Hyundai Breaks With Auto Industry to Back Modified Letter-Grade Window Sticker; EPA Official Says Final Design 'Likely' Will Change From Present Proposals
By John O'Dell October 14, 2010By Rick Popely, Contributor
CHICAGO - Hyundai Motors, already familiar with a fuel economy sticker in Korea that ranks vehicles on a scale of 1-5, would support a similar U.S. system -or even one that uses letter grades - a company executive told regulators at a public hearing here today.
The EPA, under a congressional mandate to redesign the fuel economy window sticker for new cars, is holding the hearing- and another in Los Angeles on October 21 - to solicit comments on the redesign, including two proposed designs it has fielded.
One of those proposals would assign new vehicles a letter grade - ranging from A+ to D - to rank them based on fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.
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Two window sticker redesigns have been proposed by regulators, but others could surface. Click on illustration to enlarge.
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It has met with opposition from a number of quarters, including the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers, because it would rate all cars and light trucks without regard to their market segment, automatically giving battery electric vehicles an A+ and most large pickups and SUVs a very low grade.
Deborah Bakker, who handles regulatory and certification issues for Hyundai Motor America, told the hearing panel that - despite the official industry opposition -her company would support the proposed letter grade label - or a numeric rating system, but only with key modifications.
Hyundai wants plug-in electric drive vehicles rated separately from other types of cars and light trucks because they would all, by default, receive the highest ratings and skew the grade grade curve for other types of vehicles, Bakker said.
In Korea, she said, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are rated separately from internal combustion and conventional hybrid vehicles.
Changes Expected
Sarah Dunham, director of the EPA's transportation and climate division, said that the public hearings in Chicago and L.A. are aimed at broadening the amount of input the agency and NHTSA, its partner in the window sticker design hearing, will have as they draft a proposed final design.
She told Green Car Advisor in a brief interview that the two proposals already shown by the agencies were made to get the debate started and that people should not assume that one of the two will be the final design.
In addition to input from speakers at the public hearings, she said, the agencies, will consider "thousands of written comments" that already have been received and also are examining rating systems used in other countries.
"It is helpful to learn what others are doing," Dunham said adding that insofar as the two EPA proposal are concerned "it is likely that it will change" before final design is offered early next year.
Except for Hyundai, speakers at the afternoon session here today were auto industry representatives voicing opposition to the letter-grade proposal an environmental group representatives boosting the letter-grade as a clear signal to consumers that vehicles that use the least gasoline or diesel fuel are the greenest choices.
Nissan was scheduled to speak at a short evening session and a company spokeswoman told us that the presentation would be "very general" and would support the need for a new, updated window sticker but not endorse or object to any specific proposal.
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