Proposed Legislation
New Grading System for New Car Stickers
On August 30, 2010, The Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration introduced proposed new window stickers that would appear on new vehicles beginning in the 2012 model year.
One of the proposed stickers, mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which required the agencies to rate vehicles on fuel economy, greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollutants, would assign vehicles a letter grade, a proposal that was quickly criticized by automakers.
The grade range will be A+ to D. The E.P.A. calculated in one scenario that if the new sticker were applied now, many 2010 vehicles would get fairly low grades, including a B- for 306 small cars. Only eight current S.U.V.’s attain a grade of B+ (68 get a C) and the highest grade for a van is C+.The sticker also informs consumers as to their fuel costs over five years as compared to “the average vehicle."
The highest grade, A+, with fuel economy rated as equivalent to 117 miles per gallon and up, would be for “zero emission” electric cars. Plug-in hybrid electric cars (59 to 116 m.p.g. equivalent) would get an A and some conventional hybrids, like the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion, would get an A-. Other hybrids, like the Nissan Altima, Ford Escape and Toyota Camry, would receive a B+.A second proposed window sticker contains the same basic information as the first, but is more of an evolution of the current design, without a letter grade.
There will be a 60-day comment period, which begins when the proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register. More information is at www.epa.gov/fueleconomy.
