EPA Ratings vs Cold Weather: What to Believe?
 

Yesterday, ABG had an interesting post about surprisingly poor fuel economy numbers with the Ford Fusion hybrid that got me thinking about the relationship between the EPA estimates and the cold. It’s no big secret that fuel economy suffers when it gets cold outside, but it’s interesting to note that not all cars are affected [...] Related posts:

1. 2009 F150 Gets the Cold Shoulder from Ford
2. Who Needs Air Conditioning When You’ve Got Ice-Cold Water Running Through Your Shirt?
3. Ford Fusion Hybrid is Surprisingly Fuel Efficient

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I call it on the driver's heads...

Reason: We all know that cold affects gas mileage. We all know that driving style is probably the single largest contributor to "make it or break it." Before we knew any of this, we were peobably just like everyone else, in that we didn't really know what to do when we didn't get the awesome efficiency that we all strive for.

Point is, if the EPA had just said "You won't get as much gas mileage in the winter as in the summer, and if you floor it, you won't get as much gas mileage either..." We'd never have tried to learn anything more about it. Many of us would have taken their words for it, and never looked any further into it.

The way I see it, when the EPA says something, everyone just "Accepts" it.. it becomes the general consensus for those otherwise not properly educated, whereas when we have to figure something out by research, we often look further into it than just the surface data, resulting in a greater good.

I second the call that it's the driver's problem.

Wayne at Cleanmpg was testing one, and got 65 mpg at 37 degrees. Mercury Milan Hybrid Review Blog -- March 9 - 11 - CleanMPG Forums