Gas Mileage Claims Of Hybrid Cars Overstated

Hybrid car owners are reporting that their actual on-street mileage is nowhere near manufacturer's fuel efficiency claims. Manufacturer's blame the discrepancy on the Environment Protection Agency's 19-year-old testing procedures that dramatically overstates hybrid performance: "The 19-year-old EPA tests for city and highway mileage actually gauge vehicle emissions and use that data to derive an estimated fuel-efficiency rating. The EPA tests pre-production vehicles in a lab to simulate vehicle starts and stops on crowded city streets and open road conditions."