Pain At The Pump: Government Gas Secrets Mon May 8, 1:42 PM ET The government has been keeping a secret about automobiles under wraps for the past 30 years. Reporter Michelle Meredith teamed up with Consumer Reports to explain why your car probably does not get the mileage advertised. The Consumer Reports' auto test track in Connecticut looks like it could be a new theme park in Orlando. And when it comes to testing cars, Consumer Reports leaves no stone unturned, no lug nut loose. And here's the question Consumer Reports set out to answer -- does your car get the gas mileage promised on the showroom sticker. It's the mileage you probably used to decide if the car fit your monthly budget. First, Meredith took a look at how carmakers come up with these numbers because you could be in for a big surprise. The guidelines for the tests were set by the federal government decades ago, in the late 1970s. Gerald Ford was president and disco was king. And under these guidelines by the Environmental Protection Agency, carmakers are allowed to test miles per gallon by running the vehicle not on the road, but on what's essentially a treadmill for cars. During an EPA spot check, the car ran with no air conditioning, no inclines or hills, no wind resistance and at speeds no greater than 60 mph. There's hardly anything real world about it, but it gives carmakers what they want -- the highest possible miles per gallon to put on that sticker. "People are going into showrooms, they're looking at that sticker that says miles per gallon and they're saying, 'Oh it get goods miles per gallon,'" said Consumer Reports' David Champion. "In reality, they're being cheated." Consumer Reports conducts their test on a track and in the real world. First, they put them through a simulated city course. Next the highway -- a real highway. For the third test, they take the car out on a 150-mile day trip throughout Connecticut. All the while, a special miles per gallon meter is ticking away. Their results? Many numbers you see on those stickers are off way off -- one as much as 50 percent. For example, Chrysler says the four-wheel drive diesel version of the Jeep Liberty gets 22 mpg in the city. Consumer Reports tested it and found it got more like 11 mpg. Honda claims its hybrid Civic sedan gets 48 mpg in the city. Consumer Reports found it only gets 26 mpg -- a 46 percent difference. Chevy's Trailblazer EXT four-wheel drive is supposed to get 15 mpg in the city. For Consumer Reports, it was 9 mpg. "It's an unrealistic sales and marketing tool that they are actually using. They are saying you're going to get 35 mpg, and you're really only going to get 21," Champion said. Why is this allowed? Meredith asked the EPA's director of transportation. "We cannot have a perfect test," said Margo Oge. Oge said for so long, nobody really complained. Meanwhile, everything has changed. "All the cars today have air conditioning, which was not the case in the mid-80s, and we drive at higher speeds because we are allowed to drive a higher speeds. And technology has changed," Oge said. Carmakers know their number is up. Several have been to Consumer Reports' test track to see how they test real world conditions. "I think it's desperately time for a change," Champion said. The EPA has said a change is coming in time for the 2008 models, but is that soon enough? Consumers need real world tests with real world numbers now because with the price of gas constantly climbing, the real world has become a very ugly place. The EPA said even though the new test will reflect more real-world conditions, there is no perfect test. For more information and for a list of the most fuel efficient cars and SUVs, check out Consumer Reports' special report A Guide To Stretching Your Fuel Dollars. http://news.yahoo.com/s/kcra/200605...QQDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-
My 99 Sunfire gets almost 30 MPG, which is actually over what was advertised. The only car I ever had that didn't get pretty close to the advertised MPG was my wife's 2004 Yukon, which sucked donkey nuts in city driving (like 10 MPG, when it was advertised at 15 or 16)
No wonder... I've never had a car match what was on the sticker... I rented a jeep liberty a couple of weekends ago and the mileage sucked, nowhere near the sticker mentioned above...
My gas mileage is pretty much right on. My highway driving actually gets 5 mpg more. And these aren't "secrets" the government has been hiding. It's more like ignorance on the part of the consumer. How exactly is the government hiding this? Crazy media...
It depends I guess on which vehicle you're talking about, not to mention that fuel mileage can VASTLY change depending entirely on your driving habits. That being said, the mid-size sedans from experience have been pretty close to accurate with their sticker mpg ratings. For example, the Camry, Galant, and Grand AM all averaged around 23 mpg for city driving (A/C and everything else factored in) and around 27 mpg for highway driving. That's not far off from th advertised MPG ratings. So I guess my point is that there are a lot of variables that enter the equation, and while car manuacturers do tend to be 'overly optimistic' with their MPG ratings, they can't be expected to account for the driving habits of every potential customer.
I wouldn't call it a lie. I'd call it misleading. You have to drive like a total r****ded seasoned citizen to even get close to the govt. mileage ratings. Go faster than 55 mph or just one jackrabbit start kills any chance of meeting the ratings. As an aside, my wife's car gets BETTER than the manufacturers estimate of 37 mpg on the highway. Driving at a steady 85 mph on I-75 and I-10 back to my folks house last week with three kids in the back and my wife up front along with a full load of suitcases in the trunk, we got about 40 mpg according to my calculations. The car will go about 780 miles or so on one tank of diesel fuel. A friend of mine has a VW TDI and while his car doesn't have quite the legs of ours (smaller car, smaller fuel tank), he gets about 42-44 mpg on the highway. Diesels have come a long way and Audi is going to win Le Mans with the fastest diesel of them all, the R10. Amazing MB diesel
I've heard (if you have a tachometer to monitor yourself) you can drive with less than 2000 rpm's at all times and increase your mileage easily 1-5 mpg... even on a big truck... probably better on smaller cars. I've always gotten better mileage on the HWY than the sticker, and a little under in the CITY... so it's about the same with my driving habits. My wife.... well she uses unleaded gas because all the lead she needs is in her foot. (That's why I'm in the truck, and she's in the Aveo. )
What's the big deal? When people look at gas mileage, they are comparing it to the gas mileage of other cars. If one gets 30 and another 20, the first one gets better mileage in the standardized test and likely gets better mileage in the real world too. As long as the test is standard for everyone, it doesn't matter that you can't achieve the numbers they post. It'll vary by the way you drive, the city you live in, how good you are about the upkeep of the vehicle and so on. So throw in wind resistance too.
Is this seriously breaking news? A surprise? I've learned that you either need a car that will display "real" mpg average on the dash or be able to do the math yourself. At the same time, you should know what's going on if you're buying an SUV vs a sedan. Evan
I agree with Juan in that I'd much rather see a standardized test that's consistent amongst cars, than a 'realistic one' that subject to a zillion variables. But....if the 'standard' results are misleading -- the test should be adjusted to make the numbers more realistic. (BTW -- my 1992 Jeep, with 100K miles, still gets about 18mpg (US gallon) -- which is pretty close to what was advertised back then)
My car gets anywhere between 27-32 mpg, lower range for city upper for highway. If people who were shopping for cars didn't realize that the sticker mpg was probably a little overstated, then they are being naive. It's like NBA players and listed heights. We all know to automatically subtract 1-2" to get their real height. Just use common sense.
Keep your tires aired up, drive slow, accelerate slow, and leave your cruise control off. Maintain the car properly. Mileage will improve. AC stays on, we're in Houston.
