The Environmental Protection Agency is sitting on a report showing a decline in fuel economy for U.S. autos while Congress prepares to vote on energy legislation that does little to mandate automakers to improve fuel efficiency, according to a published report Thursday.
The New York Times said the report on fuel economy was supposed to be released Wednesday, but late Tuesday night the EPA decided to delay the release until next week. Congress could vote on the administration-backed energy bill this week.
The NYTimes got ahold of the report before it was withdrawn, and says it shows mileage has declined.
But the Times reports that it got an copy of the report late Tuesday just before the EPA changed its mind on the release date. It said that it shows the average 2004 model car or truck got 20.8 miles per gallon, about 6 percent less than the 22.1 mpg of the average new vehicle sold in the late 1980's.
And the paper said that major improvements in engine technology over the last couple of decades have been mostly used to make cars faster, not more fuel-efficient.
http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/28/news/ec ... /index.htm