Many Utahns swapped gas-hog clunkers for newer, shinier, gas-guzzling trucks

One Utahn decided to trade in a 1989 Chevrolet K2500 pickup truck that got a lousy 13 miles per gallon as part of the Cash for Clunkers program. So what did he buy in the national effort to put more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road?

A new Hummer H3T that gets 16 miles per gallon, just 3 mpg better.

A significant number of Utahns traded in gas-hog clunkers for new gas hogs, a Deseret News analysis of program data shows, similar to national findings reported by national press earlier this week. But Utahns still managed to help out the environment a bit more on average than most Americans.

Clunkers traded in by Utahns averaged 15.4 mpg. The new cars they bought averaged 25.3 mpg, for a gain of 9.9 mpg on average.

Nationally, traded-in clunkers averaged 15.8 mpg while newly bought cars averaged 24.9, for a gain of only 9.1 mpg on average.

Following is a look at key Utah numbers for the program. They show that most new cars bought here were made by foreign car makers, so Utah gave little stimulus to Detroit. It also looks at the most popular vehicles either turned in or bought, which cities may have had a sales-tax windfall, which dealers sold the most, and more:

FUEL EFFICIENT?: Some new vehicles purchased through the program are not exactly the most fuel efficient. For example, 128 Utahns bought new vehicles rated at only 15 mpg.

That includes 58 people who bought Ford F150 FFV four-wheel drive trucks, the 38 who bought Dodge Ram 1500 four-wheel drive trucks, and the nine who bought Chevrolet Silverado K15 four-wheel drive trucks. Another 145 Utahns bought vehicles rated at only 16 mpg.

MANY TRUCKS: When it comes to imagining vehicles that are more fuel-efficient, small cars or hybrids may come to mind. But a third of all new vehicles purchased with the help of the new program in Utah were trucks or sport utility vehicles, or 1,858 out of 5,596 deals made here.

Even some of the cars purchased do not have reputations for being the most fuel-efficient, including Lincolns, BMWs, a Mercedes Benz and a Lexus.

FOREIGN AID: Utahns may not have given much stimulus to U.S. car companies through the program. Two of every three cars they bought were made by foreign car companies, or 3,783 out of 5,596.

POPULAR MAKES: The top makes bought by Utahns were Toyota, 930 vehicles, 16.6 percent of the total; Honda, 762 vehicles, 13.6 percent; Hyundai, 719, 12.8 percent; Nissan, 612, 10.9 percent; Chevrolet, 588, 10.5 percent; and Ford, 413, 7.4 percent.