Shifting to a Greener Attitude on Tire Ratings

Michelin said that over the past 15 years, its energy-saving tires have reduced fuel consumption worldwide by about 2.38 billion gallons, compared with conventional tires.

Vehicle manufacturers are keenly aware of the role tires can play in meeting federal fuel-economy standards. They generally install original tires that have less rolling resistance -- and sometimes less life expectancy -- than replacement tires.

One reason consumers are in the dark over whether the tires they choose will cause them pain at the pump is that there is no federal mandate to disclose the efficiency of tires as there is for temperature, tread wear and traction.

The congressional ban, first passed in 1996, said there could be no federal rule adding to existing grading standards that would require a certain level of fuel efficiency.

Some manufacturers argued that an emphasis on rolling resistance could affect tread wear, safety, cost and the number of tires that ended up as scrap.

"This was their effort to prevent a national performance standard," Tonachel said of the bans.

A 1998 Senate report explained that the prohibition covered "any rulemaking which would require that passenger car tires be labeled to indicate their low rolling resistance, or fuel economy characteristics."

In 2003, California passed a law calling for a consumer information program and a requirement that replacement tires be at least as fuel efficient on average as the tires that originally came on the vehicle, taking into consideration safety and cost effectiveness.

Zielinski said the planned federal consumer information program will achieve the same goals as earlier proposals, rating tires for their relative fuel efficiency among brands. All the major manufacturers think the program will empower consumers "to choose the performance traits they want."

The traffic safety agency is supposed to have a rule in place by the end of 2009 to standardize how the information is gathered and displayed.

Tiremakers expect the annual ban to keep being passed. As Zielinski put it, "We are not advocating its removal."

Cindy Skrzycki is a regulatory columnist for Bloomberg News. She can be reached atcskrzycki@bloomberg.net.