Fuel Efficiency of Top ’87 Cars Dips; Performance Gain Cited
The government’s annual list of fuel-efficient cars, led again by the Chevrolet Sprint ER at 54 miles per gallon, shows lower mileage figures than last year, apparently because auto makers are stressing performance over fuel economy.
In the list of 1987 models released by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Sprint ER, a Japanese-built mini-compact sold by Chevrolet, chalked up 54 m.p.g. in city driving to take first place for the second straight year.
“There is no question that customers are placing a higher priority on performance of the vehicle,” Bill Ball, director of the government relations staff for General Motors Corp., said in an interview.
There were no American-made cars in the top 10, although the diesel-powered Ford Escort and Lincoln-Mercury Lynx were among nine models that tied for an 11th-place ranking with 37 m.p.g. in city driving.
Among the top 10, mileage figures are slightly lower than they were last year, probably because manufacturers are sacrificing fuel economy to achieve more performance, said Don Zinger, assistant to the director of EPA’s Office of Mobile Sources, which supervised the mileage tests.
High-mileage cars on the EPA list were the Chevrolet Sprint ER mini-compact, 54 m.p.g. in city driving and 58 m.p.g. on the highway; Honda Civic Coupe HF with feedback fuel system, 52 m.p.g. city, 57 m.p.g. highway; Honda Civic Coupe HF without feedback fuel system, 45 m.p.g. city, 50 m.p.g. highway; and the Pontiac Firefly, Suzuki Forsa and Chevrolet Sprint subcompacts with five-speed manual transmissions, 44 m.p.g. city, 49 m.p.g. highway.
Also in the top 10 were the Subaru Justy, 38 m.p.g. city, 41 m.p.g. highway, and the Pontiac Firefly, Suzuki Forsa and Chevrolet Sprint with automatic transmissions, 38 m.p.g. city, 40 m.p.g. highway.
Rolls-Royce had the lowest fuel economy ratings. Three models--the Bentley Continental-Corniche II, the Camargue and Silver Spur Limousine--placed at the bottom of the list with just 8 m.p.g. in city driving.
