Is Chevy taking advantage of the current rules and regulations for the MPG rating with the Volt and their 230 MPG claims?

The media today seems to be buying into the news about such vehicles as the new Chevy Volt getting 230 miles per gallon.  Does anybody else find this absurd to boast such ridiculous numbers for something that shouldn’t even be given a mpg rating if it’s running purely off of the battery?  Perhaps the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should set up the rules for testing the MPG rating of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to be different than those for a standard hybrid or internal combustion engine.  It appears the EPA setup their guidelines with input from the automakers, does this not also seem flawed to anybody?  It seems rather obvious to me that the automakers are going to do what’s in their best interest, and that’s setup guidelines to allow for them to advertise their vehicles as something they are not. 

If a car can run solely on an electric motor and battery for more than five to ten miles before the internal combustion engine kicks in, then its MPG rating should be tested after the gasoline engine has to aid the electric motor and battery pack. 

I agree that it makes things easier to understand since the mass populous is familiar with the miles per gallon rating system, but it’s a bit misleading the way things are set up now.  If the Chevy Volt were tested as a normal hybrid it would be rated at around 50 mpg instead of this bloated 230 mpg they are parading around with currently.

I look forward to the rise of the electric car, but I despise deceptive advertising such as this.