Granted, carbon dioxide emissions and fuel economy measurements are hardly real-world, but it seems that some automakers have a little more tolerance built into their calculations than others.
Carbon dioxide emissions standards have become more strict, essentially forcing automakers to produce vehicles with better fuel economy. Over time these standards will continue to strengthen, which is spurring automakers to develop cleaner technology, or at least fudge the numbers a little, or a lot.
We know that the EPA doesn’t have complete control over its own fuel economy reporting standards here in the US, and makes use of vehicle calculations and data provided by the automakers themselves. Recently, Ford and Hyundai have been caught using their fuzzy math to misrepresent their fuel economy ratings, essentially saying their vehicles produce less carbon dioxide than they really do.
Of course, lab results aren’t highly representative of real world carbon dioxide emissions, but in the EU as well, it appears automakers’ numbers are a little further off than lab/real-world discrepancy. The International Council on Clean Transportation [ICCT] has recently completed some data on automakers’ carbon dioxide emissions claims versus the reality.
According to the ICCT, even hybrid electric vehicle leader Toyota is about 15% off reality, but BMW and Audi take the prize for worst misrepresentation of carbon dioxide emissions. At 30% and 28% respectively, BMW and Audi are far dirtier than they claim. ICCT data shows that the average amount of fuzziness in these calculations is 25%, which is better than double what it used to be a decade ago.
What’s the easiest way to erase carbon dioxide emissions? Apparently a good ole Pink Pearl does the trick!
