How Green Was my Volvo

After nearly a month, I'm finally remembering to post this for you. It came to me from the daily Waste News e-mail.

EPA, Energy Department release ´09 Fuel Economy Guide
Oct. 15 -- The U.S. EPA and the Energy Department have unveiled the 2009 Fuel Economy Guide and are making it available online.

Consumers can save thousands of dollars over a vehicle´s lifetime without sacrificing performance, according to the EPA. Included in the 2009 fuel economy leaders are diesel vehicles certified to the EPA´s tightest emissions standards, according to the agency.

The online guide includes an interactive feature that allows consumers to insert their local gasoline prices and typical driving habits to receive a personalized fuel cost estimate. Fuel economy estimates now include the revised test methods implemented in model year 2008. These revised tests better reflect "real world" driving conditions and habits, including higher highway speed limits and use of accessories such as air conditioning, according to the EPA.

The guide and additional information is available online at www.fueleconomy.gov and www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/overall-high.htm.

To test the accuracy of the new fuel efficiency ratings, I looked up my current car (now ten years old). The miles-per-gallon results the web page showed are exactly the same as my own calculations (based on the number of miles driven between refuelings). I don't know about your car, but it seems accurate to me.