EPA fails as mileage watchdog

Opinion: February 25, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

Kansas City Star: Indeed, the mileage claims made by automakers play a key role in a multibillion-dollar industry that deserves close government scrutiny. But what happens when the regulators fall down on the job?

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has failed consumers with its abysmal handling of a controversy involving the fuel efficiency of some recent Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

As detailed in The Kansas City Star on Sunday, the EPA won’t tell the public specifics about the problems involving auto mileage estimates from the two automakers.

The EPA also won’t comment when asked about how well the annual fuel economy standard tests are overseen by the government these days.

Finally, it’s extremely disappointing that environmental groups had to pressure the EPA for many months to even do its job and check into complaints about lower-than-expected mileage for certain vehicles.

So were the recent errors honest mistakes? No one knows because the carmakers have not disclosed exactly what might have gone wrong.

Another problem: The EPA reportedly does not hire an outside expert to randomly check vehicles on the accuracy of their stated mileage claims.

So much for being a public watchdog. In this case, the EPA seems more like an apologist for bad behavior by parts of the auto industry.