Burning just one gallon of gasoline creates 20 pounds of greenhouse gases — the leading contributor to climate change. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, highway vehicles emit 1.7 billion tons of greenhouse gases like CO2 each year, close to one-quarter or all greenhouse gas emitted in the United States each year.
Unlike other pollutants, CO2 cannot be filtered with technologies like the catalytic converter. The only way to reduce CO2 emissions is by burning less or different fuel. The vehicle an American chooses to drive is the largest factor in his or her contribution to climate change, according to the EPA.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed data obtained from the EPA’s 2017 Fuel Economy Guide. The least eco-friendly car is the special off-road model of the Mercedes-Benz G 550 4×4, which emits on average 829 grams of CO2 per mile.
Click here to see America’s Least Eco-Friendly Vehicles.
Many of the least eco-friendly vehicles are high performance sports cars that are not intended for daily driving. However, because fuel is burned so quickly in many of these cars, even rare driving can release significant amounts of greenhouse gasses.
A Lamborghini Aventador creates almost five times as much CO2 per mile as the Hyundai Ioniq Blue — one of the most fuel efficient gasoline-only vehicles on the market. This is assuming the Lamborghini is never driven aggressively, which lowers the fuel efficiency of any car considerably.
After sports cars, SUVs and luxury vehicles dominate this list. Similar to high performance sports cars, these heavy SUVs and luxury vehicles tend to have very large engines, which in general consume more fuel.
A 2017 Toyota Sequoia 4WD FFV, for instance, averages only 14 miles per gallon and emits 632 grams of CO2 for every mile driven. Driven daily, a single Sequoia would release as much CO2 as four gasoline-powered Toyota Priuses each year.
To determine the least environmentally-friendly vehicles available in the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed CO2 emissions per mile driven for over 1,200 vehicles with data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2017 Fuel Economy Guide datafile. To break ties between vehicles with equal CO2 emissions, we used fuel efficiency figures followed by annual fuel cost from the same dataset. We only considered the least environmentally-friendly vehicle within each model. For example, because the Maserati Granturismo Convertible releases more CO2 per mile than the Maserati Granturismo Coupe, the Convertible was selected for the ranking.
These are America’s least eco-friendly vehicles.
50. Lamborghini Huracan
> CO2 released per mile: 532 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 17 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,450
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49. Aston Martin Rapide S
> CO2 released per mile: 533 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 17 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,450
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48. Chevrolet Corvette
> CO2 released per mile: 540 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
47. Chevrolet SS
> CO2 released per mile: 544 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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46. Dodge Charger SRT
> CO2 released per mile: 546 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
45. Lamborghini Huracan Spyder
> CO2 released per mile: 547 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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44. Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang
> CO2 released per mile: 549 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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43. BMW X6 M
> CO2 released per mile: 549 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
42. BMW X5 M
> CO2 released per mile: 549 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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41. GMC K1500 Yukon XL 4WD
> CO2 released per mile: 553 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,300
40. BMW M6 Convertible
> CO2 released per mile: 553 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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39. Nissan Armada 2WD
> CO2 released per mile: 555 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,300
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38. Ford F150 5.0L 2WD FFV GVWR>7599 LBS
> CO2 released per mile: 555 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,300
37. Aston Martin Vanquish, S and Zagato
> CO2 released per mile: 555 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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36. Roush Roush Stage 3 Mustang
> CO2 released per mile: 559 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
35. Mercedes-Benz Maybach S 600
> CO2 released per mile: 565 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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34. Dodge Challenger SRT
> CO2 released per mile: 567 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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33. Ford Transit T150 Wagon FFV
> CO2 released per mile: 570 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,300
32. Land Rover Range Rover
> CO2 released per mile: 570 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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31. BMW M760i xDrive
> CO2 released per mile: 571 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 16 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
30. Maserati Granturismo Convertible
> CO2 released per mile: 577 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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29. RAM 1500 4X4
> CO2 released per mile: 580 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,650
28. Nissan Armada 4WD
> CO2 released per mile: 588 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,450
27. Chevrolet Camaro
> CO2 released per mile: 591 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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26. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 4×4
> CO2 released per mile: 592 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
25. Infiniti QX80 4WD
> CO2 released per mile: 593 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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24. Toyota Land Cruiser Wagon 4WD
> CO2 released per mile: 595 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,450
23. Lexus LX 570
> CO2 released per mile: 596 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
22. Bentley Bentayga
> CO2 released per mile: 596 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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21. Rolls-Royce Wraith
> CO2 released per mile: 604 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
20. Bentley Flying Spur
> CO2 released per mile: 604 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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19. Bentley Continental GT Convertible
> CO2 released per mile: 604 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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18. Toyota Tundra 4WD
> CO2 released per mile: 606 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,450
17. Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE 63
> CO2 released per mile: 611 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 15 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,800
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16. Mercedes-Benz AMG GLS 63
> CO2 released per mile: 615 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,000
15. Dodge Viper
> CO2 released per mile: 623 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,000
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14. Rolls-Royce Ghost
> CO2 released per mile: 627 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,000
13. Rolls-Royce Dawn
> CO2 released per mile: 627 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,000
12. Toyota Sequoia 4WD FFV
> CO2 released per mile: 632 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $2,600
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11. Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe
> CO2 released per mile: 638 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,000
10. Ford Ford GT
> CO2 released per mile: 654 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 14 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,000
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9. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
> CO2 released per mile: 672 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 13 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,250
8. Ferrari GTC4Lusso
> CO2 released per mile: 674 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 13 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,250
7. Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta
> CO2 released per mile: 682 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 13 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,250
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6. Bentley Mulsanne EWB
> CO2 released per mile: 692 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 13 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,250
5. Ferrari F12 tdf
> CO2 released per mile: 711 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 12 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,500
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4. Chevrolet G3500 Express 2WD PASS MDPV
> CO2 released per mile: 716 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 12 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,050
3. Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
> CO2 released per mile: 724 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 12 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,500
2. Lamborghini Aventador Coupe LP740-4
> CO2 released per mile: 746 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 12 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,500
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1. Mercedes-Benz G 550 4×4 (Special Off-Road Model)
> CO2 released per mile: 829 grams
> Fuel efficiency: 11 mpg
> Annual fuel cost: $3,800
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