Honda Civic GX named greenest vehicle of 2008

While the folks at Tesla, ZAP! and other electric car manufacturers may take umbrage with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) choice of the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX as its Greenest Vehicle of 2008, for an internal combustion powered car, the Civic GX is as clean as they come. Ranking above the Civic Hybrid, the Fit and the regular petrol-powered Civic not to mention outscoring the Toyota Prius and the Smart ForTwo, the Civic GX makes a strong case for its place at the top of the list.

This year marks the eighth in a row that a Honda vehicle has taken top honors for green vehicles, and the seventh straight year the company has populated at least 1/3 of the top 12 spots. The ACEEE uses an indexed score that combines fuel economy with emissions to arrive at a ‘green score’. Toyota’s Prius, for example, scores 53 points on this index with 48/45mpg city/highway and Tier 2, Bin 3/PZEV ratings.

The Civic GX scores 57 with 24/36mpg city/highway and Tier 2, Bin 2/PZEV ratings. Although the Civic GX appears to have lower fuel efficiency (remember, it’s burning natural gas) it emits fewer pollutants per mile, and therefore gets a higher score. Honda’s Civic Hybrid trailed the Prius closely with a score of 51.

Interestingly, no diesels made the list at all, despite their generally excellent fuel economy. Particulate pollution and NOx emissions take them out of the running. A trend to follow will be to see how diesels fare in the coming years as more and more models are introduced to the American market and urea-treatment technologies and other emissions reduction methods are employed.

For more information on the testing, the results, and to see the “Meanest Vehicles of 2008” – the greenest vehicles’ antipodean equivalents – head on over to the ACEEE site and read up. While you're there you can also search the top 12 vehicles in a range of classes including two-seaters, SUVs and large cars.