New Rules from EPA on 2008 Cars & Medium Duty Vehicles
Via Green Car Congress: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its final ruling on how fuel economy is calcuated and posted for new cars. The methods, last revised in 1984, are now supposed to provide closer to real MPG for most drivers. This means, ta da, the estimates posted for the cars will be dropping.
Compared to today’s estimates, the city mpg estimates for the manufacturers of most vehicles will drop by about 12% on average, and by as much as 30% for some vehicles. The highway mpg estimates will drop on average by about 8%, and by as much as 25% for some vehicles.
The decreased fuel economy, the EPA took pains to point out, is not a result of a change by the automakers, but in the agency’s methodology for estimating performance.
This will have an impact on the perception of hybrids as well:
In vehicles that achieve generally better fuel economy, such as gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles, new city estimates will be about 20 to 30% lower than today’s labels, and new highway estimates will be 10 to 20% lower, according to the EPA.
The nature of current hybrid technology—the addition of a battery as a second source of on-board power, sophisticated control systems, and sometimes a smaller engine—makes a hybrid’s fuel economy more sensitive to certain factors, such as colder weather and air conditioning use.
The new calcuation method and posting of information will be on all 2008 models, including for the first time medium-duty trucks. And the auto industry being what it is, you can expect some 2008 models in showrooms in the first few months of 2007.
And your point is? The EPA has always said that the MPG ratings were for comparison only, so if the new ratings end up proportionally lower, nobody should be “penalized” and what you see should be closer to what you actually get . . .
So it took the EPA only 20+ years to realize their methods were in error. Oh wait, that was 20 years of cow towing to the auto makers. Where would we be today if 20 years ago the auto makers decided to be proactive on economy?
Now I’ll get an email saying the consumer and the SUV market wanted those items, but that is not the case. It is the auto marketing that forms the market to which the consumer then purchases….brainwashed if you will.
Just remember there is only so much oil out there..whether it last 10 years or 100 years, there is still only so much. We are shorting our grandchildren sooner or later.
So how does one cow tow? With a cow tow truck, of course! 😉
Green Car Congress is a phenomenal website, better be careful though, it talks alot about “Net Metering” billing for alternative energy like solar panels on houses and that is a bad word around here in the St Louis Area. Ameren does not like it. Not one newspaper will bring it up as a topic, fear I guess. Only 35 other states have it by law. I wonder if we had solar panels on the roofs, would it be enough electricity to run the blower on your gas furnace when the electric wires are down? SSHHH, we can’t talk like that. We need to biuld new power plants and raise rates.
This EPA ruling will force more design by auto makers to make mileage requirements. it is a good thing.