U.S. consumers, companies feeling green

War, Katrina, mild weather prompt moves to conserve energy

CHICAGO – It took a war, a deadly hurricane season and an unusually mild winter, but U.S. consumers seem ready to cut back on energy usage for good.

While it

Sales of Hummers — those over-sized SUVs that became the poster child for poor gas mileage — were down 10.9 percent in December, according to auto maker General Motors Corp.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd plans to run a Super Bowl advertisement touting fuel economy — a major shift from a year earlier when it promoted hefty Ridgeline trucks.

Reuters