Greenest Cars of 2010

    The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released their thirteenth annual rankings (greenercars.org) for model year 2010 vehicles. Among the top cars, hybrids took most of them.

    Not surprisingly, given the high fuel efficiency ratings, hybrids from Toyota Ford and Honda held onto five of the top 10, and 3 out of the top 5.  The top spot went to the Honda Civic GX, which runs on compressed natural gas.


    Make and Model
    Specifications a
    Emission Standardb
    MPG: City
    MPG: Hwy
    Green Score
    HONDA
    CIVIC GX c
    1.8L 4, auto [CNG]
    Tier 2 bin 2 /
    PZEV
    24
    36
    57
    TOYOTA
    PRIUS
    1.8L 4, auto CVT
    Tier 2 bin 3 /
    PZEV
    51
    48
    52
    HONDA
    CIVIC HYBRID
    1.3L 4, auto CVT
    Tier 2 bin 2 /
    PZEV
    40
    45
    51
    SMART FORTWO
    CONVERTIBLE /
    COUPE
    1.0L 3, manual
    Tier 2 bin 5 /
    ULEV II
    33
    41
    50
    HONDA
    INSIGHT
    1.3L 4, auto CVT
    Tier 2 bin 3
    40
    43
    50
    FORD
    FUSION HYBRID /
    MERCURY
    MILAN HYBRID
    2.4L 4, auto CVT
    Tier 2 bin 3 /
    PZEV
    41
    36
    47
    TOYOTA
    YARIS
    1.5L 4, manual
    Tier 2 bin 5 /
    ULEV II
    29
    36
    46
    NISSAN
    ALTIMA HYBRID
    2.5L 4, auto CVT
    PZEV
    35
    33
    46
    MINI COOPER
    1.6L 4, manual [P]
    Tier 2 bin 5 /
    ULEV II
    28
    37
    45
    CHEVROLET
    COBALT XFE /
    PONTIAC
    G5 XFE
    2.2L 4, manual
    Tier 2 bin 5 /
    PZEV
    25
    37
    45
    HYUNDAI
    ACCENT BLUE
    1.6L 4, manual
    Tier 2 bin 5 /
    ULEV II
    27
    36
    45
    HONDA FIT
    1.5L 4, auto
    Tier 2 bin 5 /
    ULEV II
    28
    35
    45
    [CNG] denotes compressed natural gas fuel.
    [P] denotes premium gasoline
    "auto CVT" denotes continuously variable automatic transmission.
    a
    Certain other configurations of these models (with different transmissions or meeting different emission standards) score nearly as well.
    b A listing with two emission standards (e.g., Tier 2 bin 2/ PZEV) denotes a single vehicle carrying both a Federal and a California emission certification. Green Scores for such listings reflect the cleaner of the two certifications.
    c Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fuel economy given in gasoline-equivalent miles per gallon.

    Overall, there's been some changes to the rankings from last year with the Honda Insight and Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Hybrids entering the list.

    "With the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf both scheduled to make appearances in the latter half of 2010, manufacturer interest in advanced technologies is even more intense, with a particular emphasis on electric vehicles," said ACEEE vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan. "But the eco-stars this year are once again hybrids and smaller, conventional vehicles. Gasoline vehicles are evolving fast, but manufacturers continue to devote much new efficiency technology to boosting power."

    Diesels like the Volkswagen Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen missed out on the list.

    "While clean diesels once again perform well on our annual ranking, high prices both for the vehicles and for diesel fuel have kept them from really catching on thus far. They’re not having the impact in the U.S. that they have had in Europe, and as a result, manufacturers are scaling back production and promotion of diesels," said Vaidyanathan.

    The meanest list (the bottom of the rankings remains largely unchanged from 2009. Large SUVs, heavy-duty trucks and luxury European vehicles weigh down the list.  The best of the worst goes to the Lamborghini Murcielago/ Murcielago Roadster.  Also on the list was the Bentley Azure, Dodge Ram, Ford F-250, Bentley Continental GTC, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG, Chevy Suburban K2500, GMC Yukon K2500,  and Mercedes-Benz G550.Source URL: http://ashesgarrett.blogspot.com/2010/01/greenest-cars-of-2010.html
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