Green Car of the Year Award Date Set

One of the most important “car of the year” awards of late is the one first introduced by the Green Car Journal in 2005. The Green Car of the Year award is the brainchild of that automotive environmental magazine, capitalizing on consumer interest in vehicles that are highly fuel efficient as well as environmentally friendly.

The date for the 2010 Green Car of the Year award has been set — December 3, 2009 — and the venue remains the same: the Los Angeles Auto Show. On that date, which is the day before the show opens to the general public, members of the press will be on hand to hear the recent winner named. Last year, I was in attendance at the show which is held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown L.A., and I was present for the Green Car Journal announcement.

Choosing Los Angeles

“The LA Auto Show is an ideal venue for making this important announcement,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. “California has historically led the nation in automotive trends and environmental innovation, with the greater Los Angeles region often at the heart of this activity. It seems natural that the most environmentally important vehicle of the year should be honored here.”

Last year’s winner was the Volkswagen Jetta TDI, a choice that wouldn’t have been possible just a few years earlier when “clean diesel” technology didn’t exist. Thanks to low emissions and EPA highway mileage of 41 mpg, the Jetta was the winner.

Initial Winners Were Hybrids

The 2006 winner — the first one named — was the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. That model was followed up by the Toyota Camry Hybrid and then the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, clearly demonstrating the thinking of the jurors who voted in some of the most environmentally friendly vehicles in their respective segments.

Although the entrants for the 2010 award haven’t been named, my thinking is that the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight will be among the finalists.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid was released this past spring, a compact crossover that gets 41 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. The Toyota Prius has been around for a decade, but the 2010 model is all new. It is also the most fuel efficient of all hybrid models sold today.

The Honda Insight is back, the first hybrid model ever sold in the US. The latest iteration of the Insight is larger than the original, returning mileage numbers in the low 40s range. It also carries the distinction of being the lowest priced hybrid sold in America.

Five finalists will be named over the coming months with jurors selected from notable environmental groups including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council along with celebrities such as Carroll Shelby and Jay Leno.

Source: Los Angeles Auto Show

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