Carboncounter | Cars evaluated against climate targets

{{tour.title}} < Previous Next > This tour will take your through the basics of the Carboncounter app_activeapp. To start, click 'Next' in the bottom right corner of this box. The plot area shows more than 100 popular new car models in the U.S. Move over each data point to get more information. You'll find some data points connected by grey lines; these indicate multiple versions (trims) of the same model. Colors represent different powertrain technologies, as indicated by the legend below. You can also click on a data point* to add a car to your list of highlighted cars. The same can be achieved using the search for a car field below.

*On a touch device, tap the data point a second time (after tapping it a first time to highlight it). The x axis shows the lifetime cost of each vehicle per mile driven. This combines the vehicle purchasing price, fuel/charging costs, and regular maintenance costs. We subtract federal tax refunds where applicable. The y axis shows the greenhouse gas emissions of each vehicle per mile driven. This combines emissions from the production and distribution of both the car and its fuel, meaning that we include emissions from electricity generation and battery production. Near the bottom of the chart, you will notice horizontal lines. These indicate estimated greenhouse gas emission targets that the average car on the road (not just new ones sold) should meet in the coming decades to be consistent with limiting global warming to 2°C. Moving over a target line will tell you which year it corresponds to. The graph you see now on the left corresponds to the default parameter values in our model. The default parameters values are set to represent the average U.S. driving behavior, the average U.S. electricity mix, and 10-year average fuel and electricity prices for the U.S. Our results show that you don't have to pay more for a low-carbon-emitting vehicle. Many electric vehicles are the same price, or cheaper, than similar gasoline cars. The average greenhouse gas emissions of all cars shown here are more than 50% higher than the 2030 climate target, with no internal combustion vehicles meeting the target. Most hybrid and electric vehicles, on the other hand, already meet the 2030 goal today, with today's electricity mix. With the current (May 2016) low gasoline and diesel prices, the cost of gasoline powered cars goes down slightly compared to hybrid and electric ones. But not that much, as you can see by switching between current fuel prices (shown now) and the long-term average prices (shown previously) by using the 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons below. Greenhouse gas emissions from electricity production in California are less than half the U.S. average, and it shows. If we apply a relatively clean electricity mix, such as California's, the emission reduction advantage of electric vehicles becomes larger. Emissions from electric vehicles drop below the 2040 climate target. In addition to the federal tax refunds for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, we can simulate a best-case scenario for electric vehicles by adding state tax refunds, which are available in some states. Here, we add those of California. This scenario is based on the 10-year avarege fuel price again. Here, electric vehicles are cheaper than their combustion engine counterparts. Once we turn off the federal tax refunds that are available today for electric vehicles, they become more expensive. Nevertheless, some specific electric vehicles, such as the Nissan Leaf, are still comparable in cost to combustion engine vehicles of the same class. This is because electric vehicles have very low operational (fuel and maintenance) costs. To check this, let's filter cars so that only compact cars (not including compact SUVs or pickups) are highlighted. Within this vehicle class, we observe that some electric vehicles indeed have similar costs to combustion vehicles even without any of today's tax refunds. This concludes the introductory tour, but there's much more to explore. Click on the 'Custom Parameters' tab to see what the future of transportation could look like, and how different cars stack up against climate targets and each other.

We have set all parameters back to default for now. You can reset them yourself at any point with the reset button on the toolbar above.

Search for a Car

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Highlighted Cars

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Legend

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License

USING THE SOFTWARE APPLICATION (SERVICE, DATA, AND SOFTWARE) ACCOMPANYING THIS LICENSE INDICATES YOUR ACEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PLEASE CEASE FURTHER USE IMMEDIATELY.

The software application is being provided as a service for research and non-commercial purposes only. By using this online service, you agree to the terms and conditions herein.

You accept the software application on an "AS IS" basis. MIT MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES CONCERNING THE SOFTWARE APPLICATION, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL SUCH WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. MIT has no obligation to assist in your installation or use of the software application or to provide other services or maintenance of any type with respect to the software application. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software application is borne by you. This disclaimer of warranty constitutes an essential part of this Agreement.

IN NO EVENT SHALL MIT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT. To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless MIT and its directors, officers, representatives, employees, and agents against all losses, expenses (including without limitation any legal expenses), claims, demands, suits, or other actions arising from your use of the software application, except to the extent caused by the gross negligence or willful misconduct of MIT.

Credits

Carboncounter was created by Marco Miotti, Geoffrey J. Supran, and Jessika E. Trancik at the MIT Trancik Lab, based on reference [1], and programmed by Marco Miotti using AngularJS and D3.

The most recent version of the Carboncounter app can be found at carboncounter.com.

Costs are given in 2014 USD. Vehicle specifications were obtained from manufacturer websites and cars.com, and are based on 2014 models (except for the Toyota Mirai, Chevrolet Bolt, and Tesla Model 3). Emissions were calculated based on the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, developed by Argonne National Laboratory. Fuel economies reflect the official EPA ratings, which are based on a standardized test procedure specified by U.S. federal law.

Details on the calculation of costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and emission targets can be found in the Supporting Information of reference [1].

[1]: M. Miotti, G.J. Supran, E.J. Kim, J.E. Trancik, Environmental Science & Technology, 2016.

Contact

For further information, please contact Prof. Jessika Trancik at trancik@mit.edu.

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