The Administration is also developing the next generation of joint fuel economy/greenhouse gas emission standards for model year 2017-2025 passenger vehicles.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have released the 2012 Fuel Economy Guide. The federal agencies say that they are providing consumers with information that can help them choose a more efficient new vehicle that saves them money and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Only some 2012 models will be displaying a new fuel economy and environment label that provides consumers with more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including five-year fuel costs or savings compared to the average vehicle, as well as new greenhouse gas and smog ratings. These labels are required in model year 2013, but automakers may voluntarily adopt the new labels in model year 2012.
The Bugatti Veyron at combined, city and highway ratings of 10/8/15 is the least fuel efficient vehicle in the new guide. The Nissan Leaf EV at 99/106/92 is the most fuel efficient vehicle, but that rating uses a conversion factor since the Leaf doesn’t run on gasoline.The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid under this system is rated at 60/58/62. Real world driving of the Volt by AutoInformed returned 35 miles to a gallon overall, once you got past its 30-40 mile EV range. The Toyota Prius hybrid is rated at 50/51/48 since the plug-in version won’t be available until next spring.
The new label sticks with the well known and misleading, miles per gallon ratings. More valuable gallons or liters per mile ratings are already available on the EPA website. (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/) This mpg rating is misleading when if you compare numerical fuel economy improvements instead of actual fuel costs. There is a non-linear relationship between gallons used over a given distance and miles per gallon. The fuel savings, in gallons, for a vehicle that gets 10 MPG versus a vehicle that gets 15 MPG is about 33 gallons per 1000 miles. The fuel savings in gallons, for the same 5 MPG fuel economy improvement for a 30 MPG versus a 35 MPG vehicle is only about 5 gallons.
Each vehicle listing in the guide provides an estimated annual fuel cost. The estimate is calculated based on the vehicle’s miles per gallon (mpg) rating and national estimates for annual mileage and fuel prices. The online version of the guide allows consumers to input their local gasoline prices and typical driving habits to receive a personalized fuel cost estimate.
Printed editions of the guide are coming to dealer showrooms. EPA and DOE will provide online updates of fuel economy information as more 2012 vehicles become available.
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 passed under Republican President Bush specifically said that EPA and DOT must rate available vehicles according to fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions and smog forming pollutants, which the new labels do. No automaker issued a statement in support of the new labels, which show how much CO2 a vehicle emits.(See EPA, DOT Unveil New, “More Useful” Fuel Economy Labels ) One thing the new label does not provide is a previously proposed letter grade – A+ through D – for individual models. In its place is a 1-10 number rating. (See EPA to Stigmatize Gas Guzzlers with a D Grade?)
More information and a complete version of the guide: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ and at fueleconomy.gov/m for mobile devices. View the 2012 fuel economy leaders within each class and the lowest fuel economy models: http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/basicinformation.htm. More information about the new label: http://www.epa.gov/carlabel/.
