I'll be brief, but think a topic with a list of links that can assist someone with determining their vehicle's impact on the environment would be valuable to the members here. I know several have been mentioned and linked to in the past... some better than others. If you'd like, please post them here.

My personal reasoning behind this is a Bill that's been proposed to Washington State Legislation - SB 6900 - 2007-08. I suspect other states will be introducing something similar over time...

It will add to the annual vehicle registration the following fees:

Vehicle%20Engine%20Displacement%20Fee%20" target="_blank">Vehicle Engine Displacement Fee

7 (1) A vehicle engine displacement fee must be paid and collected

8 annually for motor vehicles subject to the fee under RCW 46.16.0621,

9 except motor homes. The amount of the fee must be based upon the

10 vehicle engine size in liters, which is correlated with vehicle size

11 and vehicle emissions. The fee imposed under this section must be used

12 for transportation purposes, and may not be used for the general

13 support of state government. The vehicle engine displacement fee is

14 that portion of the fee, as reflected on the engine size in liters set

15 forth in the schedule provided in this section, that is in excess of

16 the fees imposed under RCW 46.16.0621 and 46.17.010. For vehicles

17 registered on or after January 1, 2009, the vehicle engine displacement

18 fee under this section is due at the time of initial vehicle

19 registration and any subsequent renewal of vehicle registration.

1 Engine Size (liters) Rate Schedule

2 Up to 1.9 $0

3 2.0 - 2.9 $70

4 3.0 - 3.9 $225

5 4.0 - 4.9 $275

6 5.0 - 5.9 $325

7 6.0 - 7.9 $400

8 8.0 or over $600

Vehicle%20Emissions%20Fee" target="_blank">Vehicle Emissions Fee

23 (1) A vehicle emissions fee must be paid and collected annually for

24 motor vehicles subject to the fee under RCW 46.16.0621, except motor

25 homes. The amount of the fee must be based upon the grams of carbon

26 dioxide (CO2) emission per mile. Fees imposed under this section must

27 be used for transportation purposes, and may not be used for the

28 general support of state government. The vehicle emissions fee is that

29 portion of the fee, as reflected on the grams of carbon dioxide (CO2)

30 emission per mile set forth in the schedule provided in this section,

31 that is in excess of the fees imposed under RCW 46.16.0621 and

SB 6900 p. 2

1 46.17.010. On or after January 1, 2012, the vehicle emissions fee

2 under this section is due at the time of initial vehicle registration

3 and any subsequent renewal of vehicle registration.

4 CO2 Emissions (grams/mile) Rate Schedule

5 Up to 161 $0

6 162 - 193 $70

7 194 - 241 $225

8 242 - 266 $275

9 267 - 298 $325

10 299 - 362 $400

11 Over 362 $600

Thank you ahead of time!

those are huge jumps from 2.x to the 3.x range...

that's ridiculous... unless diesels start to take over.

for my car, only on displacement, on average, that's 7 tanks of gas / year and that's close to 1/2 my gas per year, based on my previous use. of ~12g / 3 to 4 weeks

how would this money be used?

it wouldn't push people with trucks into smaller ones.

it would hinder people on a budget trying to get into a "better car"

I just have to shake my head at this type of stuff.

Yeah... I'm not looking forward to it myself. I'll be looking closely at the LaCrosse replacement, Excelle replacement, and SAAB 9-3/9-5 replacements over the next year or so. It really depends on style, value, options, and execution for all of the vehicles. I'm still interested in the Lucerne Super.... but.... I'll have to seriously consider paying a $275 penalty to drive a Lucerne Super in addition to the lower Northstar V8 gas mileage compared to my SC 3.8l V6 in the Park Avenue.

Here's my Park Avenue on polution/emissions -

http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Detailsre...vehicle_ID=5385

Here's the Fuel Economy ratings -

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2008car1tablef.jsp?id=18726

My car's emission label ID is: 3GMXV03.8044

I drive less than 10,000 miles a year and Premium is around $3.30 a gallon.

Based on 31% highway, 69% city driving, 10000 annual miles and a fuel price of $ 3.30 per gallon . Use Your Gas Prices & Annual Miles

My Park Avenue appears to be LEV status and the epa.gov website indicates 4.2 grams/mile for CO2. That's far beneath any of the proposed penalties for CO2 Emissions:

CO2 Emissions (grams/mile) Rate Schedule

Up to 161 $0

162 - 193 $70

194 - 241 $225

242 - 266 $275

267 - 298 $325

299 - 362 $400

Over 362 $600

Am I reading this correctly? Empowah? WMJ?

Yeah... I'm not looking forward to it myself. I'll be looking closely at the LaCrosse replacement, Excelle replacement, and SAAB 9-3/9-5 replacements over the next year or so. It really depends on style, value, options, and execution for all of the vehicles. I'm still interested in the Lucerne Super.... but.... I'll have to seriously consider paying a $275 penalty to drive a Lucerne Super in addition to the lower Northstar V8 gas mileage compared to my SC 3.8l V6 in the Park Avenue.

Here's my Park Avenue on polution/emissions -

http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/Detailsre...vehicle_ID=5385

Here's the Fuel Economy ratings -

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/2008car1tablef.jsp?id=18726

My car's emission label ID is: 3GMXV03.8044

I drive less than 10,000 miles a year and Premium is around $3.30 a gallon.

Based on 31% highway, 69% city driving, 10000 annual miles and a fuel price of $ 3.30 per gallon . Use Your Gas Prices & Annual Miles

My Park Avenue appears to be LEV status and the epa.gov website indicates 4.2 grams/mile for CO2. That's far beneath any of the proposed penalties for CO2 Emissions:

Am I reading this correctly? Empowah? WMJ?

Your PA emits 4.2 g/mi CO, a "criteria" air pollutant that's different from CO2. According to the first link, 10.23 tons of greenhouse gases (in weighted CO2-equivalent) are emitted per year (15,000 miles). This translates into 619 g/mi CO2. I'm assuming the second link's figure of 9.6 is in metric tons.

What they're proposing is identical to the UK's car tax bands...

A <100 g/km £0

G-Wiz Electric (0 g/km)

Piaggio MPV Electric (0 g/km)

Honda Insight petrol electric hybrid (80 g/km)

Smart diesel (90 g/km)

Smart LPG (90 g/km)

B 101-120 g/km £35

Aixam A.751 Diesel (110 g/km)

Vauxhall Corsa Dual Fuel (119 g/km)

Honda Civic Hybrid (116 g/km)

Toyota Prius 1.5 litre petrol-electric hybrid (104 g/km)

Smart car 0.7 litre petrol (113 g/km)

C 121-150 g/km £115

Fiat Panda 1.2 petrol (127 g/km)

Vauxhall Corsa1.2 16v SXi (139 g/km)

Toyota Yaris 1.3 (141 g/km)

Renault Clio Dynamique 1.2 (142 g/km)

Nissan Micra 1.2S (143 g/km)

VW Polo 1.2 Litre E (144 g/km)

VW Fox 1.2 (146 g/km)

Ford Ka 1.3 petrol (147 g/km)

Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zetec (147 g/km)

D 151-165 g/km £140

Peugeot 206 1.4 S (152 g/km)

BMW 320 Diesel (153 g/km)

VW Golf 2.0 TDI (154 g/km)

Fors Focus Zetex (155 g/km)

Vauxhall Astra 1.6 16v SXi (158 g/km)

VW passat 2.0 TDI (159 g/km)

VW Passat estate 1.9 TDI diesel (159 g/km)

Alfa Romeo 159 1.9 JTD (159 g/km)

VW Fox 1..4 (161 g/km)

Audi A4 3.0 TDI (164 g/km)

Renault Megane Dynamique 1.6 (164 g/km)

E 166-185 g/km £165

Mini Cooper 3dr (166 g/km)

Mitsubishi Colt CZC - 1.5l Turbo Petrol (168 g/km)

Ford Focus Ghia FFV / Morrisons E85 (169 g/km)

Toyota Avensis 1.8 petrol saloon/hatchback (171 g/km)

Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 16v SRI (173 g/km)

Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 16v life (175 g/km)

Volkswagen GOLF TSI 1.4 Petrol (175 g/m)

Ford Mondeo saloon 1.8i petrol (182 g/km)

Audi TT 2.0 TFSI (183 g/km)

F 186-225 g/km £205

Lexus GS 450h - hybrid (186 g/km)

Mini Cooper 1.6L Petrol (187 g/km)

Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD (193 g/km)

Land Rover Freelander 2.0 diesel (205 g/km)

Toyota RAV4 2.0 litre petrol (211 g/km)

Chrysler 300C Estate (215 g/km)

Chrysler PT Cruiser Cabrio - 2.4 petrol (223 g/km)

Ford Focus ST2 (224 g/km)

KIA Sedona - 2.9 diesel (225 g/km)

G >225 g/km £300

Vauxhall Astra TwinTop 1.8 Petrol (228 g/km)

Honda Accord 2.4 Petrol (229 g/km)

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI SE (282 g/km)

Jaguar X type 2.0 petrol saloon auto (239 g/km)

Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe 3.6 litre petrol (269 g/km)

Ford Galaxy 2.8i (295 g/km)

BMW 7 Series 760Li (325 g/km)

Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUV (378 g/km)

Range Rover 4.4 V8 petrol auto (389 g/km)

Bentley Arnage (495 g/km)

Ferrari Super America F1 (499 g/km)

... which is an impossibility, given the lack of diesel engines here. The tax doesn't take into consideration differences between the UK/US - for starts, a £30,000 car there is a $30,000 car here. Over there, cars in the G band are sports cars and luxury vehicles; over here, they are family sedans and work vehicles. Gas averages $8 per gallon there; it's much cheaper here.

Wait a minute... that means even a Toyota Prius @ 4.6 tons Greenhouse would come out to 264 g/mi and be subject to a $275.00 annual penalty.

THAT'S INSANE!

This bill will make my annual car registration increase by $825.

The State of Washington already has an RTA tax (Regional Transit Authority Tax) tied to our vehicle registrations... it's calculated based on the vehicle value:

How is the RTA tax calculated?

The RTA tax is an excise tax of 0.3%, which means it is calculated based on the value of your vehicle. Your vehicle’s value, for the purposes of this tax, was set by the state legislature, and is not based on the fair market value.

The RTA tax at least decreases as the vehicle ages... the above $825 penalty on my Park Avenue will never decrease. I'm looking at my vehicle registration going from around $130 to over $900 annually.

Stuff like this will never pass....

It's just too much.

I would tell the state to bite me and drive without registration - or move.

No way would I accept that idiocy.