this is great news, hopefully they create a realistic test.

perhaps they should test for various climates though, so if you live in Florida or southern California your mileage estimate isnt subject to the extreme cold part of the test.

additionally, why not collect actual data? I mean put a data logger in a sample of cars and provide some incentive to have the customer drive back and have it read periodically.

My view has changed read the text below to see why. It is an email from a trusted friend.

As you know, choosing a specific approach to Rating a vehicle for its mileage capability is very tricky, and almost always misleading, due to a number of factors that vary for any single vehicle depending on the user’s driving “style,” the usage (loading, city vs highway travel), the environment (climate, terrain), and the user’s awareness of the need and interest in conserving fuel (minimizing fuel expense, minimizing dependence on imported, minimizing CO2 emissions, minimizing other harmful emissions, etc.)

Still, I agree that the consumer should be given some standardized information about the vehicle’s mileage, starting with the difference between City and Highway travel, with all other factors held in some “normal” state. The challenge is identifying what is “normal” when in reality, these conditions vary substantially. Therefore, I don’t think this is much of an improvement at all in the Rating scheme. It is politically correct for Toyota to go along with it, but the scheme has been modified specifically to disadvantage (or minimize the knowledge of potential advantage for) the hybrids, BECAUSE GM, FORD and CHRYSLER ARE BEHIND in the competition.

The truth is that hybrids offer substantially greater opportunity to save fuel, IF the user wants to learn how to do so. The information is there and the vehicle capability is there. Most people who buy a hybrid are looking to optimize or minimize their fuel consumption, so they will learn how to drive their vehicle most responsibly to do so, without put themselves or anyone else in harm’s way. A rating scheme that presumes people will drive with a lead-foot (so they cannot take advantage of the all-electric mode of the hybrid) is purposefully trying to cover up this advantage of the hybrid. THE CHANGES THAT ARE BEING MADE ARE NOT IN THE INTEREST OF THE CONSUMER, NOR IN THE INTEREST OF SAVING FUEL, contrary to what most of those commenting on the new system have been led to believe.

IF the EPA really wanted people to make better decisions about their vehicle choice and their driving “style” or behavior, they would have recommended a fuel economy gauge in every new vehicle sold that helps the user understand the dependenc(y) better.