Final answer:
To determine which vehicle has the better gas mileage, one must compare the gas mileage relative to the number of occupants between cars and an airplane. Cars would need to have a gas mileage of 90 mpg per passenger to surpass the efficiency of a fully-occupied airplane. Various factors like vehicle efficiency improvements and cold weather impact overall fuel economy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to determine which vehicle has the . To answer this, we need to consider multiple factors, including the fuel efficiency of the vehicles in question, the number of passengers they can carry in relation to fuel used, and the context in which they are being operated (for instance, short vs. long-distance travel).
Starting with the provided example, if an airplane gets 90 miles per gallon per passenger and is 80% full, we need to calculate the efficiency of a car that would be comparable. Assuming three people are traveling, the car's gas mileage would need to be at least 90 miles per gallon (considering full occupancy) to be more fuel-efficient than the airplane. In this case, gas mileage would need to be (90 mpg * 3 passengers)/3, which equals 90 mpg total.
Regarding the question of cars becoming more fuel-efficient and the impact of a cold winter, we can surmise that while cars are indeed improving in mileage, external factors like temperature can affect a vehicle's efficiency, as engines may require more energy to perform effectively in cold conditions.
Finally, for the auto manufacturer's fleet to meet the mandated average of 35.5 mpg by 2016, they would need to statistically prove this through a hypothesis test based on their sample data, taking into account the sample mean, standard deviation, and the size of the sample in comparison to the policy requirements.