Why gas is over $3 a gallon and what to do about it

When gasoline prices averaged a mere $2.22 a gallon in April, it was hard to persuade a lot of people driving big vehicles to worry about fuel efficiency when buying new vehicles. At more than $3 a gallon in the post-Katrina world, that is changing.

For those looking to switch, the more efficient cars and SUVs are out there. A bunch of vehicles are already on the market that will deliver fuel economy in the 20- to 30-mile-per-gallon range for under $30,000, said John Paul, a spokesman for AAA of Southern New England.

Indeed, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that promotes energy efficiency for economic and environmental reasons, lists more than 50 such 2005 vehicles among the more than 500 models in the US market. They range from hybrids to regular gasoline engines, subcompacts to SUVs. Drivers who want two-seat sports car performance, the utility of a small SUV, the luxury of a sedan, a medium-size station wagon, a small pickup truck, or the passenger-hauling capability of a minivan, all have a place to turn.

Since Hurricane Katrina, people looking for better gas mileage are not necessarily giving up their SUVs, but are instead picking more fuel-efficient versions of the same vehicle, industry executives say.

''We're not seeing customers coming in and saying, 'I want to turn my back on SUVs and get into a car because of the gas prices,' " said Doug Johnston, general manager at Boch Toyota in Norwood. Instead, he said, buyers looking to move ''down" are trying to do so within the SUV segment. For Toyota, that means giving up a Sequoia SUV, which gets 16 miles per gallon, for a 4-cylinder Highlander, a smaller, more station wagon-like vehicle that gets 24 miles per gallon. It can have a larger engine and three rows of seats, all-wheel drive, and also comes as a hybrid model.

Differences in fuel efficiency can add up. The average vehicle on the road today gets 20.8 miles per gallon -- a figure based on EPA numbers that assume conservative driving habits and careful attention to tire pressure and other maintenance measures. Americans drive an average 13,000 miles per year, according to AAA. That means that at 20.8 miles per gallon, it would cost $1,875 to fuel that car for a year with $3 per gallon gasoline. Switch to a 30-mile-per-gallon car and the costs drop to $1,299.

At Ford Motor Co., sales analyst George Pipas said the buying trend began long before Katrina hit and then accelerated. He said that even as sales of traditional SUVs such as Explorer or Expedition fell 33 percent in August from a year earlier, sales of such smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles such as the Escape or Freestyle were up 52 percent.

''The most popular Ford trade-in for the Freestyle is the Explorer," Pipas said.

Paul Ballew, executive director of marketing analysis at General Motors Corp., sees ''a tale of two cities," with truck sales continuing strong even as ''there has been more interest in our smaller utility vehicles," as replacements for bigger SUVs. (One possible reason that sales of trucks remain strong is that they're used for commercial purposes.)

Joe Phillippi, automotive analyst at AutoTrends consulting in Short Hills, N.J., said that gasoline would have to hit $4 to $5 a gallon before people gave up on SUVs altogether.

Regardless, people looking to trade in their big SUVs right now may not get the price they were expecting, said AAA's Paul, as demand for such vehicles falls.

For people looking for more fuel efficiency, choices abound. Toyota's Matrix wagon is rated, using Environmental Protection Agency data, by the energy council's website, GreenerCars.com, at 28 miles per gallon for city driving and 34 on the highway. The Matrix is a compact five-seater with a hatchback that sells for less than $20,000.

The hybrid Toyota Prius a midsize sedan, is rated, using combined EPA highway/city estimates at more than 50 miles per gallon. The Honda Accord hybrid, a six-cylinder sedan with great power, is rated at about 33 miles per gallon overall. A small subcompact, such as Toyota's Scion xA, is rated at around 35 miles per gallon, Honda's Odyssey minivan at about 25 miles per gallon, and the Ford Ranger pickup truck comes in at the same rating.

At AAA, Paul said the more efficient autos on the market are not there because of quick industry reaction to rising gasoline prices. It's ''serendipity," he said, because the development of a new car takes years.

''Let's face it," Paul said, ''there's a three- to five-year cycle between when you have the bright idea and when the first car rolls off the line."

Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.