Top 10 EPA Fuel-Economy Overachievers
Andy PottsCar and Driver
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created by President Richard Nixon in 1970 to curb confusing and often ineffective local and state environmental laws. The EPA stopped the use of harmful leaded gasoline, and worked with automakers to put a catalytic converter under every new car for the 1975 model year—an action that resulted in fewer tailpipe emissions, cleaner air, and more fuel-efficient vehicles today. Although leaded gas stuck around until the late 1990s, according to this year’s EPA automotive trend report, “All vehicle types are at record high fuel economy and record low CO2 emissions in model year 2020,” and that’s true, despite a resounding shift away from the more fuel-efficient sedan and wagon segments and toward large trucks and SUVs with lower fuel economy and higher CO2 emissions.
The EPA has tested 4230 different…
