EPA To Investigate Accuracy of Gas Mileage Reporting

WASHINGTON March 27, 2004; The AP reported that within a couple of years, Americans could find the fuel-mileage estimates the government puts on new car and truck windows a little more sobering.

Current numbers may be higher than the mileage motorists actually experience, says an environmental group. That has the Environmental Protection Agency looking at whether it should change the way it calculates fuel efficiency for each make and model.

The agency has just begun collecting information in response to a petition for change from San Francisco-based environmentalist organization Bluewater Network. Any changes on the window stickers probably are a couple of years away.

The Bluewater Network issued a report two years ago that said passenger vehicles were getting on average less than 20 miles per gallon on the road, or four to five miles per gallon less than government estimates.

The EPA bases its estimates on emission test data from the auto industry. To adjust for actual on-the-road performance, the EPA lowers its estimate by 10 percent for city mileage and 22 percent for highway mileage.