More Cars Rated ‘Green’ in Survey
California’s tough emissions rules, which are more stringent than federal standards, helped spawn a bumper crop of environmentally friendly cars and trucks, according to an annual study released Wednesday.
Topping the list of 2003 models is Honda Motor Co.’s Insight, a two-seater, gas-electric hybrid with an electric motor that boosts the performance of its small, three-cylinder gas engine, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy in Washington.
“Last year there were just four cars clean enough to get the California SULEV [super ultra-low emission vehicle] rating, but this year there are 14,” said James Kliesch, co-author of the lobbying group’s “Green Book” guide to cars and trucks.
The authors evaluated 400 models and determined “green scores” by using each vehicle’s fuel estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency, average annual fuel costs and California or federal emissions ratings, along with an industry average for manufacturing pollutants and public health costs.
On a 100-point scale, the best score was the Insight at 57. A natural-gas-powered Honda Civic model was second with 53.
The council’s list of the “greenest” cars offered for sale in the U.S. is still dominated by small import cars with gasoline-electric hybrid propulsion systems or natural-gas-fueled internal combustion engines.
The nation’s only remaining conventional battery-powered electric vehicle, Toyota Motor Corp.’s RAV4 electric, was in third place. Although it is the only zero-emission vehicle on the list, the Toyota lost points because of pollutants from the production of electricity needed to recharge its batteries.
The Insight, which is being phased out in favor of the new five-seater Honda Civic Hybrid (which ranked fifth on the survey) gets 57 miles per gallon around town, according to EPA estimates.
Other super ultra-low emission vehicles were from Nissan Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., Volvo, BMW and Hyundai Motor Co.
The least environmentally sensitive vehicle with nine points was the new V-12-powered Enzo Ferrari. The Enzo has an EPA fuel economy estimate of 8 mpg in the city and a federal “Tier 1” emissions rating, which makes it about 20 times more polluting than a vehicle such as the Insight or even the 11th-place Ford Focus compact sedan, Kliesch said.
In addition to singing the praises of the greenest vehicles and tracing the ups and downs of the auto industry’s efforts to clean up its products, the “Green Book” (www.greenercars.com) aims to provide a shopping guide to the cleanest types of vehicles in all categories.
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Being green
A survey of vehicles released Wednesday identified the most ecologically friendly vehicles with ‘green scores.’ The best score among 2003 models was a 57 on a 100 scale, the worst was a nine. The scoring considers EPA gas mileage, federal and state emissions ratings, fuel costs, carbon dioxide emissions and resultant effect on public health.
Highest green scores:
57 -- Honda Insight: gas-electric hybrid, automatic transmission
53 -- Honda Civic GX: compressed natural gas, automatic transmission
52 -- Toyota RAV4 EV: electric
52 -- Toyota Prius: gas-electric hybrid, automatic transmission
51 -- Honda Civic Hybrid: gas-electric hybrid, automatic transmission
Lowest green scores:
9 -- Ferrari Enzo: V-12, auto/manual transmission
11 -- Lamborghini Murcielago: V-12/manual transmission, 4-wheel drive
11 -- GMC Yukon XL 2500*; Chevrolet Suburban 2500*: V-8/automatic transmission, 4-wheel drive
11 -- GMC Sierra 2500 pickup*; Chevrolet Silverado 2500*: V-8/automatic transmission, 4-wheel drive
12 -- Land Rover, Range Rover: V-8/automatic transmission, 4-wheel drive
* Vehicles with the same base model.
Source: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
