Introduction

The group’s findings for Canadadian Fuel Consumption 2003 were not surprising given what we know about cars today. When we compared variables, such as city to highway fuel efficiency, we found a positive relationship in that cars with good city fuel economy also have good highway fuel economy. This is not surprising as we know that cars from more recent model years also follow a similar pattern, with the only difference being an increasing emphasis on fuel economy on the part of the car manufacturer.

In this project, we hope that you learn something new about the relationships between different variables that are present in everyday cars. Even if you are not knowledgeable in the field of cars, we have presented the data in a viewer-friendly way. This will make it easy to interperet and understand the relationships we have presented.

Summary of Major Findings

Finding 1: Enginze Size to Combined Fuel Consumption

library(ggplot2)
ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=ENG, y=COMB, colour=MAKE)) + geom_point() + ggtitle("Engine Size to Combined Fuel Consumption") + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 5))

As engine size increases, combined fuel economy decreases. This is because engine size is related to a vehicle producing more horsepower and thus requires more gasoline which reduces fuel economy.

Finding 2: Fuel consumption comparing co 2 emissions

ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=COMB, y=CO2EMS, colour=MAKE)) + geom_point() + ggtitle("Fuel Consumption to Co2 Emisions") + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 5))

As combined fuel consumption increases, CO2 Emissions increases. This positive relationship is due to the fact that as engines require more input (gasoline), they will produce a greater output (CO2 Emissions).

Finding 3: City to HWY

ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=CITY, y=HWY, colour=MAKE)) + geom_point() + ggtitle("City to Hwy") + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 5))

Consumers expect a car with good city fuel economy to have good highway fuel economy as well, and this is proven with the positive relationship shown in this graph. Consumers expect cars that are considered fuel efficient to be efficient both in city driving and highway driving.

Finding 4: Number of car types per company

pie=ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=factor(1), fill = factor(MAKE))) + geom_bar(width = 1) + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 6))
pie + coord_polar(theta="y") + ggtitle("Number of Car Models per Company")

These are the companies that produce cars for model year 2003. It is clear that Honda has produced the largest variety of models for model year 2003, followed by GMC. The smallest car manufacturer is Ferrari becuase there is a smaller market for supercars such as Ferraris. The more expensive the car models, the smaller the lineup. EX: Jaguar has a smaller lineup than Ford.

Finding 5: MPG to Engine Size

ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=MPG, y=ENG, colour=VECCLASS)) + geom_point() + ggtitle("MPG to Engine Size") + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 10))

There is an inverse relationship between enginze size and MPG. This is easy to understand as a more powerful engine requires more gasoline, and thus has a lower MPG.

Finding 6: MPG To Cylinders

ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=CYL, y=MPG, colour=VECCLASS)) + geom_point() + ggtitle("MPG to Cylinders") + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 10))

This shows an inverse relationship between MPG and Cylinders. A car that has more cylinders produces more power, and thus uses more gasoline in its operations. For example, Standard size pickup trucks have lower MPG than small size pickup trucks because the standard size uses an 8 cylinder engine whereas the small size pickup truck uses a 6 cylinder engine.

Finding 7: MPG To CO2 Emissions

ggplot(CARS3, aes(x=MPG, y=CO2EMS, colour=VECCLASS)) + geom_point() + ggtitle("MPG to CO2 Emissions") + theme(legend.text = element_text(size = 10))

This graph shows a negative relationship between MPG and CO2 Emissions. As MPG decreases, there is an increased amount of CO2 emissions. As a car engine burns more gasoline per mile, there will be more CO2 emissions emitted into the atmosphere.