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Since 1978, Ford Motor Company (Ford) has been collecting and analyzing fuel economy data for Ford vehicles leased by Company employes. Survey results for 1978 through 1980 model vehicles were presented in three previous SAE papers, which dealt with the following: on–road mpg performance; comparison of on–road mpg performance to mpg values approved by EPA; and investigation of possible causes of differences between on–road performance and EPA values. Results from Ford's 1981 survey, plus comparisons to earlier surveys, are reported herein. Vehicles driven under “summer” conditions and under “winter” conditions are evaluated separately to determine their relative contribution to an overall, seasonally-weighted difference between EPA and on-road fuel economy.

Beginning with the 1978 Model Year, Ford Motor Company (Ford) has been collecting and analyzing on-road fuel economy data for Ford vehicles leased by Company employes. The data base for 1978-1982 models includes 46,634 data points. Data for 1982 models (10,776 data points) indicate that on-road fuel economy was 3% better than for 1981 models and 41% above 1978 levels. Further, a comparison of 1982 on-road results to EPA-approved mpg values indicates that the percent difference is comparable to those reported for the 1979-1981 model year surveys. The previously reported seasonal difference (i.e., summer on-road mpg results are approximately 2 mpg higher than winter results) was substantiated by 1982 model data. Data for different driving patterns (i.e., urban vs. highway driving and different values for miles driven per day) also were analyzed to estimate the effect of “% urban” driving and “miles per day” on in-use mpg results.