2012 Green Car of the Year finalists named
The Green Car of the Year finalists are the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v, and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI.
The 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v, and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI are all finalists for 2012 Green Car of the Year, Green Car Journal announced today in a press release.
The winner will be announced during a press conference at a Los Angeles Auto Show press day on November 17. This marks the seventh consecutive year the award has been given out.
Green Car Journal editors considered dozens of models that were designed to reduce their environmental impact and be more energy-efficient. According to the press release, the cars under consideration include "high-efficiency gasoline and diesel models along with ones that run on gaseous fuels, electricity, and other alternative fuels."
Green Car Journal also looked at the "market significance and 'newness'" of the cars.
"This year's Green Car of the Year finalists underscore that there is no single solution to our transportation challenges," Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com, said in the press release. "Here we have five exceptional answers to the question of how we're going to increase efficiencies, reduce tailpipe and CO2 emissions, and decrease petroleum use. These nominees deserve to be recognized for their unique approaches in providing consumers diverse choices as cars intelligently evolve toward a more environmentally compatible motoring future."
Last November, Green Car Journal named the 2011 Chevrolet Volt its 2011 Green Car of the Year, choosing it over the Nissan Leaf, the Ford Fiesta, and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.