It seems as though the days of exclusively driving gasoline powered vehicles may indeed be limited and eventually buyers will walk onto dealership lot in search of a new EV or plug-in hybrid.  Now there is growing concern about what will be on the window sticker of these advanced vehicles in place of the typical MPG rating.

According to report from Reuters, federal fuel economy standards and household budgets have been figured around a simple measurement of miles per gallon.  Buyers can do some simple math and determine if a vehicle's gasoline consumption fits into their budgets.  But the new advanced technology vehicles have no comparable figure for buyers to work with.

Automakers and the EPA are considering whether or not battery powered vehicles should show such numbers.  The recent claims of 230 mpg by GM pertaining to the Chevy Volt has raised a lot of questions.  Many believe the numbers come from fuzzy math that would not apply to real world driving.

So what should a battery powered car show on the window sticker?  According to Felix Kramer, head of California based CalCars.org, a leading advocacy group for plug-in vehicles, "The sticker problem has not been solved yet."

The difficulty in choosing what will be displayed on the window sticker lies in the numerous types of new technology available.  Should EREVs display different info than a plug-in Prius, what about a full EV such as the LEAF.

The Volt, untested in real world driving conditions, may not be capable of meeting the claims that GM made, on the other hand, the vehicle could exceed the claims of GM.  Until full testing and real world driving experiences are carried out, nobody can guarantee results such as 230 mpg to be accurate.

According to the EPA, it could not verify the GM claims has it has not tested the vehicles yet.  Nissan came out with their mpgs numbers for the fully electric LEAF listing it at 367 mpgs.  The LEAF doesn't use a drop of gas, how can it be rated for miles per gallon of gas?

No final determination have been made regarding what a window sticker of a plug-in or an EV will display, but buyers must be cautious about what they believe.  The claims may or may not be true.  For now, don't believe everything you see.

Source:  Reuters