Imports Rule List of Cleanest Cars
Once again import brands dominate a list of the most environmentally friendly cars, but this year for the first time they also dominate a list of the most polluting vehicles in a study of 2004 model cars and trucks to be published today.
Volkswagen’s diesel-powered Touareg sport utility vehicle gets the worst score, nine out of a possible 100 points, in the annual ratings by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. In all, seven of the 12 worst models are from Asian and European brands.
At the other end of the spectrum, the natural-gas-burning Civic GX from Honda Motor Co. is rated the “greenest” production car available in the U.S. It beat all three gasoline-electric hybrids on the market -- two from Honda and one from Toyota Motor Corp. -- because of natural gas’ cleaner emissions.
No domestic brand earned a spot in the top 12, although Ford Motor Co.’s Focus sedan and station wagon models, which ranked among the greenest last year, slipped only a few places in the new ratings. They remain among the most fuel efficient and least polluting cars on the road, said James Kliesch, lead author of the study.
The nonprofit group compared all commercially available passenger vehicles in 1,700 engine and transmission combinations.
The study rated cars and trucks according to tailpipe pollution and fuel economy as well as pollution from auto factories and fuel refineries. Diesel engines, because they produce more pollutants than their gasoline counterparts, always rate among the worst performers.
Honda products traded places atop the green list this year, as last year’s winner, the two-seat Insight hybrid, was topped by the natural gas Civic. That’s because a new rating method gave the Civic a better emissions score of 57 points, the highest the council has awarded a passenger vehicle.
“Overall, we are seeing things getting marginally better” throughout the industry, Kliesch said. “But there still are too many” pickups and SUVs with poor fuel economy and emissions.
Kliesch also singled out the redesigned Toyota Prius, a roomier, heavier and quicker hybrid than its predecessor that marries a small gasoline engine to an electric motor and is rated at 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 mpg on the highway.
While noting that trucks are, by their nature, dirtier than cars, the group found that some pickups, SUVs and minivans did pretty well. Among them: Toyota’s Sienna minivan and Highlander mid-size SUV and Honda’s CR-V small SUV.
Kliesch said he also was impressed by the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado “mild hybrid” pickup trucks from General Motors Corp., which are available only for fleet sales. The full-size pickups can shut down their gasoline engines when they come to a full stop and average 19 mpg in combined city and highway driving, Kliesch said.
Many trucks wound up on the group’s dirtiest dozen, including two pickups and nine SUVs. The only car is the V-12-powered Lamborghini Murcielago. The bottom tier also has seven imports, including three from Toyota, whose V-8-powered SUVs gulp lots of fuel.
Honda captured the most slots in the top 12, with five vehicles. Toyota was second, with four models among the dozen best.
The council’s annual ranking is available online at www.greenercars.com.
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The lean and the mean machines
The best and worst 2004 vehicles rated as environmentally friendly by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
The friendly Green score**
*--* 1 Honda Civic GX (natural gas) 57 2 Honda Insight hybrid 56 3 Toyota Prius hybrid 53 4 Honda Civic hybrid 51 5 Toyota Echo 43 6 Nissan Sentra 42 7 Honda Civic HX 42 8 Mazda 3 41 9 Toyota Corolla 40 10 Hyundai Elantra 40 11 Scion xA 40 12 Honda Civic 40
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The dirty dozen* Green score**
*--* 1 Volkswagen Touareg (diesel) 9 2 Land Rover Range Rover 12 3 Ford Excursion 12 4 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup 12 5 Lexus LX 470 13 6 Toyota Land Cruiser 13 7 GM Hummer H2 13 8 GMC Yukon XL K2500 13 9 Chevrolet Suburban K2500 13 10 Toyota Sequoia 14 11 Lamborghini Murcielago 14 12 Land Rover Discovery Series II 14
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*All the vehicles in this group have four-wheel drive except the Dodge Ram.
**The “Green Score” includes fuel efficiency, tailpipe emissions ratings and pollution and energy consumption at the factory.
Source: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
