This past December, the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced
that it would revise its fuel economy ratings to reflect current real-world
conditions. EPA ratings at the time didn't take into account stop-and-go
traffic, cold weather environments or posted speeds of 65MPH or 70MPH currently
found today's highways (EPA testing maxed out at 55MPH).
In February, the EPA rolled out its
revised testing procedures for 2008 model year vehicles and included a tool
on its website that would take old EPA estimates and convert them to the new
testing methodology. Not surprisingly, hybrids were some of the big losers with
the 2008 EPA estimates.
Popular hybrid models including the Toyota Prius, Toyota
Camry Hybrid and Honda Civic Hybrid drop from 60/51 (city/highway), 40/38 and
49/51 to 48/45, 33/34 and 40/45 respectively.
John True, an Ontario, California native, wasn’t amused with
the latest MPG mash-ups. True purchased his Civic Hybrid last year when the
stated EPA mileage ratings were 49/51. True averaged 32MPG in his Civic Hybrid
over the course of 6,000 miles -- even lower than the revised 2008 EPA ratings
of 40/55. Consumer Reports also
tested a Civic Hybrid in 2005 and averaged just 26MPG in the city.
The poor fuel economy led True to file
a class-action lawsuit against American Honda Motor Company. True claims
that Honda has misled buyers with false advertising.
"This case does seek relief for tens of thousands of
consumers like Mr. True, who purchased the HCH expecting to benefit from its
'remarkable' fuel efficiency, and paid thousands of dollars extra for an HCH
that looks identical and performs basically the same as the non-hybrid Honda
Civic," said a June 4 court filing.
Even though the suit goes after Honda, the actual party
responsible for MPG ratings is the EPA. "I can tell you that the 49/51
figures are EPA numbers, not Honda numbers," said Sage Marie, a Honda
spokesman. "Some customers achieve the EPA mpg figures and some don't, as
fuel economy performance is a function of conditions, traffic, driving style,
load, etc."
Manufacturers have no control over what rating the EPA will
give a particular vehicle once it has completed for regular production. It just
so happens that hybrid manufacturers like Honda and Toyota have been able to
use the inflated EPA scores to entice buyers over the years.
Honda already acknowledged that its Accord Hybrid wasn't up
to snuff. Honda promised performance greater than a V6 Accord with fuel economy
comparable to a 4-cylinder Accord. Edmunds,
however, showed that its Accord Hybrid only managed 23.8MPG after two years and
30,000 miles of driving.
Honda is dropping the hybrid model from the 2008 Accord
redesign and instead
will go with a 2.2 liter i-CTDi clean diesel.