New EPA Labels a Step in the Right Direction

The new mileage stickers under consideration by the EPA that we detailed earlier today may face some challenges in the future, but they are a good first step in addressing alternative-fuel vehicles going on sale later this year.
 
For starters, offering an “annual electric cost” figure, much like one would find on a new refrigerator, is an excellent idea.

We’ve said for some time that cost-per-mile figure would allow consumers to make an apples-to-apples comparison against gas-powered cars. The one potential downfall that may take some time to figure out is that electric prices may not always be stable; as disruptions occur in oil, coal and nuclear power production, some regions of the country are likely to pay very different amounts for their electricity in the future. These labels could be misleading at that point, or at least inaccurate in regions that rely more on one form of electrical generation than another. Electric costs also fluctuate with the time of day, generally costing less at night or other off-peak hours.
 
Secondly, the proposed letter-grade ratings for cars seem like it’s less thought-out than the simple numbers comparison on mpg. For example, the grades are purportedly given to a vehicle as its grade versus all cars, not just cars in its class. That doesn’t help the pickup truck shopper or the electric car shopper as they aren’t seeing a grade versus the direct competition.

The grades should be set against the vehicle’s category; they shouldn’t be a drive by the government to get everyone into a Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf.
 
In the end, though, the EPA continues to look for improvements in both its gas ratings and the ways in which it displays them on auto stickers. The revision to how mileage ratings were calculated back in 2008 is a good example of this progress. For these changes, they deserve a pat on the back, as long as they make it easier, not harder, for consumers to get the answers they need.