MPG - A New Kind of Sticker Shock

SEE ALSO: All Adjusted MPG - New Car Buyers Guide

Washington DC September 10, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that for nearly three decades, the auto industry has benefited from government-sanctioned hype in the form of the mileage estimates displayed on the window stickers of new cars.

The Wall Street Journal reports that now the window sticker information about mileage is getting an overdue makeover, in both style and substance.

The new label will prominently display more detailed information about a vehicle's likely annual fuel costs, and how a given model's estimated fuel economy compares with other vehicles in its class.

The more important change is in the method used to produce the city and highway mileage figures for 2008 models. Instead of relying solely on the old test protocols, the EPA is taking into account high-speed driving and hard acceleration, the effects of cold, which tends to degrade mileage, and the use of air conditioning.

The EPA says city mileage estimates will drop by about 12 percent on average, while highway estimates will decline by eight percent on average.