You will find many regulations in the world of option fuel and low emission autos. While national regulations on automobile emissions do exist, some states have a lot more strict standards. This has created some abbreviations about emissions. Here are the meanings of probably the most popular abbreviations.
LEV and NLEV are low emission vehicles
The LEV or NLEV standard was first instituted by California as the “Low Emission Vehicle” standard, and later adopted as the “National Low Emission Vehicle” standard. Per mile, they’re allowed to emit up to 3.4 grams of carbon monoxide. This is applied through the 2003 model.
ULEV stands for Ultra Low Emission Vehicle
Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standards apply to automobiles in model years 2003 to 2010. These ULEV passenger cars are can emit no more than 1.7 grams per pile of carbon monoxide. Alternately, ULEV automobiles can emit no more than half of the emissions of comparable model-year automobiles.
SULEV – Super Ultra Low Emission Automobile
Super Ultra Low Emission Automobiles, otherwise known as SULEV cars, have to emit no more than 10 percent of the average emissions of comparable model-year vehicles. SULEV vehicles tend to be ultra-efficient hybrids or alternative-fuel vehicles.
Partial Zero Emission Car – PZEV
PZEV standards are the same as SULEV. Nevertheless, to qualify as a PZEV, a car has to have a whole bunch of additional controls on gas evaporation and must maintain low emission levels for 150,000 miles. As of 2001, you will find several ordinary gasoline engines that qualify as PZEV.
ZEV stands for Zero Emissions Vehicle
Used to refer to hydrogen-fueled or electric cars generally, Zero Emissions Autos aren’t always necessarily totally “zero emissions.” For instance, a car that charges off of the power grid can be considered ZEV – even though the grid nevertheless puts out some pollution.
Standards for fuel economy
Though some states use alphabet soup to describe the efficiency of automobiles, the federal government and EPA have opted to go with a different system. By 2016, each one of the car makers could be required to build cars with an average fuel economy rating of 35.5 miles per gallon.
