In past posts I have slammed the auto industry pretty hard and Dodge in particular for their poor management and fuel mileage. I have a Dodge truck and really like it but at 13 MPG it has no future in a $4.50 per gallon of gas world and I believe that the future of Dodge is limited if they don't get their act together and do something to improve the mileage of their entire line of vehicles. I have also praised Ford briefly for a 34MPG Escape hybrid and expressed my opinion that 30MPG was the minimum acceptable in todays world.

Imagine my surprise to read an ad from Lee Auto Mall listing several Dodge cars that got "Up to 34 MPG". This is in and ad that lists Nissans and Toyotas with 34MPG shown and no carefully worded "Up To" before it. I read the ad a couple of times and almost felt guilty. I say almost because I'm not too sure how the "Up to" plays out.

Part of writing on this blog is that I must agree to correct incorrect comments in a timely manner. I am always ready to admit an error and in fact am frequently happy to admit that I have been wrong. If I have wronged Dodge then I want to know it and set the record straight. I would be pleased as punch for Dodge to have a line up of vehicles that get decent mileage. It would give a boost to their chances of survival in these turbulent times and that is great news for the thousands of Americans who work for Dodge and buy their products.

In a spirit of fairness, tonight I emailed Lee Auto to offer to test a Dodge car of their choice. I will be willing to drive it in the same manner that I drive my own vehicles. Since I always get better than EPA suggested mileage for my own vehicles, Dodge would get a real world best case type of test. I will then be glad to report the truth on this blog. I'm not sure what Lee and Dodge will have to say but I'll keep you posted.

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