Melissa Miller is business editor at The Southeast Missourian. A graduate of the University of Missouri Journalism School, she's worked as a reporter, photographer, editor and as the executive director of two not-for-profit organizations. After living in Michigan and then Indiana, she moved back to her hometown of Jackson, Mo. In addition to writing daily stories for The Southeast Missourian, Melissa coordinates editorial content each month for Business Today. Business Today is a monthly publication for southeast Missouri's business community. Monthly themes include health care, agriculture, women in business, technology and more. Business Today is direct mailed to business owner and managers throughout southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. Follow her updates on local business developments at www.twitter.com/semissourianbiz or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MelissaMillerSoutheastMissourian

Cars may get grade for fuel economy

Posted Monday, August 30, 2010, at 1:09 PM

The Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency are working on a new vehicle sticker system to give shoppers a better idea of a car's impact on the environment.

One option on the new sticker is a report card style letter grade of A+ to D for the vehicle's overall fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions.

The agencies are seeking public comment on the proposed new sticker design online at http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/

Do you think this is better than the traditional miles per gallon rating on car stickers now?

How much thought do you give to fuel efficiency and emissions when shopping for a vehicle?

Comments

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If this information gives an automaker a competitive edge they will post it themselves without big government's wasteful spending on it.

Talk to the person that owns one and you will get a more accurate account of fuel economy.

-- Posted by Old John on Mon, Aug 30, 2010, at 7:23 PM
IMO, the gallons per 100 miles is a more realistic number for people to use toward estimating their fuel costs and consumption. I like the bar graphs showing where the vehicle ranks relative to its peers in the given class. Suggest to bail on the metric units - grams per mile is not as meaningful to many as pounds per mile. The letter-grade is fluff.

A better label - eh, OK. As good as it could be - no. Suggest verbage needs to be minimalized - for most, suggest charts and bar graph comparisons tell the tale.

Dollar values are only accurate for the assumptions given - which are likely not accurate for the majority of potential buyers. How many idiots are going to whine and sue because they aren't saving what was posted?

Driving 35,000 miles per year, yes, fuel economy is a consideration - but not the only one. Comfort and crash-worthiness are a couple of other considerations.

-- Posted by fxpwt on Mon, Aug 30, 2010, at 8:43 PM
A's, B's, C's, etc are so last year. Just ask the Jackson school district.

-- Posted by gomer on Tue, Aug 31, 2010, at 12:51 AM

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