Understanding EPA fuel economy estimates

EPA fuel economy estimates -- those big bold numbers printed on every new car's price sticker -- can be a huge source of confusion for car buyers, especially when their new hybrid whatever only gets 45 MPG in the city instead of 55 like they were expecting. Vincent Ciulla, About's Guide to Auto Repair, wrote this brilliant article explaning what the EPA numbers really mean. With gas prices crawling towards US$3/gallon, his article is more relevant than ever. In the mean time, our own Brooklyn Bob tells you how to find cheap gas on his own blog; check out Cheap Gas and How to Find It. (Photo courtesy Ian Britton/FreeFoto)  —Aaron Gold