This is an interesting story I picked up from slashdot about hybrid cars and their advertised gas mileage.

Hybrid Mileage Comes Up Short

This part I found most interesting:

The 19-year-old EPA tests for city and highway mileage actually gauge vehicle emissions and use that data to derive an estimated fuel-efficiency rating. The EPA tests pre-production vehicles in a lab to simulate vehicle starts and stops on crowded city streets and open road conditions. According to the EPA website, "The tests measure the waste substances emitted from consuming the fuel, not the actual fuel consumed. From the measurement of emissions, EPA can estimate the miles per gallon achieved by the vehicle on average."

As more hybrid cars become available along with other alternative fuel vehicles, the EPA needs to update their testing methods to provide more reliable data to the consumer. I'm sure this issue will become more prevalent as hybrid cars become more established in the automobile market.

This entry was posted on 5.12.2004 at 09:08. You can skip to the end and leave a response.