Mileage claims fall apart in real world
Where did all these high-mileage cars come from all of a sudden?
It seems you can’t watch TV, surf the Internet or pick up a newspaper without seeing an advertisement from an auto manufacturer touting a vehicle that gets 25 to 30 miles per gallon or more.
If all these thrifty and, by extension, environmentally friendly vehicles are out there, why didn’t we know about it before now?
The truth, as always, is in the fine print.
General Motors is shouting the loudest about this, boasting that it sells more vehicles that get 30 miles per gallon or more than Toyota or Honda.
How can that be? In these times of high gas prices, General Motors is being kicked hard by the Japanese imports, which consumers perceive as being more fuel-efficient.
The answer is that GM is citing Environmental Protection Agency figures that relate strictly to highway driving.
Of course, your real-world driving will differ — perhaps greatly.
The EPA highway test has the vehicle run at speeds as high as 80 mph, with an average of about 50 mph. That’s good as far as it goes, but most drivers rarely average much above 35 mph in their daily routine, and much of that is in stop-and-go driving.
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