Miles Per Gallon: Toyota Lowers Their CAFE Standards For 2008! WHY???

[orleans]

ok, so i'm looking for a new car. a "green" car that i can afford; something with good gas mileage.

here is what i found regarding MILES PER GALLON:
2004 TOYOTA CE COROLLA 29/38
2008 TOYOTA CE COROLLA 26/35

2007 TOYOTA YARIS 3 DOOR 34/40
2008 TOYOTA YARIS 3 DOOR 29/35

2007 TOYOTA CAMRY 24/33
2008 TOYOTA CAMERY 21/31

2007 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID 38/40
2008 TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID 33/34

2007 TOYOTA PRIUS 51/60
2008 TOYOTA PRIUS 45/48

can someone explain to me why fuel economy is being LOWERED? what the hell is this? i don't get it. i guess i'd better run out and get a 2007 car before the mpg dump down to 5 or some such shit. then i won't be able to afford the car or the gas!

http://www.toyota.com/corolla/specs.html?s_van=GM_TN_COROLLA_SPECS
http://www.toyota.com/prius/specs.html?s_van=GM_TN_PRIUS_SPECS
http://www.toyota.com/yaris/specs.html?s_van=GM_TN_YARIS_SPECS
http://www.toyota.com/prius/specs.html?s_van=GM_TN_PRIUS_SPECS
http://www.epa.gov/emissweb/midcar-07.htm

[Tektonik]

1. glad my mom bought an '07 Prius rather than get an '08

Corporations are fucktarded sometimes; it'll be up to the consumers to buy Hondas, GMs, etc w/ higher mileages in order for Toyota to understand.

[lithiumbomb]

2. new way of calculating the values

The EPA values are an ok way to compare one car to another, but generally do not reflect real world driving conditions. The way the EPA computes gas mileage was changed for the 2008 model year in the hope that it would better reflect the type of mileage you will actually get. You'll find that just about every car from every auto maker went down with the new EPA cycle. The efficiency of the cars themselves did not change.

Edited to add link.

http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/

[orleans]

8. i haven't heard about that. i thought the world was going crazy.

(i still think the world is going crazy)

[hatrack]

18. Exactly - everybody's ratings will drop as they move away from static treadmill testing . . .

Which has been the measuring method since the process began, IIRC.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I think I know why...

And I don't believe it's what it appears to be initially...

The old tests are flawed.

The mileage was computed on those machines they run the cars on (I forget what they're called) and the tests involve just plain straight driving, without hills, or stopping or other true-life conditions.

As a result, the mileage is much higher than it is in actual driving conditions.

They are now testing the cars in more true to life driving conditions, and of course, this sort of testing causes the mileage to be lower.

Seems to me that this is what I've seen, anyhow.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

10. those machines they run the cars on

dynamometers

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Thank you! nt

[Gregorian]

4. Because you don't give tea to a gasoholic.

And nobody cares about polar ice caps. Or very few of us do. After all, look at the landscape. It's littered with cars and McMansions. I live my days in constant disgust, in this country. I will admit it. It's difficult for me.

That's the answer. Like it or not. I just can't stand the thought of change having to happen because the planet is dying. But that would take thinking. Thinking ahead and imagining what might happen if we continue on with this automotive addiction.

[orleans]

7. but from what i understand, raising the cafe standards would be

so easy

it should have been done years ago.

(you want me to drive an suv? give me one that gets fifty or sixty miles to the gallon!)

[Tesha]

16. No conventional SUV will *EVER* get fifty or sixty MPG.

No conventional SUV will *EVER* get fifty or sixty MPG.
There's simply too much dead weight and air drag in a
truck.*

Hybrid technology would improve things, but not *THAT*
much.

The only good conventional SUV is a *DEAD* conventional SUV.

Tesha



* Please note my use of the qualifier "conventional".
By that, I mean a full-size, truck-derived SUV on a
full frame. I'm not talking about vehicles that are
marketed by the manufacturers as "SUVs" but are really
car-derived.

[Nite Owl]

5. I've been car shopping and

one of the salespeople told me that the mpg's were different for the '08's. It seems that the way this is measured is what has changed, the new numbers may be more real life.

[Maat]

6. I don't know what kind of Prius THEY'RE driving ..

but 45 m.p.g. has been the WORST tank I've ever had - and that was when we hit around 111 degrees out here, and I had the aircon full blast.

I normally get 47-48 m.p.g. driving in-town. I've gotten 50 when we used the tank primarily for freeway driving.

And, I truly can't remember the last time I had to fill up - but I remember it only cost me $20, and I was very pleased to point that out to the Cadillac Escalade driver at the pump next door.


:evilgrin:

[orleans]

9. check out that last link i put up and compare the air pollution scores

for the east & west coast to the rest of this country.
the prius got a 9.5 score for the folks in california
and it gets an 8 for the rest of us.

why can't the rest of us have low emissions? i would like to drive a car that pollutes the air less--and i can't unless i drive out to CA or NY to buy one.

[obxhead]

13. You should be able to

order a CA compliant car from just about any dealer. You lose horsepower in the deal usually though.

[Tesha]

17. All you need to do is legislate. That's how we did it here in New England.

And then litigate when the Federal government comes in and
tells you you have no "states rights" to hurt American auto
manufacturers who can't compete on a level playing field.
But we won that one, didn't we?

Tesha

[Maat]

20. Yes, (sorry I'm late) ...

but I heard that I actually bought a different Prius than is available to the rest of the country (I'll check it out).

[and-justice-for-all]

12. thats fucking pathestic! nt

[PDenton]

14. I always get the MPG they list on the sticker

At least when driving with the air conditioner off. However, alot of people were not getting those numbers, so they changed the rules, unfortunately, on how they calculate the miles per gallon.

The average American drives way to aggressively, that's why they never matched the EPA MPG numbers.

[HereSince1628]

15. They cut back on the lies and you complain?

I believe these numbers reflect changes in the way fuel economy is tested that were discussed on DU over a year ago.

The intention was to obtain a result that more closely represents how the cars perform off the test-rack.

[Clark2008]

19. Dunno. I get better gas mileage out of my Mustang

than it's rated.

I think alot has to do with driving style and manual vs. automatic transmissions (manuals get better mileage if you drive them correctly - downshifting instead of braking, etc.).