This is Old news......but to understand it, you have to know the "Details", and finally the USA today reported the "details"....but only because it was connected to a Global warming alternative Fuel issue. 

For the last 10 years anyone that bought a new car knew the numbers were slightly bogus, over estimated, but let the "details" spring forth.

This information should put the new California mileage standards that are on the legislative drawing boards, back in the Green Committee.....the legislation they are contemplating will just eliminate ANY car sales in California if passed.

No new Cars for Hollywood..........they can't meet mileage standards.  

At Times like these, it becomes more than just a Moral Obligation to express ones opinion, it becomes a Pleasure.

As soon as these cars get a little used it's more economical to throw them away. Example: say the transmission blows. New transmission $4,000.00, additional labor just to install it  is $3,000.  What about battery replacement?   Additional taxes for hazardous disposal.   Just a feel good waste of money.

Tests the government has used for mileage estimates were created in the 1970s and haven't reflected today's driving environment. They have assumed, for instance, that people don't use air conditioning and don't drive more than about 60 mph

The conservative driver ( 55 mph and no air conditioning) will still get the higher mpg.

I seem to recall reading that the old EPA test was based on a 0-60 time of 16 seconds. That's not reality where most of us drive, so this was a welcome change.

I agree that the fawning over hybrids by the media is agenda-driven, but I think that those of us on the 'other side' should avoid a knee-jerk reaction to these cars. If you take a look around, there is some spectacular technology out there right now. When people think of a hybrid, they seem to always think of the Prius, which is designed for fuel economy to the extreme, but there is so much more out there. Several of the manufacturers (Honda, Lexus) have taken the standard, high-output V6, added variable cylinder management, added a battery and an electric motor, and the result is a car with noticably better gas mileage that's quicker off the line. That's cool, in my opinion.

Electric motors provide instantaneous torque. Imagine, in the future, a car with a battery no bigger than the one in an ordinary car, with a powerful electric motor, and a gasoline engine serving no other purpose than to operate the AC and heat, and provide the exhaust note. Add gas as frequently as you change the oil. That's the direction we're headed in, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

By the way, lest you think I'm some Insight-driving enviroNazi, I am a conservative Republican who drives a 300-hp Subaru STi and a Mazda RX-8 (with the RX-8 being by far, the worst fuel economy per liter of any production vehicle made) and I smoke the tires with a smile. I just love the new technology.

Giving it a chance doesn't make you a liberal! You can still heap scorn upon the environmental regulations that don't make any sense, while accepting that no matter how much oil is left on Earth, we can be pretty sure that we're burning it up faster than the planet makes it. And unfortunately, some of the intermediaries who get it to us are hell-bent on our destruction. So keep an eye on the technology.

Sometime soon, the fastest, most loaded vehicles will also get the best gas mileage, and once the market forces get the prices down, go get one, and feel free to flip 'ol Hugo the bird whenever you pass a Chevron station.