Does your Acura earn an "A"?

WASHINGTON • Will your new car get an A in fuel efficiency? A government proposal may add letter grades to showroom-window stickers on new cars and trucks to reflect a vehicle’s overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency said Monday they were considering two options to upgrade the energy and environmental information that will adorn labels on new vehicles in dealership showrooms, beginning with the 2012 model year. The government is considering a letter-grade approach or updating the design of the sticker to include comparisons of a vehicle’s fuel economy and emissions.

Consumers scan the window stickers to compare vehicles when shopping for a new car or truck. The stickers have not been updated significantly in three decades, and the government wants the labels to reflect emerging vehicle technologies and account for greenhouse gas emissions affecting the environment.

“From electric to plug-in hybrid vehicles, we think a new label is absolutely necessary to help consumers make the right decision for their wallet and for the environment,” said Gina McCarthy, the EPA’s top air pollution official.

Under the letter-grade proposal, an average vehicle on fuel efficiency and emissions would receive a B-minus. Electric vehicles would receive an A-plus, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles would earn an A and three gas-electric hybrids — the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius — would get an A-minus.

The best-selling passenger car in America, the Toyota Camry, would receive a B or a B-minus, depending on the engine. Hybrid versions of the Camry would earn a B-plus. The top-selling pickup truck, the Ford F-150, would receive a C-plus or a C, based on the engine variant.

Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said a simple letter-grade system wouldn’t adapt well to the real world. Small-business owners and large families, he said, need bigger vehicles, and broad letter grades would actually deprive those customers of useful information. For example, if a particular model of full-size pickup gets the best fuel economy in its class, Jackson said, does that truck deserve a C?

“If it’s best in class, shouldn’t it get an A?” he asked.

Jackson acknowledged that the new wave of all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf or the Chevrolet Volt, don’t fit into the current fuel economy regime. Still, he said, it would be better to come up with a separate system for those cars than it would be to scrap the mileage measurements consumers are used to.

“Hybrids have been in the marketplace for over 10 years and they still make up under 3 percent of the overall marketplace,” Jackson said. “Say it is someday 10 percent — that is still 90 percent of the vehicles that the current system still works for.”

McCarthy said the letter-grade option was not meant to be a judgment on the vehicle, but a “metric that consumers can use.”

The second option would maintain the current label’s focus on a vehicle’s miles-per-gallon rating and annual fuel costs but update the design and add new comparison information on fuel efficiency and vehicle tailpipe emissions.

David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said there was “no preferred option” and the government hoped to hear from the public during a 60-day period. The public can e-mail comments on the plans to newlabels@epa.gov.

The Gazette’s Andy Wineke contributed to this report.