The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are proposing changes to the existing vehicle window stickers to allow consumers to compare vehicles based on their fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. The window stickers used now, have not changed in almost thirty years and does not give much information about fuel efficiency and emissions offered by new technologies such as hybrid and electric vehicles.
The agencies are proposing two options which they hope will come into effect by the time the new 2012 models come out. The first is a letter grading system that will reflect the vehicles overall environmental friendliness. The second is to update the existing design to include comparisons of a vehicle’s fuel economy and tailpipe emissions.
With this new system the government hopes to make it easier for consumers to compare vehicles. The NHTSA, said there was “no preferred option”, but the government hopes to hear from the public during a 60-day comment period. The public can e-mail comments on the plans to newlabels@epa.gov.
While environmental groups say they support the plan, automakers question the proposed letter grade, saying that a bad grade will have an overall effect on how the consumer sees the vehicle.
