Hyundai Most Fuel Efficient Manufacturer in February

The TrueCar.com report on most fuel-efficient manufacturers showed a trend to vehicles with better fuel economy as February 2011 saw an overall increase from 21.5 mpg Feb. 2010 to 22.2 mpg for this month's sales. Hyundai outdistanced its nearest competitor, Honda, by a full 2 miles per gallon with an average of 26.6 mpg. The least fuel efficient manufacturer was Chrysler at 19.5 mpg.

So, already some are screaming as this read this, "But Hyundai isn’t a full-line manufacturer." Using that distinction, because Honda does make pickups it would hold that title at 24.6 mpg.

When looking at cars just by themselves, Toyota is the clear winner at 28.7 mpg (just .4 of a mile ahead of Hyundai). Yet, Toyota's fuel economy numbers plummeted for its cars plummeted 30.3 while every other manufacturer saw an increase of at least 1 mpg in its car segment.

Hyundai does top the truck segment but there has to be an asterisk next to that record (just like any record associated with Barry Bonds) because it does not make any pickup trucks. The full-line manufacturer with the best truck fuel economy would be Honda at 21.6 mpg (and yes, you have to count the Ridgeline as a pickup truck even if next to nobody buys it – plus the Honda Pilot sucks up as much fuel as most full-size pickups. Ford is the least fuel-efficient truck line at 18.6 mpg.

TrueCar.com collected the information by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings based on estimated and/or actual monthly automotive sales-weighted data. TrueCar said it is seeking to provide transparency and truth in average fuel economy, providing an alternative view to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ratings that can be confusing and misleading.