EPA, NHTSA At Odds on Fuel Economy

Ah, here’s a story about Washington that just makes us cringe as we sip our morning coffee. It seems that this year the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Safety Administration have turned in reports that are at odds over national average fuel economy of all cars and trucks currently being sold. The EPA actually collects all the data for both reports but the NHTSA calculates sales projections with its report. In the past the two have varied between 0.1 to 0.8 mpg with 2006’s numbers being just 0.1 mpg off.

This year however — while debate rages on how to regulate fuel economy for the next 15 years — the two reports are off a staggering 1.2 mpg: the NHTSA’s 26.5 mpg versus the EPA’s 25.3 mpg. Neither group is talking, though, and there’s no explanation for this year’s great divide.

Conspiracy theorists can begin their rants about the administration’s support for the auto industry. The NHTSA’s numbers support a 4% gain in truck fuel efficiency environmentalists are demanding while the EPA’s report backs up the auto industry’s claim of 2% improvement. We’ll just continue to shake our heads and wait for an explanation.

Fuel Economy Confounds (Detroit Free Press)