It seems that Ford’s Executive Chairman of the Board isn’t convinced about the Chevy Volt’s 230mpg claim. In fact, he isn’t even convinced that Nissan’s Leaf EV should be rated at 367mpg like the company said it would.

It’s not the automakers fault, he says, but instead the EPA who uses meaningless method of determining the fuel efficiency of such vehicles. Below is a quote Mr. Ford gave to Green Car Advisor concerning the matter:

“The government will have to come up with a meaningful number for customers – a user-friendly label. And I think they will. I can’t dispute that number, but I’m not sure it’s relevant to the customer either.

Mr. Ford may be onto something as it just doesn’t seem right to base all electric vehicles on the amount of gas they would use. I think instead they should just focus on consumers how much electricity the cars will use for every mile they are driven. Then again, consumers could probably just settle with knowing the vehicle’s range given a predetermined amount of charging.

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You read that right, Bill Ford, Executive Chairman over at Ford, actually wants gas to go back up in price. Hell, he even wants the US Government to instate a gas tax which would artificially increase the price of gas.

Ford (the guy not the automaker) defends his position giving the following statement:

When gasoline went to $3.50 a gallon we saw a sea change in customer behavior. Now people are turning away from more fuel-efficient vehicles and taking the bigger vehicles. I’ve been talking for five years now about the need for a gas tax. We have to have some predictability on fuel pricing and that price signal has to be strong enough so customers will continue buying smaller, fuel-efficient cars.

You do have a point, Mr. Ford, but is forcing the American public to buy fuel efficient cars the right thing to do? In my opinion it would without a doubt work, but that doesn’t mean I want gas to go back up; perhaps if automakers provided more special incentives on fuel efficient cars, we would get the same positive feedback. What do you think?

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