Top 10 gas misers for 2005

Even though truck and SUV sales rule today's auto market, a growing minority of car buyers think green when they hit the showroom to shop for some new wheels.

With the 2005 slate of hybrid, diesel and lightweight cars at their disposal, those environmentally conscious drivers can choose from a more diverse and affordable family of fuel-efficient vehicles than ever before.

But even with acres of options and painful gas prices as motivation, only a sliver of the automotive market actually approaches the showroom with conservation as their primary objective.

"Fuel efficiency is more important now than ever before," says Randy Bly, spokesman for AAA Auto Club South. "But I say that with a caveat, because before now, efficiency just wasn't important."

So, how much does fuel efficiency factor into the car-buying process?

"Now you would get a different answer than you would even just a few years ago," says Dan Kahn, road test editor for Edmunds.com, a national Web-based automotive magazine. "Once we crossed the $2 per gallon mark for gasoline, efficiency became a popular issue and sales for models of fuel-efficient cars like the (gas-electric hybrid) Toyota Prius skyrocketed."

Still, with national sales of hybrids measured in the thousands rather than the hundreds of thousands, "skyrocket" has to be taken as a relative term.

More than anything, market watchers say the fuel-price spike in 2004 served as a catalyst to help make efficiency trendy.

"There is certainly more than a little psychological influence at play here," Kahn says. "In truth, the difference between $1.90 gas and $2 gas just isn't enough to break the bank, but it did seem to be enough to prompt some people into action."

While the vast majority of consumers still see larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles as the preferred status symbol, another segment seems to have emerged that is chasing fuel efficiency.

"The market seems to be going in two different directions," Kahn says. "You still have your people looking for sports cars and size, but you are also seeing some buyers who are really into economy."

Shocked at the pump, and perhaps looking to prove a point, two basic groups began heading to the dealerships in earnest, hunting for ways to stretch their fuel dollar.

The first half seems to be opting for efficiency out of pure economics.

"They see this as a way to save money. They don't spend a lot on gas and not a lot on maintenance," Kahn says.

From a purely financial standpoint, small diesel or gasoline engines offer the best return on investment, he adds.

"Fuel-efficient cars, like your typical Honda Civic four-cylinder, can cost as little as $15,000. That is a peppy little car and will average in the mid-to-high 30 miles-per-gallon," Kahn says. "That is a good financial decision when you compare it with a Ford Mustang, where you will get much less mileage and pay more to drive it off the lot."

Honda Insight Click image for larger view

Economics aside, still others are flocking to the fuel-efficient brands in search of status symbols. Following the lead of several high-profile celebrities, such as Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, buyers began to jump on board with ultra-clean hybrid gas-electric technology in 2004. For the first time, many buyers are now comparing miles-per-gallon the same way sports car owners compare horsepower.

"Those are the people who are trying to save the environment, trying to save the Earth and burn fewer fossil fuels," Kahn says.

Like any new technology, hybrid vehicles demand a premium from the first buyers.

"Take the Honda Accord Hybrid for example. You pay $6,000 more than a typical Accord, but you only get six more miles per gallon. The economics just aren't there," Kahn says.

So, even though gas-electric hybrids rule the roads as the undisputed mileage champions in 2005, they rarely pay for themselves in fuel savings.

Even when you factor any federal income tax breaks into the savings, buyers rarely break even.

That doesn't mean fuel-efficient technology is a dead-end road.

"The technology will get better and cheaper with every generation, but right now we are still fairly early in the development process and it costs more to get in," Kahn says.

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-- Posted: Feb. 15, 2005