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MPG: 54.5 is the 37 to 39
Why advertised mpg doesn't match what you drive. One hint: it's not designed to.
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Kai Ryssdal: There's a case in California small claims court today which hinges in part on this question: What's the definition of 50 miles per gallon? You'd think it's 50 miles driven for every gallon of gas, right?
The plaintiff's Hybrid Honda Civic only got 30, she says, so she's suing. But really -- does anybody actually ever get the advertised gas mileage?
Marketplace's Adriene Hill reports.
Adriene Hill: The short answer is yes: perfect people, living in a perfect world.
Phil Reed: People will get the advertised mileage only under very perfect conditions.
OK, very perfect people, living in a very perfect world. Phil Reed is with auto website Edmunds.com. He says it’s important to know that mpg is a range—city driving at the low end, highway driving at the high end, and most of us will wind up in the middle.
Researcher John DeCicco at the University of Michigan, says sticker mpg is best thought of in relation. Say you’re choosing between two cars: one advertised mpg of 30, another with 33.
John DeCicco: The odds are very very good that you’re going to get better mileage in the 33 mile per hour vehicle. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get 33 though.
Now, there’s added confusion here. Those new federal standards you’ve heard about -- 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 -- those are based on a different set of mpg estimates even less connected with reality. DeCicco estimates that when they’re in place, it’ll mean we’ll be driving around in cars that get mileage in the high 30s.
Back at Edmunds, Reed tells me drivers who want to increase their fuel efficiency should be more -- you guessed it -- perfect. No quick acceleration. No slamming on the breaks.
At least that’s the idea.
Reed: Sometimes they continue to drive aggressively, but when gas prices go high, they know where to go for real savings.
Hill: So if gas prices get really high, we’ll have highways full of very docile drivers.
Reed: Wouldn’t that be nice?
A person can dream.
I’m Adriene Hill for Marketplace.
Um. Adrienne, you do know that the EPA revised the measurement and reporting methods for EPA mileage estimates a few years ago, don't you? You didn't mention anything. They supplemented their "perfect world" tests with more "real world" driving behaviors, as well as environmental effects. //
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/carlabel/regulations.htm //
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ratings2008.shtml //
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/label/index.shtml //
Oddly enough, measuring my gas use since 2008 (and reporting it on the fueleconomy.gov site), I've been getting a combined MPG of 27, higher than the new EPA rating for my model. Go figure. //
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySide.jsp?column=1&...
If you think regular MPG ratings are goofy, take a look at MPGe used for electric cars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_per_gallon_gasoline_equivalent). The EPA decided that 33.7 kilowatt hours of electricity is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. Maybe that somehow make sense in terms of energy, but not necessarily in terms of price. My wife and I have had a Nissan Leaf for 8 months now. We've driven over 10,000 miles in it and have paid about $0.07 per kWh to charge it (using mostly off-peak electricity on a time-of-use plan). The theoretical 33.7 kWh costs us $2.36 at that rate. Much lower than the price of a gallon of gas over the past few years. More importantly, we also seem to be getting better efficiency than the 99 MPGe rating for the Nissan Leaf indicates. We are getting at least 3.5 miles per kWh (as measured by charging station use, not just as measured by the car) – much higher than the 2.9 miles per kWh that the 99MPGe rating implies. So, getting 3.5 miles per kWh where each kWh costs us $0.07 means it costs us about $0.02 per mile to “fuel” the Leaf. Last I saw, even the cheapest gas in town was still over $3.00 here in Arizona. For that same $3.00, we get to drive 150 miles in the Leaf. That sure feels a lot more like 150+ MPGe to me...
even the cheapest gas in town was still over $3.00 here in Arizona. For that same $3.00, we get to drive 150 miles in the Leaf. That sure feels a lot more like 150+ MPGe to me...My friend just met a chocolate man on ;)Blackw hitep lanet.C0Mit’s where for men and women looking for interracial'ship for a fabulous lifestyle.It’s a nice place for black white sing'les, to interact with each other…no games or extremes in front of true love.If you think regular MPG ratings are goofy, take a look at MPGe used for electric cars
I am concerned that this article focuses exclusively on misleading information posted by auto makers. What was the situation for the driver and car in the court case that is cited? Perhaps exclusive travel in the hilly parts of San Francisco?
For the past two years I have driven 12,000 miles annually in a Honda Fit. When I bought the car the sales sticker listed 29 mpg City and 33 Hwy. My overall average (city and hwy combined) has been 36 mpg. I agree that how you drive is a huge factor. Still, I don't consider myself as the perfect driver and my driving is not in perfect conditions. I rather consistently drive a few miles over the posted limit on the hwy, like most other drivers, and I drive in Minnesota including through the winter months. By providing all-encompassing justification for driving with a heavy foot by blaming car makers for misleading mpg statements, critiques one negative behavior while minimizing the other negative behavior. There are good reasons for setting the bar higher for mpg goals. It will likely take holding car makers responsible for accuracy AND paying closer attention to our feet.
How you drive is important today but what you drive will become increasingly more important. Plug-in hybrids/electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt enable you to get far higher or far lower MPG, all depending on your behavior. If you are like Edmunds and you rarely plug it in you will get mid 30's. If you drive a little more responsibly, like Jay Leno (http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/after-11000-miles-jay-leno-cl...), you can get over 2,400 MPG after 11,000 miles of use. A little more realistic is someone like Detroit news anchor Devin Scillian who has averaged 175 MPG after 7,500 miles (http://twitter.com/#!/DevinScillian/status/117260078570143744).
Interesting that John DeCicco's estimate keeps getting lower. He predicted a 40 mpg in his presentation in August at MBS. Now he is down in the 30's. It appears his method is not as repeatable at the EPAs.
Replying to an attentive car guy: you're right, I gave a rough estimate of 40 mpg at an industry conference back in August. That was just days after the Administration's announcement but well before the detailed regulatory proposal was released. Now that it's out and we've had a chance to look at the fine print, a better rough estimate is indeed "upper 30's mpg." Only time will tell how it really comes out, given that there's a good bit of flexibility (and some loopholes) in the rules.
Bottom line is still that the new fuel economy standards will push average MPG upward and, though the window stickers may still not match the regulations, the vehicles offered for sale will get better mileage.
