 Lower fuel-mileage ratings for 2008 model cars
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Talk about sticker shock!
With gasoline prices once again firmly planted in
the $3-per-gallon range, many people shopping for new cars this
year will focus at least in part on fuel economy. And they're probably
not going to like what they see on the window sticker. The news
will be even worse if the sticker is attached to a hybrid.
As 2008 models get parked on dealer lots right next to those 2007 models, shoppers will notice that the 2008 incarnation of a seemingly identical 2007 car will show sharply reduced federal fuel mileage estimates.
That doesn't mean the 2008 model is thirstier at the pump than last year's model. What has changed is the decades-old testing procedures of the Environmental Protection Agency, which produces those city-highway mileage estimates printed on the window stickers.
In the old test, the EPA used a number of clearly outdated assumptions about how we all drive. For example, the old EPA test cycle, which was last overhauled in the 1980s and was based on standards written in the 1970s, tested vehicles at no greater speed than 55 mph. The air conditioner wasn't on, nor was the heater or defroster.
The tests, run on machines called dynamometers, were run at relatively warm temperatures and acceleration was at a pace that would elicit angry honks from other drivers if a real driver took off like that from a stoplight.
The new test runs up to 80 miles an hour, takes into
account the use of air conditioners and heaters, and is run at both
hot and cold outside temperatures. The testing is still done on
dynamometers, so the results can't exactly recreate what an individual
driver can expect.
Savvy buyers have known for years that the EPA window sticker numbers were more fantasy than reality, but the new figures should be closer to the real world.
The EPA estimates that the average city mileage rating on a 2008 vehicle will drop about 12 percent from the comparable 2007 model. Highway ratings will dip on average by 8 percent.
But gasoline-electric hybrids will see more dramatically reduced ratings because the old tests, which emphasized leisurely acceleration and gentle braking, played to the strengths of hybrids.
A 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid is rated at 60 miles per
gallon in city driving and 51 mpg on the highway. The 2008 model,
which is unchanged mechanically, will be rated at 48 mpg city (a
drop of about 20 percent) and 45 mph on the highway (12 percent
less), which is a lot closer to what the average Prius owner sees.
The thing that buyers should keep in mind is the
2008 models are no less fuel-efficient than the 2007 models. All
that is happening is the window sticker will reflect a more realistic
view.
The government's fuel-economy
Web site contains a tool that makes helpful comparisons. Click
on the link that says: "Compare
side-by-side" to find information on most cars' fuel
consumption.
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