Quote:
Originally Posted by Piwoslaw
Should CAFE testing be changed to be more realistic?
As for the new EPA numbers it's good that testing is closer to real life so people know what they are paying for. But a side effect of lowering the EPA is that for many people the target FE is lower. Here's what I mean:
Say a car's old EPA is 35 and new is 31 (as in Pale's example). Someone who bought it pre-2008 may decide to keep an eye on FE. If it's something like 33, then he'll think: "Well, I'm below average and I've gotta do something about it. How about I go a little slower on the freeway, oh and maybe check out that EcoModder.com site everyone at work is talking about?" ( EcoModder.com is just an example, I am in no way related to it, nor am I not trying to crypto-advertise it  )
On the other hand, if he buys the car with a big 31avgMPG sticker on the window, then when he calculates his 33 tank average he'll get all happy and keep driving like he used, b/c he's above average. |
That's a good point I hadn't thought of. Another one is it de-emphasizes the mpg advantage of smaller cars.
For example, say your an average American that wants a new car with auto transmission. If you're on a Chevy car lot trying to decide between an Aveo (25/34 mpg),
a Cobalt (24/33 mpg) and a low-end Malibu (w/o 6-spd auto, 22/30 mpg), mentally you say, "okay, they're all low-mid-20's city and low-30's highway", so it probably doesn't affect your buying decision that much.
However under the old system, you'd see Aveo (28/39), Cobalt (27/37), and low-end Malibu (25/34). Now the impression is, "okay the Aveo and Cobalt get high-20s city, high 30's highway, the Malibu gets mid-20s low-mid-30s highway" (There's also more of a separation between the Aveo and Cobalt.) That could steer you more toward the smaller cars. You weigh the higher gas mileage with the lower price of the smaller cars and say, "I'll take the Cobalt".
(BTW, I'm using the 12% that the EPA said was the average decrease in mpg...meaning I multiplied the new numbers by 1/(1.0 - 0.12) = 1.136 and then I rounded to "convert" back to the old system)