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Data Set #036

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About the Data

About the Fuel Economy Data

    Scientific models suggest that increased buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will raise the earth's temperature and change the earth's climate.  The buildup is largely due to the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) upon burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, to power industries and transportation.  CO2 levels in the atmosphere have fluctuated significantly before the advent of human industrialization; nonetheless, data suggest that the current buildup of CO2 is happening much faster than at any time in the past 10,000 years.  Such a rapid change is likely to produce more extreme weather, rising sea levels that erode coastal areas and contaminate fresh water supplies, threats to agriculture and wildlife, and public health risks from infectious disease and heat deaths.

     In the US economy, the transportation sector accounts for 32.6% of all CO2 emissions. (The production from other sectors is as follows:  commercial: 16.0%, Industrial: 32.2%, and residential: 19.2%.)   The US Department of Energy claims that every gallon of gasoline your vehicle burns puts 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and that choosing a vehicle that gets 25 rather than 20 miles per gallon will prevent 10 tons of carbon dioxide from being released over the lifetime of your vehicle.  Consequently, consumers can greatly influence the amount of CO2 emissions by making smart choices about the automobiles they drive.

    This data set suggests that there is a relationship between engine size and fuel economy, thus one might expect a relationship between engine size and CO2 emissions.  Note that the gasoline powered cars selected in this data set are of several classes,   subcompact, minicompact and compact, so there is some variability in their size and weight.  Because data on engine size and gas mileage are not for the same vehicle, it is difficult to conclude that a given change in engine size for any one vehicle will result in a specific increase or decrease in highway mileage.  In general though, driving a vehicle with a smaller engine will more likely consume less gasoline and produce fewer emissions.  Students can fit a curve (trendline) through the data with software such as Excel or Minitab and determine a mathematical relatioship between engine size and highway mileage; a power law regression model has an R2 of about 0.7.

    In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, the purchase of higher mileage vehicles will reduce oil imports, conserve fossil fuel resources for future generations, reduce other harmful emissions such as CO, NO, and NO2 , and save consumers money in gasoline costs.  To calculate the savings in running a more fuel efficient car, visit the website http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/savemoney.shtml.
 
 
 

Reference for data:   Model Year 1999 Fuel Economy Guide, United States Department of Energy.   www.fueleconomy.gov

     
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US Department of Energy, 1999 Fuel Economy Guide

class

make and model

Engine Size (liters)

Highway Mileage (mpg)

two seater

Acura NSX

3.2

24

two seater

BMW M Coupe

3.2

26

two seater

BMW M Roadster

3.2

26

two seater

BMW Z3 Coupe

2.8

26

two seater

BMW Z3 Roadster

2.5

27

two seater

BMW Z3 Roadster

2.8

26

two seater

Chevy Corvette

5.7

28

two seater

Ferrari 550 Maranello

5.5

14

two seater

Ferrari F355/355F1

3.5

14

two seater

Lamborghini Diablo (4WD)

5.7

13

two seater

Mazda MX-5 Miata

1.8

29

two seater

Mercedes-Benz SL500

5.0

23

two seater

Mercedes-Benz SL600

6.0

19

two seater

Mercedes-Benz Kompressor

2.3

30

two seater

Plymoth Prowler

3.5

23

two seater

Porsche Boxster

2.5

26

minicompact

Porsche 911 Carrera

3.4

25

minicompact

Toyota Paseo

1.5

41

subcompact

Acura 2.3CL

2.3

31

subcompact

Acura 3.0CL

3.0

28

subcompact

Acura Integra

1.8

32

subcompact

Bentley Azura

6.8

16

subcompact

Bentley Continental SC

6.8

16

subcompact

Bentley Continental T

6.8

16

subcompact

BMW 323I

2.5

31

subcompact

BMW 328I

2.8

29

subcompact

BMW M3

3.2

26

subcompact

Chevy Camaro

3.8

30

subcompact

Chevy Camaro

5.7

28

subcompact

Chevy Cavalier

2.2

34

subcompact

Chevy Cavalier

2.4

33

subcompact

Chevy Metro

1.0

47

subcompact

Chevy Metro

1.3

43

subcompact

Ferrari 456 MGT

5.5

16

subcompact

Ford Escort

2.0

33

subcompact

Ford Mustang

3.8

29

subcompact

Ford Mustang

4.6

24

subcompact

Honda Civic

1.6

37

subcompact

Honda Civic HX

1.6

43

subcompact

Honda Prelude

2.2

27

subcompact

Hyundai Accent

1.5

37

subcompact

Hyundai Tiburon

2.0

31

subcompact

Jaguar XK8

4.0

25

subcompact

Lexus SC300

3.0

24

subcompact

Lexus SC400

4.0

25

subcompact

Mercedes-Benz CLK320

3.2

29

subcompact

Mercedes-Benz CLK430

4.3

25

subcompact

Mitsubishi 3000GT

3.0

25

subcompact

Mitsubishi Eclipse

2.0

33

subcompact

Mitsubishi Eclipse

2.4

30

subcompact

Mitsubishi Eclipse (4WD)

2.0

28

subcompact

Mitsubishi Mirage

1.5

40

subcompact

Mitsubishi Mirage

1.8

36

subcompact

Nissan Sentra

1.6

39

subcompact

Nissan 200SX

2.0

31

subcompact

Pontiac Firebird/Trans Am

3.8

30

subcompact

Pontiac Firebird/Trans Am

5.7

28

subcompact

Pontiac Sunfire

2.2

34

subcompact

Pontiac Sunfire

2.4

33

subcompact

Saab 9-3

2.0

27

subcompact

Saturn SC

1.9

38

subcompact

Subaru Impreza

2.2

29

subcompact

Subaru Impreza

2.5

29

subcompact

Suzuki Esteem

1.6

37

subcompact

Suzuki Esteem

2.0

35

subcompact

Suzuki Swift

1.3

43

subcompact

Toyota Celica

2.2

28

subcompact

Toyota Tercel

1.5

40

subcompact

Volkswagon Cabrio

2.0

31

subcompact

Volkswagon New Beetle

2.0

31

compact

Audi A4

1.8

32

compact

Audi A4

2.8

29

compact

Audi A4 Quatro

1.8

29

compact

Audi A4 Quatro

2.8

27

compact

Bentley Continental R

6.8

16

compact

BMW 318TI

1.9

32

compact

BMW 323I

2.5

29

compact

BMW 328I

2.8

29

compact

BMW 528I

2.8

29

compact

BMW 540I

4.4

23

compact

Chevy Prizm

1.8

37

compact

Chrysler Sebring

2.0

31

compact

Chrysler Sebring - convertible

2.4

30

compact

Chrysler Sebring

2.5

27

compact

Daewoo Lanos

1.6

36

compact

Daewoo Lanos

1.5

36

compact

Daewoo Nubira

2.0

31

compact

Dodge Avenger

2.0

32

compact

Dodge Avenger

2.5

27

compact

Dodge Neon

2.0

39

compact

Ford Contour

2.0

34

compact

Ford Contour

2.5

28

compact

Ford Contour FFV

2.0

21

compact

Ford Escort

2.0

37

compact

Hyundai Elantra Sedan

2.0

33

compact

Infinit G20

2.0

31

compact

Jaguar XJ8

4.0

24

compact

Jaguar XJR

4.0

22

compact

Kia Sephia

1.8

31

compact

Lexus ES300

3.0

26

compact

Lincoln-Mercury Cougar

2.0

34

compact

Lincoln-Mercury Cougar

2.5

28

compact

Lincoln-Mercury Mystique

2.0

34

compact

Lincoln-Mercury Mystique

2.5

28

compact

Lincoln-Mercury Tracer

2.0

37

compact

Mazda Millenia

2.3

28

compact

Mazda Millenia

2.5

27

compact

Mazda Protégé

1.6

34

compact

Mazda Protégé

1.8

30

compact

Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor

2.3

29

compact

Mercedes-Benz C280

2.8

27

compact

Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG

4.3

23

compact

Mercedes-Benz CL500

5.0

22

compact

Mercedes-Benz CL600

6.0

19

compact

Nissan Altima

2.4

31

compact

Oldsmobile Alero

2.4

30

compact

Oldsmobile Alero

3.4

28

compact

Plymouth Neon

2.0

39

compact

Pontiac Grand AM

2.4

30

compact

Pontiac Grand AM

3.4

28

compact

Saturn SL

1.9

38

compact

Subaru Legacy AWD

2.2

29

compact

Subaru Legacy AWD

2.5

27

compact

Toyota Solera

2.2

32

compact

Toyota Solera

3.0

28

compact

Toyota Corolla

1.8

38

compact

Volkswagon Golf

2.0

31

compact

Volkswagon GTI

2.0

32

compact

Volkswagon GTI

2.8

26

compact

Volkswagon Jetta

2.0

31

compact

Volkswagon Jetta

2.8

26

compact

Volvo C70

2.3

28

 

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