Annual EPA/DOE automotive fuel economy guide out now! Get it while it's hot!

The Environment Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have just released their new, piping hot automotive fuel economy guide for consumers. The purpose of the guide is to help you find a car that won't force you to sell one of your children into indentured servitude every time you fill up your SUV.

Also, spewing a little less toxic smog into the air when you drive around is apparently good for various public health, geopolitical, economical and environmental reasons, but don't let that stop you. Even totally unenlightened self-interest should be enough to do the job in this case.

Certain cars being released as 2012 models will emerge festooned with new, improved, "more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including five-year fuel costs or savings compared to the average vehicle, as well as new greenhouse gas and smog ratings".

According to the DOE, all 2013 models will be carrying these more comprehensive labels, which we judge to be A Good Thing, but some civic-minded (read: looking to boost sales with some green goodwill) automakers jumped the gun and started running them a year early.

The Guide includes a handy "Best and Worst MPG" link, which, unexpectedly, allows you to find cars with the best and the worst MPG. Topping the list for most efficient two-seaters is the Honda CR-Z at a combined 37 MPG. Mitsubishi's i-MiEV, a plug-in electric, is calculated at an impressive 112 MPG, beating the Nissan Leaf at 99 MPG. The Chevy Volt comes in at 60 MPG. All of these manufacturers will doubtless have entirely objective opinions on how these ratings are calculated, opinions intended to objectively swing the balance in their favor.

The complete guide is available online at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/, and printed versions will be shortly appearing in dealer showrooms, just to the left of the coffee machine. (And by the way, just because the coffee's free doesn't mean you can simply pour yourself a cup and wander back out into the street. You're meant to pretend to examine the cars as well.)