Sticker shock - over mileage

Sticker shock - over mileage
What cars get often falls far short of EPA estimates, critics say.

Clearly, when outdoorsman Bill Karr bought his big Ford truck a few years back, he wasn't looking for great gas mileage.

Even so: The mileage sticker on the window said the truck would get 18 miles to the gallon. Yet, Karr can't nudge it past 16. Often he gets just 12.

"I wouldn't get that 18 unless I went downhill in neutral," the Placerville man says with a chuckle. He's been down this road before. "It's buyer beware. That sticker is not going to be correct," he says.

And that's not just his opinion.

Several consumer and environmental groups have challenged the accuracy of the federal Environmental Protection Agency's gas mileage stickers, calling them "funny numbers" so off-base that car buyers spend billions more on gas annually than the stickers would suggest.

But disappointment among hybrid owners and other vehicle owners is far from universal. Many Sacramento motorists say they are pleased with their mileage and feel they are getting what was advertised.

New hybrid owner Larry Greene of Sacramento reports he gets 45.8 miles per gallon in his Toyota Prius, about what he expected.

He especially likes the real-time gas mileage readout on his hybrid's dashboard, which tells as he speeds up or slows down just what effect that has on his engine's fuel efficiency. "If (a dashboard gas monitor) were required in all vehicles," he said, "it would cause people to get better gas mileage."

Ramona Swenson of Davis gets 44 miles to the gallon in her Prius, mainly highway driving. She said she loves the car but felt a little disappointed with the mileage until she dug the EPA sticker out of her glove compartment last week to take a closer look.

It listed the car's probable range as 38 to 52 miles per gallon on the highway, with an average of 45 mpg, and 44 to 60 miles in the city, with an average of 52.

It also warns: "Actual mileage will vary," she noted.

Read entire article by clicking this link.

Jeff