Americans Drive Further Than Anyone Else

In 2000, Americans drove 128 million cars, traveling 2.3 trillion miles. They consumed 8.2 million barrels of fuel per day and emitted 302 million tons of carbon. People outside the United States use their cars less than Americans. The average car in the United States travels 10 percent more per year than a car in the United Kingdom, about 50 percent more than one in Germany, and almost 200 percent more than a car in Japan.

The global passenger car fleet reached 531 million in 2002. The United States is home to one-quarter of all cars in the world

Source:

Vehicle Production Inches Up, Vital Signs 2003, pp. 56-57.

Worldwatch Links:

Vital Signs Fact of the Week Archive
Vital Signs 2003 press release
Take action: Vital Signs 2003, What You Can Do
More research from Worldwatch

Additional Resources:

U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Transportation Energy Databook 22