The TIMES Online tests green car mileage claims
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Could you imagine if golf club manufactors put YPD (yards per drive) ratings on their drivers? There would be news reports similar to timesonline stating:
"This club is rated at 500 YPD and my drives only average 400. What gives?"
A car is tool with mechanisims the driver controls. The driver chooses how fast to go, where to drive, how often and how hard to brake. How can anyone in their right mind state a Prius gets 51 MPG and not 61 MPG? Put 10 people in the car and you'll get 10 different MPG ratings.
As soon as we define what "normal" or "average" driving behavior is, we'll come up with normal and average MPG ratings for cars.
Could you imagine if golf club manufactors put YPD (yards per drive) ratings on their drivers? There would be news reports similar to timesonline stating:
"This club is rated at 500 YPD and my drives only average 400. What gives?"
A car is tool with mechanisims the driver controls. The driver chooses how fast to go, where to drive, how often and how hard to brake. How can anyone in their right mind state a Prius gets 51 MPG and not 61 MPG? Put 10 people in the car and you'll get 10 different MPG ratings.
As soon as we define what "normal" or "average" driving behavior is, we'll come up with normal and average MPG ratings for cars.
The Hummer H1 and H2 are so heavy, they are exempt from the EPA fuel economy testing (as seen on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/which_tested.shtml ), so they're not rated at all...PA Prius said:
The Hummer H3 does make it in for ratings, though...
well if i may i'd offer a small handful of thoughts.
First, this is only relevant on a percentage basis. As was noted above, something that is listed at 100mpg and records "actual" mileage of 90 is no worse than something that is listed as 20 and gets 18.
It just makes a better headline to say "hybrids 10mpg lower than claimed"
Second, if someone drives 12,000 miles a year in a listed-as-60mpg hybrid that only returns 50mpg, and gas costs 3 bucks a gallon, then they will pay $120 more in gas for the year. If someone drives 12,000 miles in a 24mpg car that actually only returns 20mpg (same percentage lower), they will pay $300 more. And if someone drives 12,000 miles in a listed-as-12mpg G500 that only gets 10, they will pay $600 more. So going by the article's comment about money, for a very-high-EPA car to cost someone as much more money it would have to fall much farther below its rating than a low-EPA vehicle.
Third, it might be that automakers making a car who's selling point is high mileage spend more time trying to maximize the EPA results. This isn't bad or immoral, its just how basically every business that has flexible/manipulatable test standards operates.
Fourth, i haven't even heard of most of those cars, which might make for some interesting reading this afternoon.
First, this is only relevant on a percentage basis. As was noted above, something that is listed at 100mpg and records "actual" mileage of 90 is no worse than something that is listed as 20 and gets 18.
It just makes a better headline to say "hybrids 10mpg lower than claimed"
Second, if someone drives 12,000 miles a year in a listed-as-60mpg hybrid that only returns 50mpg, and gas costs 3 bucks a gallon, then they will pay $120 more in gas for the year. If someone drives 12,000 miles in a 24mpg car that actually only returns 20mpg (same percentage lower), they will pay $300 more. And if someone drives 12,000 miles in a listed-as-12mpg G500 that only gets 10, they will pay $600 more. So going by the article's comment about money, for a very-high-EPA car to cost someone as much more money it would have to fall much farther below its rating than a low-EPA vehicle.
Third, it might be that automakers making a car who's selling point is high mileage spend more time trying to maximize the EPA results. This isn't bad or immoral, its just how basically every business that has flexible/manipulatable test standards operates.
Fourth, i haven't even heard of most of those cars, which might make for some interesting reading this afternoon.
And last, and maybe the most interesting thing i can think of to say this afternoon:
prepare for hybrid bias.
What goes up must come down, and a certain element of society and humanity is simply rebellious. Tell a kid to never, ever, ever, go in the hall closet and then leave the house and see where he/she goes. It happened to hair bands and disco and grunge and teen bands and someday it'll happen to rap and the next big thing, too.
In a more related part of society, it happened to hummers. My first college job was working for hte guy who bought the first hummer i ever laid eyes on, almost 15 years ago now. People would pull off the road to come in and talk about it, compliment it, and everywhere he went it was like being Tom Cruise or something. Sports car magazines even raved on about them despite a 0-60 time that was probably a minute or so. Now there are web sites devoted to flipping them off, and sports car mags routinely mock them.
I boldly predict that, to some extent, a similar societal rebellion against hybrids will (or already is) happen. That article "proving" that a jetta gets better mileage than a prius? There will probably be more, and it will probably come to be "known" that hybrids don't really get that much mileage, and on and on. Nothing is ever the apple of societies eye forever.
So i guess i've kind of been expecting some skewed tests and bias to come the way of the pri.
prepare for hybrid bias.
What goes up must come down, and a certain element of society and humanity is simply rebellious. Tell a kid to never, ever, ever, go in the hall closet and then leave the house and see where he/she goes. It happened to hair bands and disco and grunge and teen bands and someday it'll happen to rap and the next big thing, too.
In a more related part of society, it happened to hummers. My first college job was working for hte guy who bought the first hummer i ever laid eyes on, almost 15 years ago now. People would pull off the road to come in and talk about it, compliment it, and everywhere he went it was like being Tom Cruise or something. Sports car magazines even raved on about them despite a 0-60 time that was probably a minute or so. Now there are web sites devoted to flipping them off, and sports car mags routinely mock them.
I boldly predict that, to some extent, a similar societal rebellion against hybrids will (or already is) happen. That article "proving" that a jetta gets better mileage than a prius? There will probably be more, and it will probably come to be "known" that hybrids don't really get that much mileage, and on and on. Nothing is ever the apple of societies eye forever.
So i guess i've kind of been expecting some skewed tests and bias to come the way of the pri.
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