Hyundai ranks as most fuel-efficient U.S. automaker for 2013 — but the EPA won’t say so
In an industry that fights for every last sale, claiming the title for being the most fuel-efficient automaker in the country has traditionally been a huge win. Even in times like these when gas prices have eased, shoppers often compare mileages as much as horsepower, and when gas prices soar — as they inevitably will — having that message at the ready gets more tire-kickers into dealerships.In the United States, it's a federal report that typically determines which automaker may call itself the most fuel-efficient. Yet this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency went out of its way to deny that accolade to the automaker with the highest average efficiency from vehicles it sold in the 2013 model year: Hyundai. The South Korean automaker has itself partly to blame: After touting its fuel efficiency for years, the company admitted in November 2012 that it had incorrectly measured the fuel economy of 900,000 Hyundais and Kias, forcing it to write down the MPG val...
