What You Can Do
Green Vehicle Guide
This Web site will help consumers make more environmentally-informed choices when purchasing a vehicle. The Green Vehicle Guide lists pollution levels for all model years from 2000 through the present for passenger vehicles sold in the United States. Consumers can select a vehicle model, determine how clean it is relative to other vehicles, comparison shop for similar vehicles, and choose the cleanest vehicle that meets their needs. For more information, read this fact sheet: Green Vehicle Guide (PDF) (2 pp, 8K, February 2001, EPA420-F-01-006)
Contact by Email (greenvehicles@epa.gov)
NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.
Fact Sheets
Pollutants
- Annual Emissions and Fuel Consumption for an Average Vehicle | PDF Version (21K)
- Automobile Emissions: An Overview (PDF) (86K)
- Automobiles and Air Toxics (PDF) (21K)
- Automobiles and Carbon Monoxide (PDF) (23K)
- Automobiles and Ozone (PDF) (65K)
- Diesel Exhaust in the United States (PDF) (835K, September 2002, EPA 420-F-02-048)
- Diesel Exhaust and School Bus Idling (PDF) (574K, June 2003, EPA420-F-03-021)
- Particulate Matter Description & Trends
- Idling Vehicle Emissions (PDF) (17K)
What You Can Do
- On-Board Diagnostics (Frequently Asked Questions) | PDF Version (17K)
- Boating Pollution Prevention Tips
- Tips to Save Gas and Improve Mileage (PDF) (20K)
- Your Car and Clean Air: What YOU Can Do to Reduce Pollution (PDF) (69K)
- Be a Grower, Not a Mower (PDF) (574K, EPA420-F-96-018, 1996)
- Your Yard and Clean Air (PDF) (16K)
- Nonroad Engines and Air Pollution (PDF) (16K)
- Collecting Used Oil for Recycling/Reuse (PDF): Tips for Consumers Who Change Their Own Motor Oil and Oil Filters (218K, EPA530-F-94-008, March 1994)
- "Greenscaping" Your Lawn and Garden (PDF) (960K, EPA530-K-03-002, April 2003)
- Motor Vehicle Air Conditioning and CFC Phaseout
- Reducing emissions through the travel choices we make
Inspection & Maintenance Programs
- Clean Cars for Clean Air: Inspection/Maintenance Programs (PDF) (72K)
- Remote Sensing & Clean Screening in Inspection and Maintenance Programs (PDF) (15K, EPA420-F-98-023, May 1998)
- Remote Sensing: Emerging Technology for Vehicle Emissions Control (EPA400-F-92-017, August 1993)
(also see updated clean screening info above) [29K PDF & 299K PDF Table] - High Tech I/M Testing (PDF) (66K, EPA400-F-93-005)
- Emission Warranty Info: If you just failed an emissions test
- 1981-1994 Model Year (19K)
- 1995 and Newer Model Years (25K)
- Motor Homes: February 3, 1997 Press Release: Ford and John Deere agree to reimburse motor home owners for emission warranty claims. (2K)
Importing Vehicles and Engines
- Importation Information
- Voice Help: (734) 214-4100
- U.S. Residents Importing and Exporting Vehicles - Link to U.S. Customs Service
- Uniform Guidelines for the Importation of Personal Vehicles for Personal Use by Non-Residents - Link to U.S. Customs Service
- Non-Resident, Returning Military, and Returning Official Government Employee Importations of Personal Vehicle for Personal Use - Link to U.S. Customs Service
- U.S. Customs Guidelines and Requirements for Exporting a Motor Vehicle - Link to U.S. Customs Service
- Link to U.S. Dept. of Transportation National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Importation Regulations
Fuels
November 16, 1999 Phase II Reformulated Gasoline: The Next Major Step Toward Cleaner Air (brochure with basic information about reformulated gasoline, including the start of Phase II on January 1, 2000) (128K)
November 16, 1999 Emission Facts - Reformulated Gasoline (fact sheet on reformulated gasoline, including air quality benefits; performance and fuel economy; production cost and retail price; and oxygen requirement). | PDF Version (12K)
- Is Reformulated Gasoline a NEW Gasoline?
- Origin of the Reformulated Gasoline Program
- Reformulated Gasoline and Vehicle Performance
- Cleaner Gasoline for Cleaner Air - Better for Your Health
- Use of Reformulated Gasoline in Off-Road Engines
- Reformulated Gasoline and Your Motor Boat
- Fuel Economy Impact Analysis of Reformulated Gasoline
- Reformulated Gasoline Areas
- MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether)
- Biodiesel | PDF Version (1 pg, 70K, EPA420-F-06-044, October 2006)
- E85 and Flex Fuel Vehicles | PDF Version (1 pg, 70K, EPA420-F-06-047, October 2006)
- Electric Vehicles | PDF Version (2 pp, 68K, EPA420-F-00-034, March 2002)
- Methanol Basics (PDF) (113K)
- Methanol Fuels and Fire Safety (PDF) (72K)
General
- Fundamentals of Air Pollution and Motor Vehicle Emissions (PDF) (280K)
(Note: this presentation was created in the 1980's, updated 1990, so some of the info may not be completely current.) | PowerPoint Version (245K) - EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality overview (PDF) (4 pp, 99K, EPA420-F05-054, November 2005)
- National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory | PDF Version (3 pp, 200K, EPA420-F-04-058, December 2004)
- Toward a Cleaner Future: Office of Transportation and Air Quality Progress Report 2005 (EPA420-R-05-011, November 2005)
- Executive Summary (PDF) (5 pp, 363K)
- Full Report (PDF) (36 pp, 1.8MB)
- Motor Vehicles and the 1990 Clean Air Act (PDF) (37K)
- Milestones in Auto Emissions Control (PDF) (65K)
- Speeches/Presentations
- Office of Transportation and Air Quality on the World Wide Web | PDF Version (48K)
- Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act - Mobile sources (cars, trucks, buses, off-road vehicles, planes, etc.)
Cross-Border Sales
Cross-border sales policies specify the states in which vehicles with a federally certified California emissions package may be sold (for the applicable model year).
- Q&As (PDF) (4 pp, 24K)
- States Adoption Status (PDF) (1 pp, 13K)
- 2008-2010 Cross-Border Sales Policy (PDF) (11 pp, 191K)
- 2004 and Later Policy (PDF) (3 pp, 27K)
- 2003 (PDF) (2 pp, 85K)
- 2002 (PDF) (2 pp, 85K)
- 2001 (PDF) (2 pp, 85K)
- 2000 (PDF) (3 pp, 89K)
- 1999 (PDF) (3 pp, 88K)
- 1998 (PDF) (2 pp, 83K)
- 1997 (PDF) (2 pp, 67K)
- 1996 (PDF) (2 pp, 67K)
- 1993-1995 (PDF) (9 pp, 87K)
Reports and Presentations
- Speed Limit and Vehicle Emissions:
- May 1997 Updated Report, The Effects of Raising Speed Limits on Motor Vehicle Emissions, from the Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation (OPPE)
- Summary Memo
- Full Report (PDF) (170K)
- November 1995 Report, Emissions Impact of Elimination of the National 55 mph Speed Limit
- May 1997 Updated Report, The Effects of Raising Speed Limits on Motor Vehicle Emissions, from the Office of Policy Planning and Evaluation (OPPE)
- Speeches/Presentations
- National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) (formerly NCEPI). Try searching for "Ann Arbor" to find OTAQ publications.
- EPA On-Line Library system (OLS)