2.15.2006

Some comfort here

My car is the 10th greenest car.

The Greenest Vehicles of 2006


Make and Model Specifications a Emission Standard b MPG: City MPG: Hwy Green Score
HONDA INSIGHT 1.0L 3, auto CVT Tier 2 bin 5 / SULEV II 57 56 57
HONDA CIVIC GX 1.7L 4, auto CVT [CNG] c Tier 2 bin 2 / PZEV 30 34 57
TOYOTA PRIUS 1.5L 4, auto CVT Tier 2 bin 3 / PZEV 60 51 55
HONDA CIVIC HYBRID 1.3L 4, auto CVT Tier 2 bin 2 / PZEV 49 51 53
TOYOTA COROLLA 1.8L 4, manual Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II 32 41 46
HYUNDAI ACCENT 1.6L 4, manual Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II 32 35 45
KIA RIO / RIO 5 1.6L 4, manual Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II 32 35 45
HONDA CIVIC 1.8L 4, auto Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II 30 40 44
MAZDA 3 2.0L 4, manual PZEV 28 35 44
PONTIAC VIBE /
TOYOTA MATRIX d
1.8L 4, manual Tier 2 bin 5 / ULEV II 30 36 44
CHEVROLET COBALT 2.2L 4, manual PZEV 25 34 43
SATURN ION 2.2L 4, manual PZEV 26 35 43

a Certain other configurations of these models (with different transmissions or meeting different emission standards) score nearly as well.
b A listing with two emission standards (e.g., Tier 2 bin 5 / SULEV II) denotes a single vehicle carrying both a Federal and California emission certification. Green Scores for such listings reflect the cleaner of the two certifications.
c Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle fuel economy given in gasoline-equivalent miles per gallon.
d These vehicles are "twins" — the same base model carrying different names.

10 comments:

Dan said...

Way to go. One of our two (the Corolla) is 5th-and the highest-rated non-hybird, other than the Honda GX. Why is that (the GX) rated so high, when the gas mileage is not that great?

Not really sure where our Saturn fits in. I'm sure it's not in their ratings, since they stopped making the SW-2 a few years back. I'd guess it's comparable with the Saturn ION, which is 12th

Pat said...

And to you.

Not sure about the GX vis a vis gas mileage. Must be cleaning up emissions better than most.

I actually created a spreadsheet to track my vehicle costs since I've owned it. My net mpg has been something over 34mpg, so in the high range of what might be expected, although the so-called 'winter mix' of fuels has hurt my gas mileage fairly significantly. I've tried to find out what the purpose of these 'winter mixes' are, to no avail. Seems like it just leads to worse gas mileage.

As part of that spreadsheet I did a cost comparison versus a 50mpg hybrid car that cost $3000 more than mine did (a reasonable assumption other than the Insight). With the spike in gas prices after Katrina, I've lost ground, but the hypothetical hybrid vehicle is now ahead of my car in terms of total cost.

That doesn't take into account any other benfits about the car, but it's instructive.

Dan said...

I also had the thought, after that analysis by you back pre-purchase, that there is a certain as-yet intangible benefit to the hybrid of the advertising for such technology. Seeing more & more Priuses on the road has been really cool.

Pat said...

Indeed.

Although it's yet to be determined exactly what the future of the hundreds of pounds of lead-acid batteries is.

Aaron said...

The Honda GX doesn't run on gasoline, it is powered by natural gas.

Pat said...

Just like me.

Dan said...

The future of hazardous waste disposal: shooting it into the sun.

C.F. Bear said...

My old truck and Mixdorf's old truck is not putting out any emissions anymore. However, I am sure that it is leaking oil and other fluids into the earth and eventually into our drinking water.

Dan said...

To be cleaned up by your new filtration system!

C.F. Bear said...

You bet!