Klimapass (Climate-pass) for German Vehicles
by Christine Lepisto, Berlin on 05.27.07
German Environmental Minister Gabriel has proposed a Klimapass (climate-pass) for all new vehicles. Will it help? It is already legally required to show the CO2 emissions in grams/kilometer, as well as to hang a poster with the comparative data for all vehicles sold at a dealership; consumers are not at a lack for information. So what is behind the new proposal? Gabriel wants to give the information more visceral and visual impact, with the rating shown on a color scale where green indicates better performance and red is to be avoided. The climate-pass should be clearly visible behind the windshield and should also be shown with the price-shield on the car at sale. Gabriels' proposal also strikes against an earlier proposal for a CO2 rating based on load capacity, which would allow vehicles like SUVs to show a greener performance based on the theoretical capacity, which is often left unused.
Although commenters on the early media reports question whether the consumer is so incapable that they need a picture in spite of the data already on hand, ask yourself: would you rather buy a car with an "A-1, green" rating or a grade at the bottom of the class, in the red zone?
The system is similar to the ratings visible under the current system for household appliances. Appliance ratings in the meantime are losing their value because nearly every machine has climbed into the A-B range, but the EU targets to reduce average CO2 emissions to below 130 grams/kilometer should ensure that any climate-pass introduced would give auto manufacturers plenty of room for improvement: 130 g/km is equivalent to around 4.8L/100 km (50 mpg) using current engine technology. The proposal may have a rocky political path ahead, requiring negotiations with Germany's powerful auto industry representatives before Gabriels' vision could become reality.
Via Die Welt (German)
I think this is a wonderful idea - sure, there's plenty of data around for consumers to refer to, but it can get really confusing for people to try and wade thorugh that information - visual cues like this could be a great help.. as long as the rating system isn't fudged.
here in america people would brag about how low a rating their truck got...
It seems a bit ironic that, in a country with an unrestricted speedlimit on much of their highway system, a series of coloured bars will shame drivers and manufacturers into becoming more environmentally friendly. If I were the German automobile industry, I would throw Gabriel a bone on this one so they at least have the appearance of giving a damn.
We have this already in the UK on all cars. Examples can be seen here:
http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/downloads/label.asp