"Steve Mackie" <smackie@eastlink.ca> wrote in message
news:OazVg.4022$H7.19@edtnps82...
> Is anyone keeping an accurate record of fuel consumption in their 2006
> model
> Civic?
>
> My fuel consumption is way off the mark and I'm wondering if there is
> something wrong or if the fuel mileage of the '06 Civic really is that
> much
> worse than advertised.
>
> Perhaps it's the damn city traffic.
>
> Anyway, just want to compare notes.
>
> Steve

EPA mileage estimates are determined through dynamometer testing in a
laboratory, and among the factors reducing actual gas mileage that are not
considered in these tests are rolling resistance of unpowered wheels/tires,
aerodynamic drag, non-productive operation (engine running with no forward
progress, as occurs at traffic controls or in stop-and-go traffic), ambient
temperature (affecting intake air density), and altitude (also affecting
intake air density). City and Highway mileage ratings determined in the
laboratory are adjusted downward by 10 and 22 percent, respectively, in an
attempt to compensate for these and other factors, but Consumer Reports have
consistently determined, using their own mileage testing protocol, that the
EPA mileage estimates posted by automakers for new vehicles are optimistic,
sometimes by as much as 30-40 percent.