[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1103 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1103

          To require accurate fuel economy testing procedures.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 2005

  Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. Holt, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. 
McDermott, Mr. Olver, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Foley, Mr. Inslee, Mr. Engel, 
   Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Markey, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Davis of 
  California, Mr. Shays, Mr. Castle, Mr. English of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Grijalva, Mr. Case, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Lantos, Ms. 
  DeGette, Mr. Moran of Virginia, and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To require accurate fuel economy testing procedures.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fuel Efficiency Truth in Advertising 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Current method inaccurate.--The Environmental 
        Protection Agency's current method for estimating fuel economy 
        is flawed and does not take into account the changes in driving 
        conditions that have taken place over the past 30 years. As a 
        result, the Environmental Protection Agency's tests 
        overestimate fuel economy by up to 30 percent, and 
        Environmental Protection Agency window sticker information 
        overestimates fuel economy by 10 percent or more.
            (2) Underestimating highway speeds.--The Environmental 
        Protection Agency highway cycle assumes an average speed of 48 
        mph and a top speed of 60 mph. Many State highway speed limits 
        are set at or above 65 mph. Government data indicates that fuel 
        economy can drop by 17 percent for modern vehicles that drive 
        at 70 mph instead of 55 mph. Even at 65 mph, fuel economy can 
        drop by nearly 10 percent compared to driving at 55 mph.
            (3) Assuming very gentle acceleration and braking.--The 
        maximum acceleration rate in the Environmental Protection 
        Agency test cycles is 3.3 mph per second, about the same as 
        going from zero to 60 mph in about 18 seconds. The average new 
        car or truck can accelerate nearly twice as fast. While most 
        consumers don't use all the power in their vehicle, the 
        Environmental Protection Agency data shows that people 
        accelerate as fast as 15 mph per second, nearly 5 times the 
        Environmental Protection Agency tests. In 1996 the 
        Environmental Protection Agency established a new driving cycle 
        (US06) that includes tougher acceleration and deceleration and 
        higher speeds, but this cycle is not used for fuel economy 
        purposes.
            (4) Neglecting the wide range of outdoor temperatures 
        experienced in the real world.--The Environmental Protection 
        Agency tests are performed between 68 and 86 degrees 
        Fahrenheit. Most States frequently experience weather 
        conditions outside this range and fuel economy can be 
        significantly affected as a result.
            (5) Failing to reflect the use of air conditioning.--Fuel 
        economy tests are run with the air conditioning off, while over 
        99 percent of all cars and trucks come with air conditioning. 
        In 1996 the Environmental Protection Agency established a new 
        driving cycle (SC03) that included air conditioning, but this 
        cycle is not used for fuel economy purposes.
            (6) Overestimating trip lengths.--The Environmental 
        Protection Act city test cycle is 7.5 miles long. The 
        Environmental Protection Agency's own data indicate that 
        average trip lengths may be only 5 miles long, with typical 
        trips as short as 2.5 miles. Shorter trips often mean lower 
        fuel economy because the engine does not have time to warm up 
        and operate efficiently.
            (7) Fuel consumption.--Fuels used for engine certification 
        tests are artificial in that they are highly refined, and not 
        equivalent to the fuel consumed during the life of a vehicle. 
        Use of reference diesel and gasoline fuels while desirable from 
        the standpoint of engineering design, optimization, and test 
        repeatability, understate emissions and overstate fuel economy 
        experienced by a vehicle in actual use. Current technology that 
        improves commercially available fuel at or near the point of 
        use is excluded from consideration by engine manufacturers as 
        original or optional equipment due to lack of need to represent 
        engine performance on anything other than reference fuels. 
        While allowing use of reference fuels for certification 
        purposes, the Environmental Protection Agency should consider 
        requiring manufacturers to post fuel economy realized on 
        commercially available fuel.

SEC. 3. UPDATE TESTING PROCEDURES.

    The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall 
update or revise test procedures, Subpart B-Fuel Economy Regulations 
for 1978 and Later Model Year Automobiles-Test Procedures 600.209-85 & 
600.209-95, of the Code of Federal Regulations, CFR Part 600 (1995) 
Fuel Economy Regulations for 1977 and Later Model Year Automobiles to 
take into consideration higher speed limits, faster acceleration rates, 
variations in temperature, use of air conditioning, shorter city test 
cycle lengths and the use of other fuel depleting features.
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