SACRAMENTO, CA --- The California Air Resources Board unveiled its revamped Web site, www.Driveclean.ca.gov, aimed at helping consumers choose the least polluting cars on the market. 

The Web site, using information collected for vehicle certification in California, offers a system that ranks vehicles according to their emission characteristics and provides tools to compare models. 

"This new Web site will take the guesswork out of buying the cleanest car and help consumers find rebates, tax breaks and other incentives," ARB Chair Mary D. Nichols said. 

The ARB has made efforts recently to simplify state and federal vehicle-emission classifications to aid car buyers. Last year, California adopted a regulation requiring auto manufacturers to affix the Environmental Performance Label to showroom models indicating the vehicle's smog and greenhouse gas emissions. The graphic has two rankings, from one to 10, that depict vehicle emissions. The higher the score, the less polluting it is. The Web site www.Driveclean.ca.gov puts these same rankings in an online format, making them practical for Web research. The Web site also provides information about clean car technology and guides users to consider the emissions of the models they are evaluating.

In addition, consumers will find information on available incentives being offered by various federal, state and local governments, and private corporations and businesses. 

ARB is preparing for its own new incentive program, the Zero-Emission and Plug-In Hybrid Light-Duty Vehicle Rebate Project, slated to begin the first quarter of 2010. Incentives will range between $1,500 and $5,000 for qualifying clean technology vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.