The Problem Between Electric Vehicles And The EPA

Hey! Remember when General Motors was talking about the Chevrolet Volt approximately one year ago and brought up the whole 230 MPG thing? Yeah, that's still when Fritz was still around.

I will never forget sitting in the GM auditorium that early morning and seeing the cartoon-like banner rolling down, unveiling GM's big announcement: 230. It was a huge risk on its part but GM didn't have much to lose, I suppose.

Anyway, it has not totally backfired on them but it certainly has not worked out according to plan.

But it is not a whole "Who has the best MPG" kind of game anymore. Now consumers are trying to figure out if C02 should be considered as well.

All that we know is that the engineers are confused, the marketing department is probably cussin' out the EPA and consumers are more or less just shrugging off the whole situation.

**Check out Daily Finance's look into the MPG/C02/EPA mess that has happened, thanks to alternative energy vehicles by clicking "Read Article"

Get ready to do a lot of math if you're keen on buying a Chevy Volt and want to compare fuel costs between electric and gasoline cars. It'll be a sharp change from what auto shoppers have been doing for years: simply eyeballing the gas-mileage ratings displayed on new-car stickers in dealer showrooms.

As major automakers start to roll out plug-in electric hybrids (the Volt) or all-electric cars (Nissan's LEAF) later this year, consumers will see mileage numbers on the price stickers that will attempt to explain these cars' fuel economy. But what many shoppers could end up finding is confusion.

That's because the federal Environmental Protection Agency is still working on rules for determining fuel ratings and labels for these alternative-fuel vehicles. At the same time, the EPA also is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on labels for greenhouse-gas emissions for electric cars. The complication there: how to take into account emissions from power plants, not just the cars' tailpipes...

[Source: Dailyfinance]

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atc98092 - 8/2/2010 8:31:35 AM

+4 Boost

It will be impossible to create a number that is accurate for the entire country. There are too many variables involved with the method of power generation. Here in the Pacific Northwest, virtually all our power is hydro-electric, with a little nuclear. Other areas rely more on coal or other fossil fuels. How can they come up with a single number that works everywhere?

MeanVulcan - 8/2/2010 9:20:16 AM

+1 Boost

I have to laught since that is the major problem I encountered on my technical paper for sustainability of alternative energy. You simply cannot create a mileage rating for EVs or HEVs that can directly compare with ICEs. You could start with emissions, but as atc98092 pointed out, if you were to buy an HEV in IL, the rating would be much different than in WA because the source of electricity -and thus emissions- is very different. it would not make sense at all to create an average rating because you would loose valuable customers in areas of the country that benefit from clean/cleaner energy... and it would underestimate emissions in those states that use coal for electricity.

Perhaps its time to create a ranking system per state, or an iPhone app that tells you what your emissions rating is per state, or even better, have the car map out emissions per state, that way you are informed of the emissions impact of your vehicle in the state you intend to travel to.

Bare in mind that an HEV that uses ANY source of electricity will still run cleaner than an ICE (internal comb engine). But an HEV that charges using clean energy such as wind or solar, runs ALMOST at zero emissions. No matter how clean the energy source, cars will never truly run at zero emissions since solar panels, wind fan blades or any component takes energy, processes, chemicals, and other steps to produce.

chewy - 8/2/2010 11:17:25 PM

0 Boost

Miles per gallon equivalent of energy would make some sense, or some of the ones mentioned in the article if you don't want to compare to gas/diesel powered vehicles and only compare between different electric powered vehicles.