Whiny fuel economy/EPA story on NBC

I saw a very whiny story on NBC news the other night - complaining
about cars not getting nearly the mileage their owners were led to
believe by the EPA stickers. This always happens when gas prices go up
and the media is complicit in the "blame the EPA for my lousy mileage"
mentality. There was NO MENTION of driving habits, maintenance or
inflating tires properly.

They even had the nerve to criticize the EPA for neglecting to let the
car idle in traffic for a while during the test. DUH... should you
complain that your mileage won't be quite up to the estimate if you are
NOT MOVING while your engine is running?

Assuming the tests are fair across manufacturers, I believe it's pretty
easy to achieve the EPA numbers (at a minimum) in everyday driving if
you drive conservatively and take care of your car. My 4-cyl 87 Camry
was rated at 25/31 and I consistently made 27 or 28 mpg around town for
the 15-1/2 years I owned it. It easily did 40 mpg or better on the
highway at 65. My current 03 Matrix is also rated at 25/31 and I am
consistently hitting 30 mpg in mostly suburban driving. It's not quite
as good as the Camry on the highway (35 or so) but I also drive it
faster.

Come on people, if you are myopic enough to buy gas guzzling cars, let
the tires go flat and drive with a lead foot, then at least stop
complaining... and please.... LEARN HOW TO DRIVE

Thanks for reading my little rant...

 

I saw the stories too. For the most part, most people get below the EPA.
YOu have to remember not all areas of the country are flat, at a
constant temp, or have other conditions that maximize economy.
In Nebraska, i don't think any of my cars have really exceed the
sticker. Usually under. My 96 s10 2.2 does about 17/23 in normal
weather.

Bob

 

Same old story - nobody wants to take responsibility for their own
actions. And the media is quick to ell us It's Not Your Fault - it's
"THEM".

 

Is behavior the sole issue, or do an entirely unrealistic EPA test cycle
and related consumer expectations contribute to the issue?

 

The last time prices went up, there was a story on NECN (New England Cable
News) where they were interviewing a guy, at the pump, complaining about
the high cost of gas...while filling up his EXCURSION!!!

If you're gonna cry about it, buy a Prius! What a fool.

 

I'm like Mark here. I generally do better than the stickers. But, I have
almost always lived in rural or suburban areas, and when I have had to
travel I was generally going the OPPOSITE way from the gridlock, so I
usually had smooth sailing. On cars rated 25-30, I did 30-37. Where I live
now I can run my cars in their most effecient ranges and manage to
consistantly run 5 or more MPG over EPA. I have a Chrysler LHS that during
the fall I was gettin 30 MPG overall with. It does have a lot to do with
driving habits. Toyotas don't seem to mind being pounded on; my GTS gets
better mileage at 70-75 than at 40MPH. The Chrysler needs to be driven
like you have an egg between your foot and the throttle to get the kind of
mileage I was getting, and does much better at 45-50 or 62MPH. At 70 you
can watch the fuel guage drop.

 

It also depends what state mandates the gasoline formulation, IMHO. My
Highlander, here in Northern California runs low 20's on highway. In Idaho,
Washington or Oregon I run about 10% better. I probably drive a bit hard to
get best mileage but In summer I am over 17 in town and about 21 on highway
with V-6 AWD. about 23 up north
Ron

 

I think a lot of it also has to do with traffic. Here in So. Cal I can
get 34mpg hwy in my '94 Saab 9000 cse if there is no traffic and I'm not
stop and go. If I do wind up in stop and go traffic my mileage drops to
17-20 mpg.

I've also been tracking the MPG in my '04 Pilot. In town/traffic I get
about 14-15mpg. In open road driving I can get 18-20mpg. Not bad for a
6cyl SUV IMO.

Craig

 

That is pretty good mileage for Highlander. My wife has a 05 Highlander
Limited FWD and it never gets more than 21 mpg. It usually gets around 18 of
mix driving in Southern Orange Couty, CA. The 20 mpg was achieved during our
trip to Phoenix between Xmas and New Year 3 months ago. The information
display in that car never tells you the truth about the gas mileage
consumption. It always shows that we are getting around 22 mpg and in fact
we only get 19 from it. The speed limit is 75 mph on I-10 and people usually
drive minimum 85 mph on I-10 between LA and Phoenix. Even though there is
nothing but desert between LA and Phoenix, the road is not flat, either.

I also niticed that Toyota cars get pretty bad gas mileage during cold rainy
day. My 99 Sienna usually gets 19 in mixed driving, but it only gets 16 or
less in cold rainy days.

 

Yeah, kinda childish. We want to hear from people who don't even care
about us, blaming others for problems. But then, these shows are very
popular, I guess there are many people who want to be treated like
children. Now this is just a guess...

imho,

tom @ www.CarFleaMarket.com

 

I noticed maybe a 10% drop in economy from summer to winter, if even that.
Of course, mine are all '80's cars...

 

Agh! You used the "A" word. Whole hypothesis falls apart in huge
crumbing mass of little bits.(oddly not unlike legos?)

The problem is that the test is outdated and has a 20mph speed
for city and a 45mph for highway, with very gentle cycles
inbetween. Manufacturers gear the cars to do well at those
exact speeds, of course, so as to satisfy their fleet/type
efficiency requirements, so you get silly data that isn't
close to reality.

All it really does is tell you a range compared to other
vehicles. A Pruis will get better mileage than all but
about a handful of vehicles, for instance. The numbers
are moot beyond that.

 

I think that most people who buy anything bigger than a mid size car
even look at the EPA stickers, and could really care less about gas
mileage.

 

I know with my car, once I hit 45 it'll go into OD and have the TCC kick in.
It's rated for 30 mpg on the highway and last time I took it for a trip I
got ~38 mpg. You're right though, it's more for comparison then real world
numbers.

 

Does this apply as much to hybrid-engine cars? I heard that the percentage
of difference between "real world" mileage and EPA numbers was much greater
with hybrids. For example, a Hybrid rated at 38 city, 50 highway might see
real-world numbers consistently in the 36 range, while a traditional
gas-engine vehicle that also sees real-world numbers consistently in the 36
range would be more likely to be rated at, say, 33 city and 42 highway.

If this is the actual case, does it mean that the mileage of hybrid-engine
cars drops off more sharply under non-ideal conditions than that of
conventional-engined vehicles?

 

What year/make/model is it?

 

From what I've read about hybrid drive vehicles and heard from friends in
the automotive industry, fuel economy in hybrid vehicles tend to be better
in an urban stop-and-go environment than on the highway. This is because
the internal combustion (IC) engine is less likely to be running at lower
vehicle speeds and the regenerative braking system returns some power back
to the batteries versus on the highway, where the higher speeds mean the IC
engine is running and there is less regenerative braking.

Having heard from people who say that they get as good as or better fuel
economy than the EPA estimates and people who say that their mileage is much
worse, I suspect that driving style and environmental conditions has a
greater effect on fuel economy on a hybrid than in a conventional
drivetrain.

 

I like people who put 22's on their tahoe and complain about gas mileage.

 

It's a 93 Grand Prix with the 3.1 V6. My dad had a 92 Lumina with the 3.1
also and got about the same gas mileage.

 

Like all the posters are saying: Driving style effects fuel
consumption. My father consistently gets 10-20% better than EPA
regardless of the vehicle he's driving HOWEVER. He uses a block
heater 60% of the year so he's never starting a cold car, His brakes
are usually original when he trades a vehicle in near 100K & he will
often shut the engine off and coast when on hills & approaching
traffic lights or traffic jams. (This might play a part) His tires
also last close to 60 K as well.

Some Hybrids (I won't mention Toyota Prius here) seem from what
everyone says, do consistently worse than rated. Others (I won't say
Honda Accord) do pretty close to their rating.

My 1995 Olds 98 Regency Elite will hit High 30's driven sensibly in
the summer. Parked outside in & driven in the city during the winter
I'll hit high teens.

Vehicles are societies tools of consistent consumption. If we lived
in a non-capitalist, non-consumption based society fuel economy
wouldn't matter b/c we'd all be walking through the snow or waiting
and taking subways/trains everywhere. However our society is based on
consumption. Oil is high to justify drilling in Alaska and processing
the Trillion Barrels of in Alberta before people move on to another
fuel source, so lets quit worrying about EPA ratings.

As my brother said after a serious car accident. "Fuel is a hell of a
lot cheaper than hospitals, buy a safe car".

EPA is just a rough guideline. I wouldn't base my purchasing decision
on what a group of overpaid under worked government officials say to
the public , After all what are they driving? ;-)