[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

Consumer reports says the fuel economy is overestimated on all
veh's. Some get as much as 40 pct. less mpg.

On every new vehicle, manufacturers are required to list how many miles you can expect to get per gallon of gas. Carmakers are allowed to make these claims based on a government test at the Environmental Protection Agency in which vehicles are put on a treadmill-like device called a dynamometer. The tester watches a computer screen to determine how much to accelerate and when to brake so each vehicle is tested in exactly the same way.

But just how accurately does a test on a dynamometer reflect the mileage you get on the road? Not very, says David Champion, Senior Director of the Auto Test Department at Consumer Reports. According to Champion, manufacturers optimize their cars in order to get the best results they can on EPA tests. "That isn't always what you're going to get in real life," says Champion.

[BabyPeanut]

Gas guzzler tax

[eastbay]

The page you are looking for cannot be found.


I own an '05 Honda Civic with an EPA estimate of 38 mpg hwy. I filled it last night and went 602 miles on 13.25 gallons getting 45.5 mpg. It's about what this car always gets. Yes, EPA figures are off a bit... and happily so for my ride.

[PenultimateManStanding]

The page you are looking for cannot be found.


I own an '05 Honda Civic with an EPA estimate of 38 mpg hwy. I filled it last night and went 602 miles on 13.25 gallons getting 45.5 mpg. It's about what this car always gets. Yes, EPA figures are off a bit... and happily so for my ride.

It's so rare these days when people pay cash for their new cars! Smart, too. The best I could do when I got my '03 was to go for four years of payments. I'll own it in two years - right about when the gas stations run dry, probably.

[eastbay]

... oops, I meant to say, the car MY BANK OWNS... lol.

[PenultimateManStanding]

... oops, I meant to say, the car MY BANK OWNS... lol.

Yeah, the so-called "ownership" society is a joke. It's more like the "debtor" society. So what happens if the masses can't pay the bills any more? Or let's say, what happens if the default rate just starts climbing and climbing until the banks are hurting so bad, the stockholders are screaming bloody murder, profits are long gone, equity vanishes like it was never here (it wasn't anyway), and TRILLIONS AND TRILLIONS of dollars are gone forever?

[Frank]

The mileage discrepancy is well known but politicians are afraid to touch it, IMO. The test cycle uses lower speeds and acceleration rates than commonly used and actual mileage isn't measured - it's calculated from exhaust emissions. To top it all off the penalty for noncompliance is trivial so there's not much motivation to improve things.

That is to say, up to now. Ford and GM are being hammered and IMO because they got greedy. Lots profit on SUV's and trucks.

[WisJim]

I have usually gotten mileage as good or better than the EPA figures for the cars that we own. Currently our 1992 Chevy Geo Prizm gets 40-42 on the hiway, 25 to 30+ in town, and my 1998 Ford Ranger (2wd, 4cylinder, 5spd) gets 22 to 25 in town, and up to 30+ on the hiway. Of course, we make an effort to drive smoothly and we work to get good mileage, but we also keep up with traffic on the interstate, and do our share of passing other cars.

I think the driving style makes a BIG difference.