Light duty truck fuel economy trends from model year 1975 through 1984 are examined, with special emphasis placed on model year 1984.
Actual production volumes are given for model years 1975 through 1982. Data for 1983 and 1984 model years include EPA estimates of sales, in which projected sales data submitted by manufacturers were adjusted using the same procedure as described in (1)*.
For fuel economy trend analysis, a modified truck classification system is presented and discussed.
In addition, the model year 1975 to model year 1979 light truck data bases have been updated to include those trucks with gross vehicle weights (GVWs) between 6000 and 8500 lbs; accordingly the paper treats all model year trucks from 1975 through 1984 as 0-8500 lb GVW fleets.
This paper, along with the passenger car fuel economy trends paper (1), gives a complete picture of fuel economy trends through 1984.
Combined car/truck fleet analyses are presented in Appendix A.