EPA plans review of Ford's gas mileage claims

According to a Los Angeles Times report, theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) is apparently planning a review of Ford's gas mileage claims for two of its new hybrid vehicles - C-Max and Fusion - after Consumer Reports' (CR) recent findings that the hybrids fall short on the claimed fuel economy.

The EPA's reported review plans for the two Ford hybrids come over a month after its earlier probe which revealed that Hyundai Motor and its associate, Kia Motors, had inflated their vehicles' fuel economy by at least one mile per gallon.

The agency's interest in Ford's MPG claims for the two hybrids has been aroused after a report by a leading magazine like CR, which has revealed that the tests run on C-Max and Fusion have shown that Ford's miles per gallon (MPG) claims for the vehicles are inflated.

Going by the CR findings, Ford's fuel economy claims for C-Max and Fusion fell short by nearly 20 percent --- while the Ford estimates show that the hybrids are capable of achieving
47 miles per gallon; tests have revealed that Fusion actually delivers 39 miles per gallonin city and highway driving; and C-Max delivers a combined average of 37 miles per gallon.

Despite the fact that CR said in its report that the fuel economy that the C-Max and Fusion hybrids deliver is "excellent," the magazine still pointed out that its tests clearly show that "buyers shouldn't expect the stellar 47 mpg that Ford is promoting."