The government has been keeping a secret about automobiles under wraps for the past 30 years. What's the secret? Your car is not getting the gas mileage promised on the showroom sticker. The actual mpg could be as much as 50% lower. Say what?
Consumer Reports' David Champion reported, "People are going into showrooms, they're looking at that sticker that says miles per gallon and they're saying, 'Oh it get goods miles per gallon, but in reality, they're being cheated."
Automotive manufacturers put cars through a simulated city course. Next the highway -- a real highway. For the third test, they take the car out on a 150-mile day trip throughout Connecticut. All the while, a special miles per gallon meter is ticking away. Their results? Many numbers you see on those stickers are off way off -- one as much as 50 percent.
Consumer Reports did their own real-life tests and came up with very different mpg results. For example: Honda claims its hybrid Civic sedan gets 48 mpg in the city. Consumer Reports found it only gets 26 mpg -- a 46 percent difference. Read the news report for test results on other cars.
The EPA has said a change is coming in time for the 2008 models, but admits there is no perfect test.
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