A Rare Positive Development at EPA

Now, I'm not going to get my hopes up, but the EPA says it will revise its formula for establishing fuel-economy standards sometime next year. Why is this important? Because the current formula that produces those city/highway mileage numbers you see on the big sticker in new cars is 20 years old, and it is widely understood to overstate, sometimes dramatically, the real miles-per-gallon prediction for new cars. (Ever wonder why you don't get the mileage promised? This is why.)

According to a short and must-read Consumer Reports article, "The EPA ratings are the result of 1970s-era test assumptions that don't account for how people drive today." In its October 2005 report, Consumer Reports noted that, "Shortfalls in mpg occurred in 90 percent of vehicles we tested and included most makes and models."

The comedy here is that even as automakers and their Congressional flunkies successfully (and repeatedly) kill all proposals for a slight increase in fleet mpg (average mpg is today the lowest its been in 17 years), they've known that the test used by the EPA overstates, sometimes dramatically, the current mpg of their fleets. Kudos to Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) for pushing the EPA to update its test.

Here's the jist of the new approach, as described in today's New York Times article:

Under its new program, the E.P.A. plans to also consider factors used by the agency in measuring vehicle emissions. They include how a car performs at high speeds, defined as 80 miles per hour or more; during aggressive driving, in which a vehicle accelerates more than 3.3 miles per hour in a second; while air-conditioning is in use; and during cold temperatures. All these factors can affect fuel economy.

The goal of the new standards is to make the mileage ratings reflect real-world performance, rather than how vehicles perform under E.P.A. tests.

The EPA is promising hearings next year, and no doubt the auto-companies' testimony -- sure to promote keeping the existing standards that artificially raise fuel-economy numbers -- will represent high comedy.