Jul 15 2008
The Greenest cars of 2008
- Runs on natural gas!
This year, the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX claims the title as the greenest vehicle for the fifth year running. Toyota’s hybrid-electric Prius, which places second, is the year’s top-scoring gasoline vehicle, while Honda’s Civic Hybrid ranks a close third. Rounding out the top five are the recently released Smart Fortwo Convertible and Coupe and Toyota Yaris. In total, the Greenest Vehicles list contains one natural gas, four hybrid-electric, and seven conventional gasoline vehicles, a mix of technologies that demonstrates some of the avenues automakers have taken in developing greener vehicles. Whether using hybrid gasoline-electric designs, compressed natural gas, or simply clean and efficient conventional gasoline designs, automakers have visibly demonstrated their ability to engineer with the environment in mind.
This year sees a number of changes to the nameplates on the Greenest Vehicles list. After being shut out of the top twelve in 2007, a domestic automaker makes an appearance on our top-twelve list. The 2008 Tier 2 Bin 3 / PZEV-certified Ford Focus comfortably takes the 9th spot in the annual ranking. Other new entries to the 2008 “Greenest” list include the Smart Fortwo Convertible/Coupe and the Mini Cooper/Clubman, both small cars that achieve excellent fuel economy. However, Hyundai’s PZEV-certified Elantra narrowly misses a spot on our list, landing in 13th place as a result of the above-mentioned new entries. Following suit are the Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Cobalt, and Pontiac G5, all of which score very well according to our ranking but face more competition this year from several clean vehicles that have entered the market. This is, of course, good news to consumers, who have greater options when it comes to buying the greenest vehicle that meets their needs and fits their budget.
Other good news is the fact that the vast majority of the year’s greenest vehicles are widely available coast-to-coast. Not too long ago, the list was dominated by vehicles for sale only in California, while today more than 80 percent of the Greenest Vehicles can be purchased in any state.
The above is an excerpt from an article found on Greenercars.org
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How is a natural gas vehicle ‘Green’? It’s still a fossil fuel!
Unless you’re collecting methane from a septic system or through a similar composting system, it is not a ‘green’ alternative to drilling for fossil fuels!
Thanks for your comment Nivekian! I know natural gas isn’t as “green” as electric but at least it doesn’t pollute as much as a gasoline powered vehicle. I personally don’t see natural gas making a huge impact, but if it gets people thinking about alternatives than I give it my seal of approval. I see bicycle commuting growing in the cities, and if I lived closer to my work I would certainly do that. Whats greener than zero emissions?! What do you think is the greenest/best transportation fuel coming down the pike?
I agree, greener is better.
“What do you think is the greenest/best transportation fuel coming down the pike?”
Hydrogen… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_vehicle
Compressed air… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_vehicle
Though, when you think about it, the production of any fuel or vehicles on large scales have massive environmental impacts.
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.