U.S. car emissions and fuel economy since 1975

Better gas mileage and lower emissions go hand in hand for the nation's automakers building cars to meet the federal Clean Air Act. This chart, starting with model year 1975, is the average miles per gallon and average CO2 output, in grams per mile. Data goes back to 1975, the first year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released results. Figures are adjusted for real world performance.

Chart: The Colorado Sun Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Get the data Created with Datawrapper