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How to Use This Guide
Use the Glossary of Terms to explain terms and abbreviations used in this user's guide.
The Green Vehicle Guide allows users to perform three actions: a Basic Search, an Advanced Search, and Download The Complete Guide. From a search results page, a user can seek more details about an individual vehicle or compare up to three vehicles. Click on the list below to learn how to perform an action:
- How do I look up a vehicle (Basic Search)?
- How do I look up a vehicle type (Basic Search)?
- How do I look up the Greenest vehicles (Basic Search)?
- How do I run an Advanced Search?
- How do I interpret Search Results?
- How do I run a Detail or Comparison Search?
- What additional information does a Detail or Comparison Search Include?
- How do I run a buyer's checklist?
Look Up a Vehicle
This search is in the left most search box of the basic search page of the Green Vehicle Guide. To perform this search, the user enters a year, a state in which the vehicle can be sold, a vehicle maker, and if desired, a vehicle model. Click the submit button a search will be generated using these criteria.
Look Up a Vehicle Type:
This search is in the center box of the basic search page of the Green Vehicle Guide. To perform this search, the user enters a year, a state in which the vehicle can be sold, and the type of vehicle the user is interested in. All three of these fields must be completed. Click the submit button a search will be generated using these criteria.
Look Up the Greenest vehicles
This search is in the right side box of the basic search page of the Green Vehicle Guide. To perform this search, the user enters a year, a state in which the vehicle can be sold, clicks either or both of the SmartWay and SmartWay elite checkboxes. Both a year and a state must be chosen, and at least one of the SmartWay or SmartWay elite checkboxes must be checked. Click the submit button a search will be generated using these criteria.
Perform an Advanced Search
This search located on the advanced search page of the Green Vehicle Guide. Unlike the basic searches, this search allows the user to search across multiple years, states and makes while at the same time allowing the user to narrow their search using criteria not available in the basic searches.
To perform an advanced search, the user selects from the many criteria and clicks the Submit button. This guide will go through each criteria in order from the top to the bottom of the page.
States: The user can select multiple states by clicking on each state desired with the mouse. You can also choose "ALL STATES" by scrolling to the bottom of the list of states. Not choosing a state is the same as choosing "ALL STATES"
Model Year: The user can select multiple years by clicking with the mouse or choose the "ALL YEARS" entry in the list to get all model years in the query. Not choosing a model year is the same as choosing "ALL YEARS"
Vehicle Type: This is a checkbox entry. The user can click as many checkboxes as they like and each vehicle type checked will be included in the query results. If the user clicks the "ALL TYPES" checkbox any individual choices will be ignored and all vehicle types will be included in the query results. Not choosing any box is the same as choosing "ALL TYPES"
Environmental Performance Section: There are multiple choices available under the the Environmental Performance Section.
SmartWay and SmartWay Elite checkboxes. Clicking either or both of these boxes will restrict the query results to only those with either a SmartWay or SmartWay Elite designation.
Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Scores: The user may choose one entry in each of these search boxes. The choice will then restrict the results to those vehicles having a score equal to or higher than the user's selection unless the user chooses "ALL" in which case Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Scores will not filter the query results.
Emission Standards: The user can choose as many emission standards as desired. The query will only return vehicles that have the selected emission standards. Choosing "ALL" or not choosing anything will cause the query to ignore emissions standards in returning results.
Fuel Economy Section: City, Highway and Combined Fuel Economy: The user may choose one entry in each of these search boxes. The choice will then restrict the results to those vehicles having a fuel economy equal to or higher than the user's selection. Not making a selection or choosing "ALL" means that the query results will not be narrowed by fuel economy.
Fuel Type: Like Vehicle Type above, the user may select as many fuel types as they desire. If the user clicks the "ALL TYPES" checkbox any individual choices will be ignored and all fuel types will be included in the query results. Not choosing any box is the same as choosing "ALL TYPES".
Vehicle Make: The user can select multiple years by clicking with the mouse or choose the "ALL YEARS" entry in the list to get all model years in the query. Not choosing a model year is the same as choosing "ALL YEARS"
Transmission: This allows the user to choose the transmission type. If the user clicks the "ALL TYPES" checkbox any individual choices will be ignored and all fuel types will be included in the query results. Not choosing any box is the same as choosing "ALL TYPES".
Drive: This allows the user to filter by whether or not a vehicle is front wheel, four wheel or all wheel drive. If the user clicks the "ALL TYPES" checkbox any individual choices will be ignored and all fuel types will be included in the query results. Not choosing any box is the same as choosing "ALL TYPES".
Cylinders: The user may choose multiple values in this checkbox. The query will then look for only those vehicles whose engines have the selected number of cylinders. If the user clicks the "ALL" entry in the list checkbox any individual choices will be ignored and vehicles will not be filtered by engine cylinders. Not choosing any item is the same as choosing "ALL"
Engine Size: The user may specify a lower and/or upper limit on the displacement of the vehicle engine in liters.
Underhood Label ID: The user may specify an engine family value to limit results to vehicles in a selected engine family. One one engine family may be entered and it must be an exact match for a vehicle(s) in the database for the search to return any results.
Understand the Search Results:
Both the basic and advanced searches return results in tabular form, which one row per vehicle. The search results page includes a list of criteria the user selected in performing the search, and then a row listing the columns in the search results. The columns in the search results are:
Year: (Included only in advanced search results since basic search results include only one model year): The model year of the vehicle.
Model: The maker and model of the vehicle. This entry is a hyperlink and clicking on it produces a vehicle detail page. See below for more information about the vehicle detail.
Engine: This includes the number of cylinders and the displacement in liters of the vehicles engine.
Fuel: This is the fuel type used by the vehicle. If there are two fuels types separated by a slash, then the vehicle in question is a flex fuel vehicle.
Trans: This is the transmission in the vehicle, both type (Automatic, Manual or Selectable) and number of speeds.
Drive: This lists whether the vehicle is two wheel, four wheel or all wheel drive.
Air Pollution Score: The program displays a graphic bar with the vehicles Air Pollution Score. This score can range from 0 to 10. Some vehicles do not have a score calculated and have a score bar that says "NOT AVAILABLE". Flexfuel vehicles have two scores, one for each fuel type.
Fuel Economy: The program lists two values, separated by a slash. The first is the city fuel economy, the second is the highway fuel economy.
Greenhouse Gas Score: The program displays a graphic bar with the vehicles Greenhouse Gas Score. This score can range from 0 to 10. Some vehicles do not have a score calculated and have a score bar that says "NOT AVAILABLE". Flexfuel vehicles have two scores, one for each fuel type.
SmartWay: If the vehicle qualifies as either SmartWay or SmartWay Elite, a graphic will appear in this column.
Compare: If you click on this checkbox and click on the Compare button at the top and bottom of the search results, this vehicle will be included in the Vehicle Comparison. See below for more details about the vehicle comparison.
Running a Details or Comparison Search
To perform a details search, click on the hyperlink of the make and model name in the model column of the search results screen. A popup window will appear with details for the selected vehicle. To perform a comparison search, click up to 3 checkboxes in the right most column of the search results screen and click the Compare button at either the top or bottom right of the search results table. You will see a popup with additional details of the selected vehicles.
What additional information do the Detail and Comparison pages include?
The detail and comparison pages include all of the information from the search results table of a basic or advanced search, along with the following additional data items:
Combined Fuel Economy: : in miles per gallon. This is in addition to the city and highway fuel economy includes in the search results table.
Fuel Consumption: This is the number of gallons consumed per 100 miles of driving.
Estimated Annual Fuel Costs: This is the cost for fuel only to drive the car 15000 miles in a year.
Certification Sales Region: The name of the Certification Sales Region in which the vehicle may be offered for sale.
Emissions Certification Standard: The applicable Emission Certification Standard for the Vehicle.
EPA Emission Class: The applicable EPA Emission Class for the Vehicle.
Standards: The maximum allowable emission levels in grams per mile, for four pollutants (Nitrous Oxide, Carbon Monoxide, NMOG, and Particulate Matter) that apply to the Emission Certification Standard for this vehicle.
Smog Forming Pollution: The pounds per year of smog forming pollution emitted by this vehicle.
Greenhouse Gases Emission: The tons per year of Greenhouse gases emitted by this vehicle.
Underhood Label ID: The engine family of the vehicle in question.
Running a Buyer's Checklist
To produce a buyer's checklist, click on the link labeled "Printable Car Buyer's Check Sheet" on a Details page. The buyer's checklist includes the selected vehicle model year, maker, model, Greenhouse Gas score, Air Pollution Score, Transmission, Drive, Certification Sales Region, City/Highway miles per gallon, and Underhood Label ID (listed as Test Group ID).