My friend and I keep bringing up the topic of the EPA's new automobile efficiency ratings which were revised for 2008. Neither of us knew what the new standards are or why they were put in place, so I said I would do a little research and sum it up.
Why: People aren't achieving the kinds of fuel efficiencies the cars were advertised to be capable of.
What changed: They added some tougher tests. One of the new test includes operation of the vehicle in a cold climate. One includes operational efficiency with the air conditioner on, and the third includes faster acceleration, higher speeds, and harder braking.
The results are supposed to be efficiency ratings more in line with reality.
My one complaint about the new ratings is it seems like merging the results together might not be the best for the consumer. If I live in Alaska I really don't care if the air conditioner kills my efficiency. If I live in Hawaii I shouldn't be too concerned about how inefficient the engine is in cold weather climates, right? Maybe combining these efficiency tests in to a highway and city rating is a bit of an over simplification.
Here are my sources:
http://www.earthcars.com/articles/article.htm?articleId=6
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
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1 comment:
Thanks Rob for the article, now it makes sense!. I agree with you that these tests don't make sense for people that live in California.
Maybe we should start a non-profit that does testing on cars based on geographical regions. So we can do research on the typical way somebody drives their car in San Jose or find out how another person drives their Hummer in Texas.
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