Cast Your Vote on the EPA's Proposed Fuel Economy Labels

On this page you'll find a listing of vehicles that qualify for a federal tax credit. If our list of current programs looks a little short, it's because the tax credits that were previously available for hybrids, clean diesels, and natural gas vehicles all expired on December 31, 2010. The remaining credits are available for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs). These federal incentives are offered to encourage people to buy more fuel-efficient or alternative-fuel cars. Typically, these cars are more expensive and the tax credit is designed to offset that extra cost.

The results of a recent Edmunds poll showed that fuel economy ratings, annual fuel costs and — perhaps surprisingly — an overall fuel economy letter grade were the top three most important pieces of information consumers want from a fuel economy label. Edmunds conducted the survey as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation consider proposed redesigns of the fuel economy labels found on the window stickers of new cars

The Nissan Leaf's EPA window sticker touts "99 miles per gallon" in large font. Since the Leaf is a fully electric car and does not burn gasoline, this might seem odd. But look more closely and you'll see the Leaf's "99" is actually an mpg-equivalent (mpg-e) figure, which is the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) way of converting the power used by an electric vehicle (EV) into a term familiar to most Americans. This 99 mpg-e number is ultimately more useful for comparing energy consumption than fuel costs, but we'll decode the EPA's electric-car mpg stats and explain what it means to you and your pocketbook.

Focus on Low Kilowatt-Hours, Not Cost Per Gallon

We're facing $4-per-gallon gasoline this year, oil-industry watchers tell us. Meanwhile, a former president of Shell Oil says that prices could reach $5 per gallon in 2012.

Modern Engines Make Allowances for Lower Octane

What's Here and What's Near in Cars That Get 40 MPG Highway

As gas prices rise, drivers are paying closer attention to the fuel economy gauges that are found in most late-model cars as part of the trip computer. The only problem is that the gauges are inaccurate. In fact, Edmunds testing reveals that one such gauge claimed fuel economy 19 percent higher than the actual result.

In these days of $4 gasoline, automakers create a lot of noise about their cars that get 40 miles per gallon. The problem is, this usually means 40 mpg on the highway as rated by the EPA. And except for Hyundai, which has a pretty full lineup of fuel-efficient qualifiers, the 40 mpg club is composed mainly of specially equipped, limited-production, high-efficiency models.