WASHINGTON – General Motors announces plans today to feature a second vehicle window sticker detailing steps the auto maker has taken to lessen the total environmental impact of individual Chevrolet models.
“Customers want companies to be honest and transparent about their environmental efforts and sustainability goals, and rightly so,” GM North America President Mark Reuss tells media at the annual auto show here.
The “Ecologic” sticker rollout begins with the ’12 Sonic small car arriving at dealers now. All Chevrolet models eventually will carry the sticker. The model on the show floor here bears the industry-first green sticker on the rear driver-side window.
The Ecologic sticker joins the government-mandated Monroney sticker that lists items such as the price of the vehicle, its various standard and optional features, and cost-of-ownership details such as annual fuel consumption.
The federal government redesigned the Monroney sticker last year to give shoppers a better idea of a vehicle’s fuel economy and emissions levels.
Chevrolet’s Ecologic sticker adds items such as environmental impacts related to vehicle manufacturing and assembly; fuel-saving features such as advanced engine technology to improve the vehicle efficiency; and how up to 85% of its weight can be recycled at the end of its lifespan.
GM during its restructuring has put an emphasis on promoting itself as an environmentally friendly auto maker. Vehicles such as the now-defunct Hummer H2 SUV that the company sold before its 2009 bankruptcy became a lightning rod for criticism by environmentalists.
In comparison, key competitor Toyota has used the success of its 10-year-old Prius hybrid to claim green leadership in consumers’ minds.
The Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehicle was intended to do the same for GM, but relatively slow sales since its launch in late 2010 and more recently a federal safety investigation have muffled its environmental message. Regulators have cleared the car of any safety concerns.
Each claim on the Chevy Ecologic label will be audited by Two Tomorrows, an independent sustainability agency, GM says.
Eileen Claussen, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, says Chevrolet’s new labeling program “gives easy access to information consumers want.”
