Your MPG
John Davis

One of the most valuable tools for comparison car shopping is the government's fuel economy ratings. Available online for cars dating back to 1984 and on the Monroney label or window sticker of new vehicles, these figures represent a standardized baseline for choosing the most economical vehicle that fits your needs. Well, that's fine on paper, but in the real world, the phrase "your mileage may vary" has never been more true, and that's where a new online tool called "Your MPG" can help.

Developed jointly by the EPA and DOE and launched in 1999, fueleconomy.gov is the online home for official new car fuel economy mileage ratings, environmental impact data and loads of information such as gas-saving tips, station locators, clean, renewable fuels and advanced automotive technologies.

Last year alone, the fuel economy site hosted 40 million visitors, and tallied nearly 600 million page views. But information here is not a one-way street, as fueleconomy.gov has tapped its user base to create a section called "Your MPG" where drivers can log in and share their own fuel economy results, and anyone can browse them to find real-world economy figures for their own type of car or one they're shopping for.

The "Your MPG" database has 80,000 registered users, of which 30,000 people are actively tracking their vehicles. That's real-life MPG information being shared on 9,000 different makes, models and model years of vehicles! Except for notations on the user's state of residence and the type of driving they do, postings are anonymous, but we had no shortage of volunteers willing to tell us how they contribute, and what they take away from the site.

GEORGE W. PETERSON: "I'm a fact-finder, and I love to keep track of facts. I do keep track of my mileage and every time I fill up, I do enter it. One thing that I hope to get out of it is my own knowledge that I am getting the best mileage and the best use of my car."

ALAN SEASE : "I enter information into the website every time I fill up the vehicle. So with the two vehicles that I track on there, I put in stuff approximately once a week, maybe twice a week, depending on how much driving I'm actually doing."

90% of "Your MPG" contributors enter data for one or two cars, but one user tracks an amazing 37 different vehicles! The most popular "Your MPG" vehicle is the 2005 Toyota Prius, with 182 drivers averaging 47.7 miles per gallon. The largest amount of data for one car is 776 fuel purchases logged for a 1990 Mazda Miata over an 18 year period, while the highest claimed MPG is 92.3 for a 2000 Honda Insight in Arizona… Must be that dry heat!

Since the site operates on the honor system, results cannot be verified, although math errors and certain suspect practices are investigated to weed out the ego-driven exaggerators and others who may try to skew the averages. Overall, and somewhat surprising, most conventional vehicles exceed the government highway rating, while hybrids tend to hit the combined City/Highway numbers spot on.

One common thread among contributors is that using the "Your MPG" site has made them more aware of how driving style, traffic conditions, vehicle maintenance and even the weather can affect their fuel economy.

ALAN SEASE: "Since I've started using 'Your MPG,' I have found that I'm a little more conscious of how I drive-a little less stop and go if possible. I try to extend it out, combine trips, and drive a little bit more mellow."

GEORGE W. PETERSON: "I don't jackrabbit start, I don't drive more than about 10% over the speed limit and I do keep it sensible. I watch what I'm doing and I watch other people to try to alleviate getting into situations where it might increase my gas mileage."

Arming car shoppers with real-world fuel economy data while enabling drivers to proactively become advocates of efficient motoring is the formula that drives "Your MPG", and the results are a winning combination by any measure.