Boone Pickens has often stated that when it comes to energy security he’s for “everything American.” This position includes technological breakthroughs that result in more efficient cars and trucks as well as vehicles that run on domestic fuels such as natural gas.
Since the launch of the Pickens Plan in July 2008, one of the biggest steps forward has been in the realm of vehicle efficiency. Before the Great Recession, the average vehicle sold in the U.S. got 20.1 miles per gallon. By 2014, that figure jumped to 25.6 miles per gallon. The reason?
According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, you can chalk it up to American ingenuity and some good old fashioned penny pinching. Automakers have responded to sensitivity about rising gasoline costs by investing in higher-fuel-economy vehicles.
Drivers have also responded. According to the Federal Highway Administration, over the 12 months that ended in April the distance traveled on U.S. highways was 2 percent lower than the 12-month period preceding the Great Recession. And that was six years ago!
Read more HERE.