At the height of debate surrounding Democrats’ proposed overhaul of the American health care system, a chart purporting to explain the complex web of regulations created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act infamously made its way around the Internet and through congressional offices, inducing mockery of the legislation.

Now, as the Obama administration looks to overhaul labels affixed to new cars and aimed at pushing consumers to “go green,” both proposed label designs are being critiqued by prospective car buyers as “confusing”–with some opponents of the labeling scheme joking that one of them looks a bit like a dumbed-down version of that Obamacare “structure chart.”

According to a poll of 456 Americans over the age of 18 looking to purchase a car in the next three years conducted by branding firm Siegel+Gale, nearly 40 percent of those surveyed found this label proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be confusing:

Even worse, 66 percent of respondents trashed the “simpler” label option, which prominently features a letter grade denoting the car’s “green-ness.”

Both labels purported to illustrate data applicable to a gas/electric hybrid vehicle, one of the types of car that the administration is reportedly most keen on pushing consumers to purchase. But both failed to take appropriate account of the factors car buyers consider most important when shopping for a new vehicle: miles per gallon, and cost-per-year to run.

Siegel+Gale’s survey demonstrates that even among Democrats, environmental considerations are a factor in determining which car to purchase for just 25 percent of consumers. A full 38 percent of respondents said that they would buy a car graded less than a C–a damning result that draws into question the ability of EPA’s plans to influence consumer behavior at all.

Despite survey results like these and a wave of criticism from automakers, auto dealers, environmentalists, and others, the administration appears intent on pursuing the new labels. EPA will be holding hearings to discuss the proposed labels jointly with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in Chicago on October 14, 2010, and in Los Angeles on October 21, 2010.

In addition, the administration is soliciting comments on the labels via email at newlabels@epa.gov. There’s no word yet on what survey respondents may care to share with the regulators beyond what Siegel+Gale have already identified, though EPA staffers are likely bracing themselves for some angry emails.