Following its success in the UK, WhatGreenCar is aiming to ‘green’ the attitudes of US motorists with the launch of its new U.S. website: www.whatgreencar.com/us.

This new site allows US car buyers to rate the environmental performance of all new cars available in the United States, and provides expert, independent analysis on the overall impact of different green car technologies, according to the company.

The launch site provides vehicle ratings for more than 6,000 U.S. models, covering models years 2008 through 2010, and includes gasoline, hybrid, ethanol, diesel and natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Environmental ratings are given for both federal and California sales areas. During the fall of 2009, ratings for electric and fuel cell vehicles will also be available.

As with the UK site, not only does the WhatGreenCar vehicle rating system include the environmental impacts of using a vehicle, it also takes into account the emissions generated by producing the fuel and manufacturing the vehicle, through using data specific to North America.

The WhatGreenCar analysis first quantifies the extent of air emissions arising from the fuel and vehicle cycles. The emissions assessed include the certified emissions: carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), non-methane organic gases (NMOG) and particulates (PM) as well as sulfur dioxide (SO2). The three main greenhouse gases associated with road transport are also assessed: carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4).

Next, the WhatGreenCar analysis conducts an emissions impact assessment. This quantifies the impacts of the emissions rather than just quantifying the amount of emissions produced. The advantage of this approach is that the varying levels of all the emissions assessed can be combined to produce an overall environmental impact.

For more information, visit www.whatgreencar.com/us.