Pain At The Pump: Government Gas Secrets

http://www.wesh.com/painatthepump/9141621/detail.html

 

This is no secret. EPA's testing requirements have been the same for
years. The news story is little more than media grandstanding.

From article--
"People are going into showrooms, they're looking at that sticker that
says miles per gallon and they're saying, 'Oh it get goods miles per
gallon,'" said Consumer Reports' David Champion. "In reality, they're
being cheated."
---------------------

No, these people are foolish. No one is being cheated. The stickers
state quite clearly that these numbers are for comparison purposes only.

Oh, and the story conveniently neglected to mention that there was some
additional calculation involved. These cars are run on a special fuel and
then there's a calculation which is intended to put things into a real
world perspective.

Perhaps we need a news story about how many important elements, on
average, in a news story are left out or are misleading or inaccurate.

 

Oddly enough, I've owned half a dozen or so cars that I purchased new
and every one has come very close to the EPA mileage numbers when driven
close to the EPA cycle. That is, in the city I get close to the city
figure and on a trip I get close to the highway figure. Most of my
commuting is 70% highway and I usually get a mileage figure about 70%
between the city and highway number. For example, my Sonata has a 24/34
rating and I'm now running about 31 MPG. If I stay above 30, I'd say
that is pretty reasonable for my driving cycle against a 24/34 rating
range. I haven't taken the Sonata on a trip yet, but I think that 34 is
within reach given the 31 I'm now getting on my commute. I was getting
27-28 at first, but I think this was a combination of new engine, cold
temperatures and winter fuel formulation. I'm waiting to see what
happens next year when we switch back to winter fuel.


Matt

 

Or the discalimer I mentally add every time:

"Any similarity between this news story and reality is purely
coincidental"

;-)

One of the realities is that most editors and reporters are liberal
arts majors with the corresponding lack of technical knowledge. I'm
sure they can argue endlessly about the construction of a sentence
without a clue about how the thing they are writing about works.