Tastes Like a Lemon

Driving in northern New Jersey on Sunday, I came upon this Kia Sedona minivan. Its driver was clearly very unhappy with the mileage he was getting in the thing and was advertising it on the rear windshield and side glass. I tried taking a shot of it with my Treo cellphone camera, but the results were disappointing. Anyway, the back glass says “Kia says 12 mpg is normal!” The side windows say “Kia Gas Hog.” He had evidently tried to sort out with Kia why he wasn’t getting the 17 city, 25 highway that's advertised for the vehicle, to no avail. I wanted to chat with him to see what his experience has been and whether his driving style might be a factor, but he got on the highway right after I took this shot. It’s a pity, though—people don’t buy Kias because they look awesome and handle like sports cars. They buy them because they’re supposed to be economical, both to purchase and operate. Now he’s stuck with a bland minivan that gets the gas mileage of a Lamborghini. —Eric Adams