WHY WINDOW STICKERS DON'T TELL THE REAL STORY
The Environmental Protection Agency has long been criticized for the testing procedure it uses to gauge fuel economy — which determines the mileage numbers that car shoppers seen on window stickers.
The current EPA method, introduced in the 1970s, is based on outdated assumptions: that motorists drive slower than they really do, that they never use air-conditioning, never go up a hill, never start their cars in the cold, never get stuck in traffic jams, etc.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards have pretty much stayed flat for more than a decade. Efforts to require cars and trucks to be more fuel efficient have repeatedly been stymied in Congress. Source: NHTSA
In 1985, the EPA tried to account for some of the shortcomings in its lab-based tests by adjusting its fuel-economy numbers downward by 10 percent for city driving, and 22 percent for highway mileage. The revised figures were slightly more realistic, but critics argued that they still failed to account for real-world driving conditions that can drag down gas mileage.
The average fuel economy of new U.S. vehicles — a figure that counts both cars and trucks — jumped dramatically in the first 10 years after federal standards were introduced. Improvements became sluggish from the mid to late '80s — and fuel economy actually slid from the late '80s to the mid-'90s.
Since then, overall fuel efficiency hasn't budged much. The main reason: Americans have switched to driving bigger cars and trucks, which guzzle more gas than passenger vehicles.
In early 2006, the EPA proposed going one step further, adding tests to simulate high-speed driving, rapid acceleration and stop-and-go traffic, among other factors. The new system will likely slash mileage ratings for many models by 10 percent to 20 percent for city driving.
The revamped testing procedure is expected to be in place for 2008 models. The change will force carmakers to post lower mileage numbers on window stickers, but it won't affect whether they are judged to be in compliance with CAFE standards.
That's because back when the EPA first revised its mileage numbers downward, automakers won a lawsuit barring the agency from using the new numbers for CAFE purposes. The Department of Transportation, which administers the CAFE program, still uses the overly optimistic numbers produced by the earliest mpg tests.
The current EPA method, introduced in the 1970s, is based on outdated assumptions: that motorists drive slower than they really do, that they never use air-conditioning, never go up a hill, never start their cars in the cold, never get stuck in traffic jams, etc.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards have pretty much stayed flat for more than a decade. Efforts to require cars and trucks to be more fuel efficient have repeatedly been stymied in Congress. Source: NHTSA
In 1985, the EPA tried to account for some of the shortcomings in its lab-based tests by adjusting its fuel-economy numbers downward by 10 percent for city driving, and 22 percent for highway mileage. The revised figures were slightly more realistic, but critics argued that they still failed to account for real-world driving conditions that can drag down gas mileage.
The average fuel economy of new U.S. vehicles — a figure that counts both cars and trucks — jumped dramatically in the first 10 years after federal standards were introduced. Improvements became sluggish from the mid to late '80s — and fuel economy actually slid from the late '80s to the mid-'90s.
Since then, overall fuel efficiency hasn't budged much. The main reason: Americans have switched to driving bigger cars and trucks, which guzzle more gas than passenger vehicles.
In early 2006, the EPA proposed going one step further, adding tests to simulate high-speed driving, rapid acceleration and stop-and-go traffic, among other factors. The new system will likely slash mileage ratings for many models by 10 percent to 20 percent for city driving.
The revamped testing procedure is expected to be in place for 2008 models. The change will force carmakers to post lower mileage numbers on window stickers, but it won't affect whether they are judged to be in compliance with CAFE standards.
That's because back when the EPA first revised its mileage numbers downward, automakers won a lawsuit barring the agency from using the new numbers for CAFE purposes. The Department of Transportation, which administers the CAFE program, still uses the overly optimistic numbers produced by the earliest mpg tests.
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