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Meanest, Greenest for '08 Ranked in New Green Book
It's not packed with sexy new technology like hybrid or fuel-cell cars, but its clean, low-carbon fuel and respectable fuel economy combined to earn Honda's 2008 Civic GX top place on a leading environmental guide's "greenest cars" list for the fifth consecutive year.
Honda's natural gas Civic GX is rated "greenest" car in U.S. for fifth year.
VW's Touareg diesel ranked "meanest" of more than 1,300 vehicles rated.
The four-wheel-drive version of Volkswagen's diesel-burning V10 Touareg SUV placed dead last on the lengthy list, behind such gas guzzlers as the Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Murcielago and the 6.0-liter Hummer H2.
In taking the top spot the GX, fueled by compressed natural gas, once again beat out the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids.
The rankings are contained in the Washington, D.C.-based the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's 11the annual Green Book. The online guide to environmental rankings for every 2008 model car and passenger truck sold in the U.S. was released this morning by the ACEEE.
1,300 Models Rated
The guide lists more than 1,300 engine and transmission configurations and factors fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions, federal and California emissions ratings, estimated health-related pollution impacts and estimated fuel expenses of each model in its rankings.
The Civic GX scored 57 out of a possible 100 – a theoretical top score no vehicle has ever come close to achieving.
That compares to 53 points for the second-place Prius and just 14 points for the bottom-of-the pack Touareg.
Other stellar performers include the only domestic model to make the top rankings, the Ford Focus PZEV (a California rating, denoting "partial zero emissions vehicle" and given to vehicles that meet the state's cleanest emission category requirements and add an evaporation recovery system to capture fuel vapors), and the Toyota Yaris and Smart Fortwo models. The subcompacts each made their first appearance in the top category.
Small Cars, Hybrids Growing
ACEEE researchers found that rising fuel prices and growing concern about climate change and energy in dependence helped the small-car segment – typically featuring the nation's most fuel-efficient cars – by 33 percent last year with cars such as the Yaris, Chevrolet Aveo and Honda Fit gaining ground.
Hybrids did even better, posting a 40 percent sales gain for 2007 with sales of 347,000 of the gasoline-electric cars and trucks. That brings to almost 1 million the total number of hybrids sold since the now-discontinued Honda insight was introduced in the U.S. in 1998.
"Interest in hybrid vehicles should shine a spotlight on other green vehicle technologies," said ACEEE analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan.
The guide's authors say they expect hybrids and small cars to continue selling well this year and into the future.
Despite the strong showing for smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles, demand for large pickup trucks and luxury SUVs remains steady, the authors found, and demonstrated little sensitivity to rising fuel prices in 2007.
Hybrid Trucks Heartening
One heartening trend, however, is increasing number of hybrid electric trucks and SUVs entering the market, led by General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids.
Their combined city-highway fuel economy ratings of 18 miles per gallon represent what the guide calls "a step up in fuel economy for individuals who require the functionality of large utility vehicles but wish to reduce their impact on the environment."
This is probably the last year that diesels will dominate the bottom end of the book's rankings: new clean diesel fuel and new emissions treatments mean 2009 model-year and later diesels will be as clean as comparable gasoline models while offering better fuel economy.
But for the '08 listing, diesels occupy half the ACEEE's "meanest" list of the least environmentally friendly cars and trucks.
No Flex-Fuel
The guide doesn't rank flex-fuel vehicles, reasoning that the jury is still out on whether ethanol is any greener than the gasoline it is intended to replace.
Although the flex-fuel category of vehicles designed to run either on gasoline or an E85 blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline is growing rapidly, very few of the vehicles are ever run on anything but gasoline as only about 1 percent of the fuel stations in the country offer E85.
Here are the Green Book's best and worst performers for the 2008 model year:
GREENEST
1. Honda Civic GX, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder compressed natural gas engine, automatic transmission, 57 points.
2. Toyota Prius, 1.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine with hybrid electric drive, continuously variable transmission (CVT), 53 points.
3. Honda Civic Hybrid, 1.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with hybrid electric drive, CVT, 51 points.
4. Smart Fortwo, 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine, manually adjustable automatic, 49 points.
5. Toyota Yaris, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engi ne, manual transmission, 46 points.
6. Nissan Altmia Hybrid, 2.5-liter, four-cyliner gasoline engine, CVT, 46 points
7. Toyota Corolla, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder, manual, 45 points.
8. Mini Cooper/Clubman, 1.6-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual.
9. Ford Focus, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual, Califor ia PZEV-rated.
10. Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2.4-liter, four-cylindder gasoline engine, CVT, Californai PZEV-rated.
11. Honda Civic, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual.
12. Honda Fit, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual.
MEANEST
1. Volkswagen Touareg, 5-liter V10 diesel, manually adjustable automatic, 14 points.
2. Bugatti Veyron, 8-liter, V16 gasoline engine, manually adjustable automatic.
3. Mercedes-Benz GL320 CDI, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automatic 4-wheel drive.
4. Mercedes-Benz R320 CDI, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
5. Jeep Grand Cherokee, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
6. Lamborghini Murcielago, 6.5-liter, V12 gasoline engine, manual.
7. Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automastic, 4-wheel drive.
8. Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, 5.4-liter, V8 gasoline engie, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
9. Hummer H2, 6-liter, V8 gasoline engine, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
10. GMC Yukon 2500, 6-liter, V8 gasoline engine, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
11-13. Bently Azure, Arnage, Arnage RL, 6.7-liter, V8, manually adjustable automatic.
Honda's natural gas Civic GX is rated "greenest" car in U.S. for fifth year.
VW's Touareg diesel ranked "meanest" of more than 1,300 vehicles rated.
The four-wheel-drive version of Volkswagen's diesel-burning V10 Touareg SUV placed dead last on the lengthy list, behind such gas guzzlers as the Bugatti Veyron, Lamborghini Murcielago and the 6.0-liter Hummer H2.
In taking the top spot the GX, fueled by compressed natural gas, once again beat out the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids.
The rankings are contained in the Washington, D.C.-based the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy's 11the annual Green Book. The online guide to environmental rankings for every 2008 model car and passenger truck sold in the U.S. was released this morning by the ACEEE.
1,300 Models Rated
The guide lists more than 1,300 engine and transmission configurations and factors fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions, federal and California emissions ratings, estimated health-related pollution impacts and estimated fuel expenses of each model in its rankings.
The Civic GX scored 57 out of a possible 100 – a theoretical top score no vehicle has ever come close to achieving.
That compares to 53 points for the second-place Prius and just 14 points for the bottom-of-the pack Touareg.
Other stellar performers include the only domestic model to make the top rankings, the Ford Focus PZEV (a California rating, denoting "partial zero emissions vehicle" and given to vehicles that meet the state's cleanest emission category requirements and add an evaporation recovery system to capture fuel vapors), and the Toyota Yaris and Smart Fortwo models. The subcompacts each made their first appearance in the top category.
Small Cars, Hybrids Growing
ACEEE researchers found that rising fuel prices and growing concern about climate change and energy in dependence helped the small-car segment – typically featuring the nation's most fuel-efficient cars – by 33 percent last year with cars such as the Yaris, Chevrolet Aveo and Honda Fit gaining ground.
Hybrids did even better, posting a 40 percent sales gain for 2007 with sales of 347,000 of the gasoline-electric cars and trucks. That brings to almost 1 million the total number of hybrids sold since the now-discontinued Honda insight was introduced in the U.S. in 1998.
"Interest in hybrid vehicles should shine a spotlight on other green vehicle technologies," said ACEEE analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan.
The guide's authors say they expect hybrids and small cars to continue selling well this year and into the future.
Despite the strong showing for smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles, demand for large pickup trucks and luxury SUVs remains steady, the authors found, and demonstrated little sensitivity to rising fuel prices in 2007.
Hybrid Trucks Heartening
One heartening trend, however, is increasing number of hybrid electric trucks and SUVs entering the market, led by General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon hybrids.
Their combined city-highway fuel economy ratings of 18 miles per gallon represent what the guide calls "a step up in fuel economy for individuals who require the functionality of large utility vehicles but wish to reduce their impact on the environment."
This is probably the last year that diesels will dominate the bottom end of the book's rankings: new clean diesel fuel and new emissions treatments mean 2009 model-year and later diesels will be as clean as comparable gasoline models while offering better fuel economy.
But for the '08 listing, diesels occupy half the ACEEE's "meanest" list of the least environmentally friendly cars and trucks.
No Flex-Fuel
The guide doesn't rank flex-fuel vehicles, reasoning that the jury is still out on whether ethanol is any greener than the gasoline it is intended to replace.
Although the flex-fuel category of vehicles designed to run either on gasoline or an E85 blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline is growing rapidly, very few of the vehicles are ever run on anything but gasoline as only about 1 percent of the fuel stations in the country offer E85.
Here are the Green Book's best and worst performers for the 2008 model year:
GREENEST
1. Honda Civic GX, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder compressed natural gas engine, automatic transmission, 57 points.
2. Toyota Prius, 1.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine with hybrid electric drive, continuously variable transmission (CVT), 53 points.
3. Honda Civic Hybrid, 1.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with hybrid electric drive, CVT, 51 points.
4. Smart Fortwo, 1.0-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine, manually adjustable automatic, 49 points.
5. Toyota Yaris, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engi ne, manual transmission, 46 points.
6. Nissan Altmia Hybrid, 2.5-liter, four-cyliner gasoline engine, CVT, 46 points
7. Toyota Corolla, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder, manual, 45 points.
(The next five are tied with 44 points each)
8. Mini Cooper/Clubman, 1.6-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual.
9. Ford Focus, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual, Califor ia PZEV-rated.
10. Toyota Camry Hybrid, 2.4-liter, four-cylindder gasoline engine, CVT, Californai PZEV-rated.
11. Honda Civic, 1.8-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual.
12. Honda Fit, 1.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine, manual.
MEANEST
1. Volkswagen Touareg, 5-liter V10 diesel, manually adjustable automatic, 14 points.
(The next four are tied with 17 points)
2. Bugatti Veyron, 8-liter, V16 gasoline engine, manually adjustable automatic.
3. Mercedes-Benz GL320 CDI, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automatic 4-wheel drive.
4. Mercedes-Benz R320 CDI, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
5. Jeep Grand Cherokee, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
(The next seven are tied with 18 points)
6. Lamborghini Murcielago, 6.5-liter, V12 gasoline engine, manual.
7. Mercedes-Benz ML 320 CDI, 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel, automastic, 4-wheel drive.
8. Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, 5.4-liter, V8 gasoline engie, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
9. Hummer H2, 6-liter, V8 gasoline engine, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
10. GMC Yukon 2500, 6-liter, V8 gasoline engine, automatic, 4-wheel drive.
11-13. Bently Azure, Arnage, Arnage RL, 6.7-liter, V8, manually adjustable automatic.
Feb 19, 2008 1:05 am
Categories: Alternative Fuels | Diesel | Ethanol | Flex-Fuel | Hybrid | Hydrogen | Natural Gas | Emissions | Fuel Economy
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