Car-respondence

AL GORE'S DRIVING RECORD

Yes, but what you didn’t say is how many miles he actually drives the car [2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid] per year!

The thing probably sits in his heated garage most of the time! We know Al travels mostly by limo (probably 4mpg) and jet (see the report out recently that talks about the carbons he burns jetting around the world). Don’t give him more credit than he deserves! He also probably got the thing for free, just for the advertisement!!

Jeff E. Howell, Marshallville Ohio

FCR- To the best of our knowledge, Al Gore did purchase the Mariner himself, and we've seen it parked in his driveway ourselves. From the street his home doesn't appear to have a garage. However, his old boss, Bill Clinton, was given a special ‘Presidential Edition’ Mercury Mariner Hybrid by the Ford Motor Company in recognition of the Clinton Climate Initiative. We have not confirmed whether or not that vehicle has been used during his wife’s presidential campaign.

HYBRID CALCULATIONS

Useless.

The biggest problem with these hybrids and fuel mileage claims, is they don’t achieve the listed mileage. Drive cycles used to determine these numbers are not realistic for what the average American drives. Continuously drive less than 25 mph? Not a realistic design criteria in America. We like interstates and high speed. The only group shown to consistently use this stop and go, always slow speeds is the US Postal Service. For this very small group, the hybrid drive cycle approach may work. Take the unit out on the highway and drive 70 mph. What do you really get for mileage? I’m guessing it’s not 34 mpg. The vehicle is too heavy, to large, and has too high of a drag coefficient to get this mileage.

John Enrietto, Huntington, IN

FCR – 34mpg is the city figure, it’s 30mpg for highway. During our week with it, the Mariner averaged 28mpg despite spending approximately one third of those miles on mountain roads with a heavy lead-foot on board, probably the worst situation for gas mileage. That figure is better than the CAFE standard of 27.5mpg for passenger cars.

Comments? foxcarreport@foxnews.com