Here's an interesting question with an even more interesting answer.
The EPA, according to GM's CEO Fritz Henderson, is giving the new Chevy Volt a 230 mpg city rating.
The same EPA has given the all Electric BMW Mini E a 102 mpg city rating.
Now that's very strange and really odd considering that the Mini E is smaller and substantially lighter and thus potentially more energy efficient.
Part of the reason for the massive discrepancy in mpg could be the way the EPA is calculating the number since the Mini E is officially rated in kilowatt hours per 100 miles.
But take a look at the Mini E sticker below and you'll notice an mpg equivalent number which begs the question as to why the Chevy Volt is rated at twice the mpg of an all electric Mini E.
One reason might be the way the number is calculated.
You can read a great story about how this is done HERE.
Another reason reason might be the fact that the Chevy Volt can also run on gasoline.
Or…another reason might be that Mini is owned by BMW and the Volt is made by Chevy which is owned by GM which is now owned by the U.S. Government.
Could it be that in all of the recent confusion about gas/electricity mileage ratings the Federal government (through the EPA and some backroom discussions) has stuck a huge and unfair finger on the mileage rating scale in favor of its own car builder?
