In an effort to encourage energy efficiency and cost effectiveness, the Environmental Protection Agency [1] and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [2] are proposing new requirements for the information stickers that are placed on all new cars.

The new stickers represent the most significant change to the requirements in three decades.The first proposal features a letter grade based on the car's fuel efficiency and emission rating compared to all types of cars. Grades would range between A+ and D, with an A+ designated to zero-emission electric cars. A large portion of the sticker would also be dedicated to showing fuel costs over five years.

The second proposal includes the same information as the first -- without the letter grades, which the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers [3] (not surprisingly) opposes. Large vehicles, such as SUVs, tend to be the most profitable for car manufacturers.

The New York Times [4] reports that environmental organizations said the new stickers are a step in the right direction, but they'd like to see upstream emissions (such as the power plant emissions that result from plugging in an electric car) also be on the stickers.