The MPGe Scam

You’ve no doubt heard the joke. About how your actual mileage will  . . . vary.

Everyone knows this means: Expect to get less than whatever the EPA advertises on the new car window sticker. But in the EPA’s defense, at least the “city” and “highway” numbers we’re used to seeing are comprehensible. And – within a roughly 10 percent margin of error – they correspond with on-the-road reality.

Your car might not get the advertised 35 MPG on the highway. But it won’t be 15 MPG. Not unless you pun...