Comments on EPA's Proposal to Change Gas Mileage Testing

  
The following are experts in government and the automotive
industry who can comment on the Environmental Protection
Agency's proposal to alter the methodology it has used since
1985 to calculate city and highway gasoline mileage estimates
presented to consumers. The current EPA test reflects the
former national speed limit of 55 miles per hour as opposed to
today's posted freeway limits, which can be as high as 70 miles
per hour:
      
KARL BRAUER, auto expert and editor-in-chief of
Edmunds.com, an online resource for automotive information:
"Modern cars consistently get worse mileage than the EPA
standards, with a very few exceptions. While updating the
testing processes might result in lower EPA numbers, having
those numbers accurately reflect real-world use would benefit
consumers and, ultimately, manufacturers, since people don't
like bad surprises (like worse mileage than they were
expecting). And, conversely, if they make the testing more
accurate and conservative, and some consumers end up with
better real-world figures, how many of them are likely to
complain?" 
      
RON DEFORE, former director of public and consumer
affairs for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
and current communications director for the SUV Owners of
America: "Our position on the proposed changes to the EPA
testing cycle is that it will invariably reduce a vehicle's
CAFE rating, which will then make it even tougher for
manufacturers to meet the standard. They already struggle to
meet the current 20.7 MPG for light trucks and 27.5 MPG for
passenger cars. It's a bad deal for consumers because of the
trade-offs that result in government mandating fuel economy
beyond 'affordable technology.' The National Academy of
Sciences found it is possible to improve the fleet MPG, but in
the light truck fleet, for example, they found that a 5 to 7
MPG improvement could add as much as $2750 to the cost of the
vehicle." 
      
BRIAN MOODY, auto expert and road test editor of
Edmunds.com: "Here's my thinking: Forget the posted speed
limits; what about real world testing? The speed limit might be
55 or 65, or even 70, at some places in L.A., but I never get
over 45 on my 50-minute commute most days. Add to this that
city driving is what most of us do and expected fuel economy
should go up. The new [Toyota] Prius gets better fuel economy
in the city than on the highway. I think most consumers would
like to know the average fuel economy rating for their car for
combined driving city and highway." 
      
DR. DANIEL LASHOF, senior scientist and deputy climate
center director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, is
an expert in clean cars, automobile emissions, energy, energy
security, global warming, climate change, power plants and air
pollution. He has taught environmental science as an adjunct
professor at the University of Maryland and is the author of
numerous articles on climate change science and policy.