Pain At The Pump: Government Gas Secrets

Honda claims its hybrid Civic sedan gets 48 mpg in the city. Consumer
Reports found it only gets 26 mpg -- a 46 percent difference.

For more infl go to:
http://www.wesh.com/painatthepump/9141621/detail.html

 

Did you bother reading all of the CR article? Transmissions used?
Conditions?

 

Time to eat Crow. I should have read the link before inserting my feet in
my mouth :-((

 

Wow, its a real secret. i knew about it before I even moved to the Us.

I can't wait for whats going to be a horror story when gas rices in
the US actually become high (as in, more in line with the rest of the
world - doubling the price should get it there).

Maybe then we'll see less of the ugly land-liners with their huge lazy
engines, and slushboxes.

 

The article makes it sound as though this is all a scheme cooked by
automobile marketing departments. it may well be, but it is my
understanding that auto makers must use the EPA estimates and must
test the cars the way EPA says to test them. No exceptions.

In addition, anybody who has done some of reading and research has
known for years that the real-world gas mileage will be lower than EPA
estimates. How much lower depends on a lot of variables, which is why
the EPA test conditions are strictly specified.

Anyway, that's they way I heard it.

Elliot
Itinerant Curmudgeon

 

me too. i did email them aand ask who they felt were keeping it a
secret, considering I found out via the EPA's wesite about 5 yeasr
ago. i then asked how they did espect the tsts to be conducted so that
its repeatable, accurate, and comparatable. Its no good running half a
dozen cars around a track if you've got two different guys splitting
the cars, some done when its raining, and others on a hot sunny day
around 3pm.

Journalistic integrity - they've heard of it, I guess...

 

The CR city milage test is pretty brutal. It can easily be as far
below typical city milage as the EPA is high. Not to say that the CR
test isn't realistic, it is just realistic of the worst case scenario.

 

Actually, the US is about in the middle. CNN reported some countries
(albeit oil producing ones) are below $1.00
http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/19/news/international/global_gasprices/.

Ford said they did see an increase in non-SUV sales and a dip in truck sales
so I suspect your last comment is already becoming reality
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/02/AR2006050200678.html.

 

From the article...

"Honda claims its hybrid Civic sedan gets 48 mpg in the city. Consumer
Reports found it only gets 26 mpg -- a 46 percent difference."

My '88 Honda Civic with 244K mi gets a very real world 37 mpg. What I find
extraordinary is that even cars, such as hybrids, engineered with the
"latest and greatest" technology still are not that much better. It makes
me wonder what have car manufacturers been doing for the last 18 years?

Eric

 

IIRC, Honda Civics and the CRX HF used to be advertised as getting close to
60 mpg in the mid-late 80's.

As far as what happened, safety features add weight. The market demands
comfort and comfort features add weight.

 

This gets into the question of "what kind of service?" If it's 37 mpg on a
flat 65 mph highway, that's decent. If it's on a 75 mph freeway, that's
pretty good indeed. If it's in town, that's phenomenal for a conventional
gasoline power train and awful for a hybrid. If it's on snow covered roads,
mysterious men in black trench coats will come to learn your secret.

Nobody ever took "your mileage may vary" seriously until their mileage
varied ;-)

Mike

 

Why are you defending Honda?

 

I forgive you!!

 

Really, 46 percent less than advertised amounts to a lot of variables.

 

But 46 %??????

 

Why do people defend the auto industry that has ripped them off for years?

 

46 perceent is a lot of variables.

 

Higher gas prices in foreign countries reflect high taxes to support
social programs whereas the lower prices indicate government subsidies
to domestic consumer(s).

A more interesting (or telling) figure is the amount that it takes to
extract a barrel of crude from the ground which is ridiculously low in
the mid east. Extraction from the Alberta tar sands is somewhat higher
as is that of the deep offshore wells.

Finally, comparing US prices to those of other countries is one of
apples and oranges. We are not them and they are not us...

JT

 

And crappy modern gas yields less in the way of mileage.

But stand by... My 1983 Civic FE project is about to go on the road
later this week. (The car is finished but I'm waiting for a set of
165x80x15 tires). *That* car reportedly was in the range of 42 mpg city
and 54 mpg highway. I expect 10-15% less based on the cars mileage
(110K) and the effects of modern fuels.

I should be posting some results in a week or so.

JT