Filed under: Government/Legal
EPA Fuel Economy Sample Grades – Click above to view entire list
Twenty years ago, the federal government made it mandatory for most food products to carry nutrition information based on a 2,000 calorie diet in the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Information Act. In doing so, the feds simultaneously ensured that graphic designers the world over would run into the headache of squeezing the now-familiar Nutrition Facts chart onto food packages and that the public at large would have at least some clue as to what they were shoving down their pie-hole. Now the EPA and the DOT are in the process of pulling a similar maneuver for vehicle fuel economy.
Needless to say, this has made us a little curious as to how the current fleet of vehicles being sold here in the states would fare in the new rating system. Fortunately, the EPA has answered that very question. Buried deep in the 242-page explanation of the label is a table that breaks down a handful of vehicles by grade. At the very top of the list, earning an A+ are EVs, followed quickly by plug-in hybrids. A little bit lower on the list in the A- category are cars like the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius.
As you might expect, larger vehicles and those with gargantuan engines fall lower down the grading scale. The lowest example on the list? That would be the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti at a lowly D.
Gallery: EPA Fuel Economy Sample Grades
[Source: EPA]
How EPA’s new fuel economy label would grade current cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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