http://www.automotive-business-revie...D-4E9023F292E3

 

I for one would be the first to applaud such a move. Although for some hybrids its rated MPG will fall substantially, I would guess that on the SUVs the truth would be scarier still

 

I agree. This will once and for all settle the idea that Hybrids fare worse then other cars. Seen as a % they all will fall about the same and the Hybrids probably do better then most. That said the number will seem large...

My only concern is that they will include fast acceleration and braking. This sorta encourages people to continue driving like they are which is not good for the environment or wallet (but probably loved my the middle east and other oil producers).

So I'm of two minds. Not sure if the new number will be better or not. I think they could simply just create a scale and be done with it.

I like that they will include AC's and also cold weather, that could push manufacturers to install even better ACs (and a prius would shine)

 

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Speaking of A/Cs... I don't know if you have ever seen LP gas fridges, that were popular in the non-electrified rural areas during the 50s (it shows my age).

Basically the fridge with a small LP gas-fueled flame would heat the freon, and thru some thermodynamic magic would convert that heat to cold for the fridge.
Several years later in college, I asked a physics professor, with a PhD in thermodynamics, to explain that to me. True of most people with PhDs, he explained it to me using higher math that for him was both obvious and crystal clear, but to me was as understandable as IIIrd-dynasty Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Why is this anectode meningful to this thread??? Because one thing he did mention, and that I could understand, is that all the waste heat coming out from an automobile's exhaust COULD BE USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE.

Think about that, A/C essentially for free, from the fuel efficiency point of view.

 

I live the A/C idea!

Truth is always better. Let the public have an accurate idea of their real fuel economy, regardless of what they are driving....and add Hummers to the EPA estimates with the gas guzzler tax.

 

i'm not sure sure how well things will turn out. when i saw this article this morning, i think on AOL, one of the examples they gave of the findings was a quite low estimate on the civic hybrid. somewhere in the low 30s....i can't remember.

 

That's my problem they seem to be going from one extreme (perfect weather, no comforts turned on) to the other (cold weather, driving like a race car driver). I like that the EPA numbers are high to show people what they should be able to do. They shoouldn't be unreachable though. I think simply addind A/C, fan and (maybe) car stereo as well as running headlights, going to 65 mph in highway driving and some more stop and go in traffic would be fine. Now they say they will drive it harder.... not sure that is smart or what the goverment should encourage people to do.

 

I think the EPA should require manufacturers to aggregate data the way that the Greenhybrid.com mileage database does -- the way the fuel.gov site is doing now for self-reporters. I suppose this site's data is probably skewed upward to some degree because participants here have at least heard of hypermiling-- but real world empirical data just makes more sense than anything else.

I know this position does no good for a brand new model year car, but there's ways of dealing with that. I just think the EPA tests suck, and could well depend on what administration is in office and other factors that have nothing to do with real-world empirical data. What happens if a car breaks in and gets better or worse gas mileage after 10 or 15 thousand miles? What happens if a car... etc.,.

One thing EPA could do is require manufacturers to self report, and give people an administrative remedy if their vehicles fall below a certain percentage of the manufacturer's data (with reasonable controls for a case of the meatheads who will stomp on the accelerator regardless of whether they see a red light two blocks away or not).

Finally, I will add gratuitously that when I rented a prius II for a few days, I did virtually everything I could to get as bad gas mileage as possible, and I still got somewhere around 45 mpg. I think if I tried driving that same way in my HCH, I'd get 39 mpg or so... it's anecdotal, but there you have it. It leads to me to suspect I may trade my HCH for a 2007 Hybrid made-in-the-usa Camry eventually. If only they'd make a coupe... or put that engine in the LS430.

 

I say just be ready for the new "tests" to skew more against higher mpg cars than lower ones. I don't have faith that most oil/car companies are going to sit idly by and let this go through without some serious lobbying or conducting of "secret energy policy meetings" with the EPA to "help" them develop the testing process.

As it is, a 20% decrease in mpg for a 55mpg car results in 11 mpg less, but the same 20% decrease for an 20mpg truck only results in 4 mpg less. The sticker shock for those shoppers will be less-so than for high mpg car shoppers, whether or not 44mpg is still 2.75 times better than 16.

Rick