Washington, D.C.—With the auto world focused on fuel efficiency in the face of $100-per-barrel oil, new fuel economy requirements, and concern about climate change, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) today named the year's "greenest" and "meanest" vehicles, along with environmental scorings of all model year 2008 cars and passenger trucks. This announcement marks the eleventh year ACEEE has published its widely-respected rankings. The vehicle scores are part of ACEEE's Green Book® Online, ACEEE's environmental guide to cars and trucks, available at greenercars.org
Earning the "greenest vehicle" title for the fifth consecutive year is Honda's natural gas-powered Civic GX. Hybrid-electric vehicles also continue to perform well in ACEEE's annual ranking, despite being disproportionately affected by changes to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's fuel economy calculations. The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid claim spots two and three, while the highly-anticipated Smart Fortwo Convertible and the Toyota Yaris complete the top five, showcasing the environmental benefits of smaller passenger vehicles. Others on the "Greenest" list include conventional and hybrid-electric vehicles from Honda, Toyota, Mini, and Ford. The 2008 Ford Focus comfortably takes the 9th spot in ACEEE's annual ranking, reversing last year's shutout of domestic manufacturers.
"Hybrids stand out, even after being taken down a notch by the new fuel economy calculations," said ACEEE vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan. "And sales rose by a whopping 40% last year. This interest in hybrid vehicles should shine the spotlight on other green vehicle technologies that can significantly improve fuel efficiency."...
Greenest top ten in order: http://greenercars.org/highlights_greenest.htm
HONDA CIVIC GX
TOYOTA PRIUS
HONDA CIVIC HYBRID
SMART FORTWO CONVERTIBLE / COUPE
TOYOTA YARIS
NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID
TOYOTA COROLLA
MINI COOPER / CLUBMAN
FORD FOCUS
TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID
HONDA CIVIC
HONDA FIT
Meanest for the environment (from bottom up):
http://greenercars.org/highlights_meanest.htm
VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG TDI
BUGATTI VEYRON
MERCEDES-BENZ GL320 CDI
JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE
MERCEDES-BENZ R320 CDI
LAMBORGHINI MURCIELAGO /MURCIELAGO ROADSTER
MERCEDES-BENZ ML320 CDI
MERCEDES-BENZ G55 AMG
HUMMER H2
GMC YUKON 2500
BENTLEY AZURE
BENTLEY ARNAGE
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