EPA's New Fuel Economy Sticker

Acting on a petition by Bluewater Network, the Environmental Protection Agency recently released new regulations that will improve the accuracy of fuel mileage stickers on new cars. These long overdue revisions will take into account changes in American driving habits such as higher speed limits on highways, more aggressive driving, greater use of air conditioning, and an increased share of time spent idling in traffic.

In addition, many of the largest SUVs and vans, such as the Hummer, Chevy Suburban, and GMC Yukon that did not previously have fuel mileage labels will now display them.

In June 2002, Bluewater Network formally asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make fuel mileage stickers on new cars more accurate. Over 30,000 public comments were generated in support of Bluewater's petition to EPA.  Bluewater's request reflected the frustration of millions of consumers who found out after buying their cars that the fuel mileage labels seriously overestimate the car's fuel economy -- by as much as 40 to 50% on some car models.