Your federal tax dollars support a lot of automotive testing. Here are three government sites that you can use to compare the results for both new and used cars. Each link takes you right to the page you need to enter the vehicles of interest to you.
Crash Test and Rollover Ratings
This site from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) lets you look up safety ratings for any vehicle back to 1990.
Fuel Economy Guide
This site from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lets you look up the fuel economy estimates for any vehicle back to 1985.
NOTE: The EPA changed the way it estimates MPG in 2008. All MPG estimates have been converted to the new ratings system to help consumers compare the MPG of older and newer cars.
Green Vehicle Guide
This EPA site only goes back to 2000. But in addition to fuel economy ratings it shows the Air Pollution Score and the Greenhouse Gas score for each vehicle.
NOTE: This site requires you to select the state, because some states, notably California, have tighter air pollution standards.
Don’t be surprised if you see some pretty low scores. The scale is designed to allow for future improvements.
