The fact of the matter is that, over the last fifteen years or so, cars have been gaining weight. With each generation of a particular vehicle that’s released, the car tends to get bigger in size and horsepower, as well as weight.

Often, the added weight is important. Things like airbags, roll-stability control, and a reinforced frame are now pretty much all standard equipment. Of course, adding these things reduces their fuel effeciency.

SUVs, in particular, have also grown. Today’s SUVs are wider than older versions. In part, they have become wider in order to be less likely to rollover. This, of course, requires more metal, which then raised the weight of the car.

Even economy cars get poorer mileage today than they did in 1992. The Honda Civic hatchback in 1992 had a combined fuel rating of 43 miles per gallon. Compare that to the 2008 Civic Hybrid, which gets a combined fuel rating of 42 miles per gallon.

If saving money at the pump matters to you, check into the fuel economy rating of a used car before you buy it, and see how much you may be able to save on gas.