EPA and DOT release new window stickers to aid in choosing fuel-efficient cars

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation released its redesigned fuel-economy labels for new cars, designed to better assist shoppers in comparing the gas mileage, greenhouse-gas emissions, and annual fuel costs of different models—including electric cars.

The first revisions since EPA labels were first required for model-year 1975, the new labels will be required on all 2013 model-year cars, though the Obama administration is requesting automakers to apply them as soon as possible.

Last fall, the agencies took public comments and held a contest to determine whether they should include an overall letter grade for each car. The new stickers announced today do not include the letter grades, but do include significantly more information about a car's fuel usage than the old stickers did.

The new labels will prominently display an overall average mile per gallon (or mpg equivalent, in the case of electric cars) figure, in addition to smaller city and highway numbers. It also shows how the vehicle stacks up against other cars, both overall and in its class.

In public comments filed on the proposal last year, Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, expressed support for letter grades on labels, but recommended changing them to help provide more information to consumers, particularly for autos that fall in the mid-range of fuel economy. All SUVs, for example, would get poor grades with the original proposal, whereas hybrids and electric cars would earn As. The vast majority of autos would get Bs and Cs. CU urged the government to "flatten the curve" so that consumers could better distinguish fuel economy between vehicles within a class. (Photo: Consumers Union President Jim Guest and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood listen as EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson speaks at the news conference.)

While the government chose not to include letter grades on the new labels, the changes it did make track CU's key concern.

"I am … delighted that some of the … advice we provided in comments to the agencies has been incorporated into these new labels, specifically around making it easier for consumers to compare their choices within and across categories of vehicles," said Consumers Union President Jim Guest at the Department of Transportation press conference announcing the labels in Washington, D.C.

Being able to compare vehicles to others of the same type was a key request in Consumer Reports comments, because we see significant differences in fuel economy among different models in almost every vehicle category.

The other important update is including a consumption factor on every window sticker. Consumption, a measure of how many gallons of fuel a vehicle uses over 100 miles, is the inverse of miles per gallon. And it gives a more accurate comparison of fuel usage between large and small vehicles.

The new stickers will show each car's total fuel costs over five years, as well as the difference, higher or lower, from a new average 20 mpg car. And the stickers will incorporate greenhouse gas emissions ratings (grams of CO2 per 100 miles) and the EPA's long-time air pollution score, rated on a 1 to 10 scale.

The new labels also include a QR code, like a bar code that can be scanned with a smartphone camera, that will connect to a website where you can customize the information based on your own driving. In addition to helping consumers choose the fuel-efficient conventional cars, the new window stickers are designed to help consumers understand the growing range of alternative-fuel and electrified cars, which involve more complex tradeoffs. In the latest car-buying survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, more than 60 percent of consumers plan to buy a more fuel-efficient model for their next car and more than half are willing to pay extra for it. More than 70 percent said they would consider buying a car that runs on an alternative fuel. (Read: "Survey: Car buyers want better fuel economy and are willing to pay for it.")

For electric cars, the stickers list the total range and recharge time on an empty battery, the expected annual electric cost, and a miles-per-gallon equivalent number that uses the measure of efficiency in kilowatt hours per 100 miles and converts it to mpg, using the Energy Department's conversion factor of 33.7 kilowatt hours per gallon of gas.

Stickers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Volt, are more complicated. They display average mpg (and mpg equivalent) separately, with an overall figure based on a trip of 50 miles.

All this information will help consumers compare vehicles as different fuel types and technologies proliferate, a process that could become ever more complex and confusing.

For tips on how to maximize the fuel in your vehicle and choose a more fuel-efficient model, see our guide to fuel economy.

—Eric Evarts