By now, you may have heard about the proposal from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change the fuel economy labels in the windows of new cars to make them more informative.

Your input is still needed on the design of the new labels. Beginning Aug. 30 and continuing for 60 days, the public can comment on the label design options.

“We are asking the American people to tell us what they need to make the best economic and environmental decisions when buying a new car,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “New fuel economy labels will keep pace with the new generation of fuel efficient cars and trucks rolling off the line, and provide simple, straightforward updates to inform consumers about their choices in a rapidly changing market. We want to help buyers find the vehicles that meet their needs, keep the air clean and save them money at the pump.”

You can view the proposed rule changes and the two label designs at http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/ and submit your comments to newlabels@epa.gov.

Why New Labels?

The new labels are intended to help provide you with straightforward comparisons across all types of vehicles, including electric vehicles (EV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and conventional gasoline-powered vehicles.

In addition, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 calls on the EPA and DOT to rate vehicles according to fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions, and smog forming pollutants. The new designs are intended to help provide enhanced information on a vehicle’s efficiency and environmental performance in compliance with the Act.

What If I Am Shopping for a New Car Now?

If you’re looking to buy a more environmentally friendly car now, CarLocate.com offers you the convenient “Green Search” option to help you quickly and easily identify cars that are more eco-friendly on the site. What Green Means on CarLocate.com.

• From the New Car search page, click on “New Green Vehicles” to find eco-friendly new cars in your area.
• From the Used Car search page, click on “Used Green vehicles” to find eco-friendly used cars in your area.
• Also, any time you browse vehicle listings on CarLocate.com, a green leaf symbol
  ( ) will display next to any car that meets the Green Search criteria.

Want to know what others are saying about the new fuel economy labels? Join in the discussion on our automotive forum.

Sept. 17 is Two-Second Turnoff Day for Mobile Phones from Seventeen

It’s no secret that distracted driving has been a growing problem in the U.S. Although much has been done in cities and states across the country to prevent the unsafe practices of talking and texting while driving, people are still involved in accidents daily because of distracted driving.

Some startling facts from the U.S. Government Website for Distracted Driving:

• In 2008, slightly more than almost 20 percent of all crashes in the year involved some type of distraction. 
• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured. 
• Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
• Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. 
• Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent, which is the legal limit in many states.

YouTube Video Contest

Recently the Department of Transportation, Seventeen magazine and AAA have joined forces in an effort to combat distracted driving by co-sponsoring a viral video challenge to raise awareness of the issue. The contest is centered on Seventeen’s Two-Second Turnoff Day, which is scheduled for Sept. 17. The idea of Two-Second Turnoff Day is that it takes two seconds or less to get into a crash, and by taking two seconds to turn off your cell phone before getting into the car, you can prevent the crash from happening altogether.

The contest, aimed at teen drivers, asks that participants shoot their own public service announcement against distracted driving, post it on YouTube and share it with their friends. Those who wish to participate have until Sept. 10 to sign up and submit their PSAs. The winner of the contest will receive $2,000, have his or her video posted on Seventeen.com, AAAexchange.com and distraction.gov, as well as have it featured at the Distracted Driving Summit on Sept. 21 in Washington.

Visit Seventeen.com for contest rules.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how much is a video worth?

You’ve started thinking about your next new car purchase, but you’re just not ready yet to find an automotive dealership or take a test drive. You know you like the styling of the Suzuki Kizashi, Ford Fusion, and Hyundai Sonata from the pictures you’ve seen, but you still want to know more about each car before narrowing your choices. If only you could watch a video and learn more about each one.

CarLocate.com has the videos you need. In addition to the car photos and 360-degree exterior and interior views on our site, our Car Research section also includes professionally produced car videos*. Think of them as a “virtual test drive” of the cars you’re interested in.

These vehicle videos are filled with facts about the cars and can really bring to life the features you’d otherwise only read about.

It’s easy to get started watching car videos on CarLocate.com:

• Click Research.
• Select the Year, Make, Model, and Style of car.
• Click Photos and Colors.
• Click the Videos tab.
• Click Play!

CarLocate.com Car Research Page Showing Video and Find This Car Options

Once you’ve watched the car videos and are ready for a real-life test drive, use the “Find This Car” option, available from every Car Research page, to find the car you’re interested in at a dealership near you.

Vehicle videos… another way CarLocate.com is helping you “shop smart” for your next car.

* Videos available for most cars on the site.