Gas is cheap! According to AAA, we rang in the new year with the lowest fuel prices since 2016 ― the national average stands at $2.25.
What to do with all those savings? Pour them right back into your shiny new gas-slurping land yacht like it’s 2004!
At least that’s what “Fox & Friends” host Steve Doocy told the approximately 1.6 million viewers of the nation’s most popular morning news program in a bonkers Friday morning segment alongside auto expert Lauren Fix.
“Buy a gas guzzler!” Doocy said excitedly, adding that “some of the hottest cars and SUVs of 2019 use a lot of gas.”
Fix then showed off four vehicles that get a paltry 16 MPG: the 2019 Cadillac CTS-V, Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Toyota Land Cruiser and Chevrolet Suburban. A fifth vehicle, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, will transport you just 14 miles on one gallon of precious fuel.
Luke Tonachel, the director for clean vehicles and clean fuel at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told HuffPost that Doocy’s reasoning doesn’t fly.
“That’s terrible advice,” Tonachel said in an email. “Obviously, the more gas your car or truck guzzles, the more you’ll pay. And a spike in gas prices could happen anytime, certainly within the lifetime of a new vehicle.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the country ― 28 percent ― due to the amount of fossil fuels burned by our cars, trucks and planes.
“Automakers are making more efficient and higher performing vehicles every day, and one of the best things drivers can do for the environment and their pocketbooks is buy a car that goes further on a gallon of gas ― or a watt from the electric cord,” Tonachel added.
In short, all these low gas prices mean you could save money and help the environment by refusing to swap out your car for a gas guzzler. Or you could listen to Steve Doocy.
This story has been updated with comment from Luke Tonachel.