my 25-year-old BMW, neither of which has ever needed a major repair. And which are both still running fine, after almost a half-million miles of combined service.

That's why Toyota should be celebrated - because they produce cars and trucks that don't fall apart by design. And you get to choose the fuel-efficiency you want or need.

GM is not a crucial part of our economy. Let the GM workers apply at the local Honda or Toyota plant if they want to stay in the industry - because the other automakers will be ready for more workers when GM folds.

Yeah Toyota's overall mpg for sold vehicles is low, but these sales fuel development of cars like the Prius. And frankly cars like the Prius are driving the D3 to build cars like the Volt, Fusion, ... - if it weren't for Toyota and Honda most of us Prius drivers would own a 22-25 mpg Cobalt...

This rings true to my experience. I drive a 2006 Scion xA (sold, made & serviced by Toyota.) It's a teeny tiny little car. It should get 35-40mpg. It get's 25-29. Plus, my mechanic says the comparable Honda (the Fit) is much safer in crashes. I don't think I'll buy another Toyota...

It seems to me that Toyota could raise their ranking by dropping the Tacoma and Tundra pickups from their line completely. Aside from the business side of a decision like that, let's assume that people who buy a Tundra, the big truck, would turn around and get a Ford F150 instead.

Tundra MPG: 14/17
F150 MPG: 14/18

If only Toyota were less successful at selling trucks! Then the same people would buy the same-MPG trucks from someone else and then Toyota's ranking would.. ok, you get the idea.

But what about the other end? The Corolla's a pretty average car.

Corolla MPG: 27/35
Ford Fusion MPG: 20/29

Huh, how about that?

Really interesting. Toyota is doing a lot of greenwashing these days. Their ad with the car made from twigs and grass is probably the worst. Looks like the Prius is just more greenwashing. I suspect hybrid and electric cars are like clean coal. Just clever marketing meant to distract people from how bad products are today while people wait forever for green products that somehow are never quite ready for market.

#10 in MPG in North America. But Toyota generally offers larger cars here than in other parts of the world. Since this article is talking about worldwide sales, it would be interesting to see not just Toyota's NA vehicle averages but their worldwide average.

These are the fleet averages, as I said. They're computed by the U.S. government to determine whether the companies meat CAFE regulations. If you average together every car and truck Toyota sells in the U.S. they get 21 MPG.

There's nothing misleading about these statistics. The number is only so low because Toyota sells so many large trucks and SUVs. If it was an average of all their models, regardless of sales, the number would be higher.

Not sure from whence this information was "manufactured" but the FACTS according to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) whose responsibility it is to report the Corporate Average Fuel Economy of manufactures shows that TOYOTA has the HIGHEST car fuel economy at 35.18, Followed by Honda at 34.31,Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Nissan, VW.....GM is 11th at 30.03, Ford,12th 29.18 and DCX 13th at 27.62. These 2007 (latest available) numbers are available at NHTSA'a website.

Yes...Toyota has the highest ***CAR*** fleet fuel economy, which isn't surprising at all, and is a testament to the power of the Prius. Add in their truck, SUV and Van fleet fuel economy and you get 21 MPG, 10th in the nation. Why is this so confusing?

@Rich: The Fusion is comparable to the Camry, not the Corolla (21/31)

I proudly drive an '87 Toyota pickup truck, so i've got nothing against Toyota, but they get way more credit than they deserve. One thing i would never do is buy an American made Toyota. Toyota's Japanese labor costs are roughly equal (except retirement benefits) to American UAW labor costs. The American plants are outsourcing, just like the outsourcing so many on the left complain about when American companies do it.

Toyota makes quality cars, but not cars of significantly higher quality than Ford (in particular) at this point.

And like every other company, fuel economy has gone down over the years. Toyota's reputation was built on simple, not flashy cars but that's not what they do anymore. My truck gets the same mileage as a brand new Tacoma. And btw, the Sequoia was the only vehicle to show a YoY sales increase for Toyota. They now concentrate on the behemoths because that's what America wants.

The only thing that makes a modern Toyota better than a modern Ford is the meme, repeated mostly by people who have no idea what they're talking about.

I have wondered for some time now if even the Toyota Prius is all that green. I drive a small old car - a Vauxhall (also known as Opel) Corsa, 11 years old 58,000 on the clock. I commute 40 miles each way, 25 of which is motorway. My old Corsa averaged a measured 40.3MPG last year.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...552994.ece shows the Prius achieving 48.1MPG in a real world test. I think not scrapping my Corsa is by far the greenest thing I can do - it would take a lot of miles at that extra 5MPG to make up for the cost of building a complete new car.

Before we jump all over Toyota for the buying habits of North Americans, go to fueleconomy.gov and look at their ratings by class. In nearly every class in which a Toyota product is represented, Toyota has a vehicle in the top 3, and frequently in the #1 slot (minus hybrids and diesels). I think that the important thing to consider is that Toyota OFFERS some of the most efficient conventional vehicles on the North American roads. And they've done this all along.

Furthermore, Honda, Mini, VW, Saturn & Pontiac don't offer pickup trucks, which is a segment that Toyota needed to capture a share of to become one of the top automakers in North America. Don't forget that when Toyota first moved into the full-sized pickup market they did so with the T100, which had MPG numbers similar to those of small pickups, but North Americans didn't buy them because they didn't have V8s. And those are what people are buying now. Does Toyota make gas-hogs? Yes. Does that mean they aren't leaders in making efficient cars as well? Not at all.

Good blog,
Looking at past few years ranking survey Toyota is listed in top 3 automobile company.Even GM,Honda can be seen nearby.Also the sales ratio is more or less equilibrium.

But Toyoto deserves to be the best ,considering its vast range of varieties & the quality it serves,its capacity on the road,its mileage.

Greattttt Victory.

Just my 2 cents- I think that Ford cars are a lot better than people give them credit for, and I think that Toyota's fuel efficiency and reliability come at a price.

For the person comparing the Corolla to the Fusion- you're comparing a small car to a mid sized car. At least compare the Corolla to the Focus (the comparable model), not to the car that makes your point.

Fords that I've owned and known people to have owned hold up pretty well. I know someone still driving a 93 Ford Escort! GM cars haven't been this durable, but according to Consumer Reports, Ford's quality is now equal to Japanese car manufacturers.

I think that Toyota really underpowers their cars to get their fuel economy. I've driven Corollas and they can't seem to get out of their own way on the highway. I think that their smaller cars are fuel efficient because of this. However, I could buy a VW Jetta, have a nicer, better appointed, more luxurious car (VW blows Toyota away on this), and still get great gas mileage AND power with their diesel model- actually better gas mileage than the Corolla. (29 city/40 mpg highway baby!- for an automatic!) If VW starts selling some of their Euro models here in the US (like their Polo- 60-70 mpg in their diesel model- NOT a hybrid), even the Prius will get a run for their money.

One last point- I believe that Toyota has a better reliability rating in part because their cars are bare bones. Sure, there's less things to go wrong if you have manual crank windows vs power windows, and the rear cover to a hatch is a bendable pole that holds the fabric in place over the hatch (I kid you not! Check out the Matrix and the older Rav4's) vs a window shade type cover. Sure, the bendable pole is less likely to have a problem than the window shade cover, but that's a hassle and cheap to boot! You'd never hang blinds like this in your home, why would I want my car designed like this?

Let me spell it out for you. We are celebrating because Toyota has developed the most promising option to the gas guzzling pieces of junk coming out of detroit. In my opinion, we never should have bailed out chrysler and gm. They don't deserve it. They will probably give larger bonuses to management now!

I sincerely hope that VW gets more of their fleet into the US market, because many of their Euro cars today get better MPG than the Prius without the issue of batteries that comes along w/hybrids. Imagine if they made a diesel-hybrid (this is thought to produce the most fuel efficient car, as compared to gas/hybrid).

If VW brings more of their european models to the us, we'll be wondering why Toyota hasn't done this already. After all, VW is the auto company to win the challenge to produce a 100 mpg + car (check out their L1 concept car on Ecogeek)

I have a 2004 Buick Lasabre I get about24mpg city and 33 mpg hwy that good for the size of car the 2002 Buick lasabre I got 29 mpg city and 34 hwy mpg I beleave we need car that get at least 30 town and 40 hwy and use E85 gas or just grener fuels .thank you

I celebrate Toyota for their proactive approach to non-petrol vehicles. It's also worthy to note that while Toyota 4WD are the traditional backbone of rural properties, there move into urban environments has been most prominent in the US with the "SUVs". Toyota have simply been catering to US market requirements, which, regretably, other parts of the world have copied.

Frankly, if greenies in the US are bothered by these stats, I'm seriously concerned.
I live in the UK. My first car was a 1984 Ford Fiesta. It did roughly 30MPG, and was fantastic for me, what with being a broke student (petrol here is at least twice what it costs in the US).
Since then I've had a Seat Ibiza (think VW Polo, but Spanish), 12 years old when I bought it, and am back with the Ford Fiesta, this time 1998's model. Both of these do (or did; the Ibiza is now sadly scrap) 45mpg urban, and the Festa will happily do almost 50mpg on motorways, even when I'm doing slightly higher speeds than perhaps I should.
I've always bought small cars (the Fiesta has a 1.25L engine), but Renault has now released a mid-sized (probably quite small by US standards) petrol car that can do 62mpg.
Just to add insult to injury, the UK's best motoring show, Top Gear set its presenters a challenge recently to drive somethign like 6-700 miles on one tank of fuel - and to make sure there was no cheating, they sealed the tanks shut. One of the presenters was in a 2.something litre Jaguar, and had every intention of running out of petrol a good 200 miles short of the target - just near his house. He flogged the poor car something rotten - and yet he still made it, and the tank had something like 100miles' worth of fuel left in it. Okay, bigger tank, but if a British gas guzzler can do it, why can't the bigger US cars?
Start paying more for your gas (preferably by choice, not through neccessity, as is looking more likely) and maybe mileage efficiency will improve.

Toyota has always underperformed when it comes to the larger engines it builds. The Landcruisers have always been guzzlers, and the new retro model is still a guzzler. But how about all the accolades that GM and Ford are giving themselves for achieving 20 mpg in a pick up truck. In 1974 a pick up got 12 mpg, so 34 years for an 8 mpg increase. Wow! That's a whole mile every 4.25 years. If my 1989 30 megahertz computer had only achieved a 66% increase I'd be all the way up to 50 megahertz today.

Fuel efficiency, whatever brand will NOT reduce accidents and all our infrastructure spending on automobiles.

Several good points in the comments. It sure is nice to see that some people use reason (and hopefully direct evidence) rather than rumor and public perception or the brainwashing propaganda machine. People really throw things out of proportion. I see GM owners all around me (family & friends) who have had excellent reliability & durability. I have seen Honda owners beleaguered by problems. Modern cars are complex and every company pushes too hard to drive down cost, thereby affecting quality. I simply don't see any rationale for people to perpetuate the myth that American cars suck and Toyota is the greatest. Things change, why can't public perception? Toyota lovers, did you never see this: http://www.productsthathurt.co...ldwide.php A recall of 1 Million cars for a potentially fatal flaw!!! Why doesn't that factor into your tunnel vision? I highly recommend that everybody here watch "Who killed the electric car?". It puts ALL the companies to shame and pretty much lays this argument to rest. None of the big 6 companies we in the US know are "green" at all. Every single one of them backed out of electrics like they were the carrier of the plague, despite market demand. And you see why too. Profit. It looks foolish to celebrate Toyota or any other one of them as being green. But if you really must maintain a pathetic delusion... "Yay Toyota, WOOOHOOO!!!"

Lol Greg - All car companies have recalls. At least Toyota recalled them before people died like the Ford tire fiasco....

This just goes to show us that everything is about reputation and not reality. As long as we are talking about reputation, let's address the issue of reliability. People seem to think that GM gets crappy fuel economy, but they seem to get better mileage than the supposed fuel economy leader Toyota. If GM gets better fuel economy than people seem to believe, then isn't it logical to thing that maybe the cars are more reliable than previously expected? Get your minds out of the 1990s!

dsf

Toyota has done a great job pushing the Prius and making everyone believe it is green. But there is more to consider than just it's gas mileage, which can be nearly matched with slightly smaller cars. The cars themselves require a lot of resources to create and if the driver doesn't drive a lot of miles they aren't really worth it.