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EPA Inflates Hybrid MPG

Wired News: Hybrid Mileage Comes Up Short

bq. after a few months of commuting to his job in Cincinnati, Blackshaw’s hybrid euphoria vanished as his car’s odometer revealed that the gas mileage he was hoping for was only a pipe dream. Honda’s Civic Hybrid is rated by the EPA to get 47 miles per gallon in the city, and 48 mpg on the highway. After nearly 1,000 miles of mostly city driving, Blackshaw was getting 31.4 mpg.

The article then goes on to describe that the EPA doesn’t test fuel consumed, but estimates it based upon emissions produced. Thus, lower emission vehicles like hybrids get estimates that are smaller than their actual consumption. Interestingly enough, some car brands seem to do closer to this estimate than others.

This article just adds a few more logs to my thoughts that maybe the new breed of Diesel cars (like the ones taking Europe by storm) are the best way to really reduce gas usage. Of course Diesel is relatively mature and refined, whereas hybrids should have only up to go from here.