PROVIDING CUSTOMIZED FUEL ECONOMY RATINGS BASED ON CUSTOMER DRIVE CYCLE

1 . A method for providing a customized fuel economy rating comprises:

collecting a customer drive cycle information from a first vehicle operated by a customer;

simulating an operation of a second vehicle based on the customer drive cycle information; and

based on the simulating, calculating the customized fuel economy rating of the second vehicle.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein collecting the customer drive cycle information from the first vehicle comprises connecting a recording device to an on-board vehicle diagnostics port of the first vehicle and recording a plurality of vehicle usage statistics over a period of time.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein collecting the customer drive cycle information from the first vehicle comprises recording a plurality of vehicle usage statistics during a period of time.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the customer drive cycle information comprises a distance driven by the customer during a period of time, a speed pattern over the distance, and environmental conditions that the first vehicle was operated in.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising presenting the customized fuel economy rating of the second vehicle to the customer.

6 . A method for providing customized fuel economy ratings comprises:

collecting a customer drive cycle information from a first vehicle operated by a customer;

simulating an operation of a plurality of vehicles based on the customer drive cycle information;

based on the simulating, calculating a customized fuel economy rating for each of the plurality of vehicles; and

presenting the customized fuel economy ratings for each of the plurality of vehicles to the customer.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein collecting the customer drive cycle information from the first vehicle comprises connecting a recording device to an on-board vehicle diagnostics port of the first vehicle and recording a plurality of vehicle usage statistics over a period of time.

8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein collecting the customer drive cycle information from the first vehicle comprises recording a plurality of vehicle usage statistics during a period of time.

9 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the customer drive cycle information comprises a distance driven by the customer during a period of time, a speed pattern over the distance, and environmental conditions that the first vehicle was operated in.

10 . A system for providing customized fuel economy ratings comprises:

a recording device configured to collect a customer drive cycle information from a first vehicle operated by a customer; and

a computer system configured to perform a method comprising:

receiving the customer drive cycle information from the recording device;

simulating an operation of a second vehicle based on the customer drive cycle information; and

based on the simulating, calculating a customized fuel economy rating of the second vehicle.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the recording device comprises a vehicle interface, an interface and a storage device.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the vehicle interface comprises an OBD-II diagnostic connector.

13 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the recording device comprises one or more sensors, an interface and a storage device.

14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the customer drive cycle information comprises a plurality of vehicle usage statistics recorded during a period of time that the first vehicle was operated by the customer.

15 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the customer drive cycle information comprises a distance driven by the customer during a period of time, a speed pattern over the distance, and environmental conditions that the first vehicle was operated in.