DissidentHere's Journal: On gas mileage...

I had to write something in response to this article, but chose to mod and put it here where no one will notice.

EPA designations are empirical, people. They put a car on a dyno and simulate steady state conditions. You will never see _exactly_ what is on the sticker. And, by the way, its a government agency, they're going to fuck something up. Well, its the manufacturer following EPA guidelines. (I am a bit surprised that some EPA honcho didn't get some rule that all automakers send him a car so he could test it 'properly')

YMMV - Yup, it all depends on how you drive and how you maintain your vehicle. You could probably push a Hummer all the way down to 3 gallons per mile if driven correctly. But seriously, I notice a difference based in driving habits. For example, the 4 - 6 weeks after I get a ticket I take it easy on the acceleration, speed within 10 - 15 MPH of the limit, and get pretty good milage (I'm in that state now). In a few weeks I'll be hitting 95 at the end of the on ramp.

Simply put, if you accelerate hard and drive fast, your mileage will be lower, if you drive moderately and maintain your vehicle, you should be near or better than the sticker.

So far I've avoided the rant, but fuck SUVs, over size trucks and Hummers (super SUVs?). If you want to get a truck to haul stuff, then do so. If you want to one up the neighbors, get a Porshe, at least that has some class.