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EPA Fraud: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Actually Get Only 23, 25 MPG

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You may have heard the mileage rating for the Nissan Leaf is 99 MPG (miles per gallon equivalent)...

As Auto Blog says of the rating: “It looks good.” Of course it looks good. But there’s a whole lot more to the story. Note that the MPG rating is MPG equivalent. The MSM (journOlists) has been dropping the “equivalent,” making it seem to consumers that the vehicle is far more efficient than it truly is. Which is the intent, of course.

The ratings for the Chevy Volt have just been released as well. From the Detroit Free Press:

Chevy Volt to hit 93 m.p.g. in electric-only mode; battery-only Nissan Leaf to reach 99 m.p.g.

There is not a single instance of the word “equivalent” in the entire article. Nor is there any mention of last year’s claim that the Volt gets 230 miles per gallon (that was a different fraudulent number, based on a separate fraudulent scheme).

The current “miles per gallon equivalent” is a fraud perpetrated to hide the true environmental cost of these cars.

Pajamas Media » EPA Fraud: Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf Actually Get Only 23, 25 MPG
The journOlists at it again. Pushing their party's agenda.

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Given that more and more fully or partially electric cars are due out in the future. I think the best thing we can do is to change the fuel ratings along the lines of

X mpg @ x miles, y mpg@ y miles up to around 500 miles or so.

Having this sort of accuracy will help to dispel hacks on both sides of the aisle going "well according to my study with my assumptions, the results are x" while the other guy uses different assumptions for a different result.
 
Given that more and more fully or partially electric cars are due out in the future. I think the best thing we can do is to change the fuel ratings along the lines of

X mpg @ x miles, y mpg@ y miles up to around 500 miles or so.

Having this sort of accuracy will help to dispel hacks on both sides of the aisle going "well according to my study with my assumptions, the results are x" while the other guy uses different assumptions for a different result.

Some type of honest reporting is necessary. It's a tall task for our journOlists though. They just have a hard time throwing away their skirts and pom-poms.

And people wonder why FOXNEWS, WSJ and talk radio dominates.

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Some type of honest reporting is necessary. It's a tall task for our journOlists though. They just have a hard time throwing away their skirts and pom-poms.

And people wonder why FOXNEWS, WSJ and talk radio dominates.

.

I find the assumption that the reporting was dishonest interesting, especially considering that each study used a different set of assumptions. That was my initial point. Both numbers are right, it all depends on how you do the testing. This is why you need better testing.
 
Let’s say you took your gas-guzzling engine out of your car and hooked it up to a generator in your garage. The engine has a fuel efficiency of 15 MPG. . . You run the engine to generate electricity . . . to charge your Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. Guess what the mileage of that Leaf is? The EPA says you will still get 99 MPG overall. But you actually used four gallons, not one, to get that far, thanks to the charging engine’s 25% efficiency.

Um - when you just idle your engine you BURN through your gas at an alarming rate. That is NOT translated with anyone's formula into an estimate MPG or any type of efficiency.

While they might have a good point they ruin it with this stupid analogy.

In some places - during a crisis - it's ILLEGAL to idle your vehicle for any amount of time unless your driving on the road at stopping at a light or yielding.

So other than adding one stupid argument in the fire with another stupid argument they could have made a legitimate claim with a legitimate study.
 
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This guy bases his math on the ridiculous idea that you'd hook your car's engine up to a generator to recharge your Volt/Leaf.

The Leaf gets its electricity from a power plant, which is significantly more efficient than a gas engine in a car. (33-50% instead of 18-20%, assuming it's a fossil fuel plant) If you're getting that electricity from a wind/solar/nuclear plant, your "carbon footprint" will be essentially zero.

The Volt does use a gas generator to recharge sometimes. On the days where you're doing the short commute, recharging at night plugged in, you're in about the same boat as the Leaf. On the extended trips, the gas generator kicks in, and you're in about the same boat as any other car, with somewhat better low-speed city-driving efficiency because the gas generator doesn't have to run continuously. (~37mpg, comparable to a Civic)

Both are definitively better than a standard car. His statement that they actually only do 23/25mpg is wrong.
 
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The journOlists at it again. Pushing their party's agenda.

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I actually saw the EPA sticker, and it lists both the electric and non electric MPG's on them.

2011-chevy-volt-epa-mpg-sticker.jpg


So what is your point again?
 
4 hours to charge.
So if you charge your battery over night you're likely wearing your battery out - costing you more in the long run, too.

so the suggestion to plug it in when you go to bed is naughty naughty
 
4 hours to charge.
So if you charge your battery over night you're likely wearing your battery out - costing you more in the long run, too.

so the suggestion to plug it in when you go to bed is naughty naughty

I'd like to see your numbers on that.
 
4 hours to charge.
So if you charge your battery over night you're likely wearing your battery out - costing you more in the long run, too.

so the suggestion to plug it in when you go to bed is naughty naughty

The Volt will have charging parameters installed that will prevent excessive battery cycles extending the life of the battery a great deal. I dont know about the Leaf though, give that it is battery only
 
I'd like to see your numbers on that.

It's on the EPA sticker that Redress posted.

I kind of posted it as a joke - but the 4hr charge time is what's listed.
 
The journOlists at it again.

It's a tall task for our journOlists though.
Do you keep hitting shift by accident or is there some kind of weird purpose behind typing like this?


From everything I've read, the Volt is basically a lower-end version of the Prius with a higher price-tag and less usable space inside the car. While I can appreciate it being a step for a company that has been as resistant to change as the Catholic church, I question it's value beyond novelty. $40,000 is one hell of a sticker price, considering I could pick up THREE used versions of my current car and TWO brand new ones for that price. Additionally, a 2010 Prius Blue Book MSRP is $25,000, almost half the cost of the Volt.

So the question for me remains; why do I want to fork out 40 grand for a COMPLETELY new car from a company that has never really made these kinds of cars before when everything it does has been done before and better by another car that has a much longer history, more usability, and a lower price?

For me personally, F both the Volt and the Prius. I'm getting a Honda Civic Hybrid when I go for a new car.
 
Journalists have a very bad track record when it comes to reporting math or science issues. Why would we expect more?

If they aren't fudging the numbers to make a better story they can't even frigging add or subtract. The story a while back by a stringer for CNN about the 200 year old beer found in a shipwreck was a good example. The author said 5 Celcius was freezing. Sorry dude try 0 Celcius and go back to your 6th grade science class where you somehow missed this.
 
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It's on the EPA sticker that Redress posted.

I kind of posted it as a joke - but the 4hr charge time is what's listed.

No, I meant about the battery wear and costing more in the long run. How long does it last and how much will it cost me to replace?
 
The Volt will have charging parameters installed that will prevent excessive battery cycles extending the life of the battery a great deal. I dont know about the Leaf though, give that it is battery only

That's what I thought. I just bought a hundred dollar cordless drill that has this feature, hopefully they could work it somewhere into a 40000 dollar car.
 
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