As many of you already know, the EPA has revised its testing procedures for the 2008 models. This has created a fear that even the 5.7 Hemi would be subject to the dreaded gas guzzler tax (i.e., $2,000) based on its advertised EPA 15 city, 23 highway mileage.
Rest assured that this will not happen. Apparently, the car manufacturers are able to use higher mileage figures based on the following:
"EPA studies indicate that vehicles driven by typical drivers under typical road conditions get approximately 90 percent of the laboratory test-based city miles per gallon (mpg) value and approximately 78 percent of laboratory highway mpg value. This difference is referred to as “in-use shortfall.” To account for the in-use shortfall, the city and highway mpg values listed in Fuel Economy Guide and shown on fuel economy labels are multiplied by 0.90 for the city test and 0.78 for the highway test. However, the combined city and highway fuel economy that is used to determine tax liability is not adjusted to account for in-use shortfall, so it is higher than the mpg values provided in the Fuel Economy Guide (
www.fueleconomy.gov) and posted on the window stickers of new vehicles."