New California Cars Display Smog, Global Warming Scores

SACRAME

NTO, California, January 2, 2009 (ENS) - As of January 1, every 2009 model year
and newer car built for sale in California will be required to carry a label
that clearly ranks the vehicle's environmental
impact. A vehicle's certification level can be found under the hood on
the vehicle emissions control information label.

The label will show a
simple ranking system that provides consumers with practical information that
can help them choose the
most environmentally friendly vehicle that still meets their
transportation needs.

"This label will arm consumers with the information
they need to choose a vehicle that saves gas, reduces greenhouse gas emissions
and helps fight smog all at once," said California Air Resources Board Chairman
Mary Nichols. "Consumer choice is an especially powerful tool in our fight
against climate change."

The environmental performance label will have
two scores on a scale of 1-10, a global warming score and a smog
score.

The higher the score the more environmentally friendly the car is.
The average new car will score five on both scales.

Electric cars earn the
highest ratings on both scores. One car rating 10 on both scores is the GEM
electric car from Global Electric Motors, a Chrysler company. Priced at $12,495,
the GEM is 100 percent battery-electric and does not use any gasoline.

A
GEM electric car is the highest rated car for both the smog and the global
warming scores.

Greenhouse gases trap heat
in the atmosphere, creating global warming. Scientists
are certain that human activities such as burning gasoline for transportation
are changing the composition of the atmosphere and warming the planet's
climate.

Greenhouse gases emitted from vehicles include carbon dioxide, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, and
hydroflurocarbons from air conditioner refrigerant. Greenhouse gas
emissions are identified as the CO2-equivalent value.

The California
global warming score is based on the sum of a vehicle's greenhouse gas
emissions, which are identified as the CO2-equivalent value.

The global
warming score ranks each vehicle's CO2-equivalent value on a scale of one to 10
relative to all other vehicles within the current model year.

A score of
10 is the cleanest a vehicle can rate and indicates that the vehicle emits less
than 200 grams of CO2-equivalent per mile driven.

A score of one is the
dirtiest a vehicle can rate and indicates that the vehicle emits more than 520
grams of CO2-equivalent per mile driven.

The global warming scores are
adjusted to reflect the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions from the
production and distribution of the fuel used to power the vehicle.

Smog is hazy air pollution
produced by the photochemical reaction of sunlight with volatile organic
compounds and oxides of nitrogen released into the atmosphere, especially by
automobile operation.

California's new smog score ranks each vehicle's
pollutant levels of non-methane organic gases and oxides of nitrogen relative to
all other vehicles within the current model year.

Smog scores will be on
a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the cleanest. The average vehicle available
in California today will get a smog score of 5. Many pre-2004 vehicles fall
below a smog score of one. This is because, over time, there have been
significant advances in air pollution control technologies and the Air Resources Board has
established more stringent pollution standards for vehicles.