The five finalists for the 2009 Green Car of the Year award, which will be presented later this
month at the Los Angeles Auto Show. They are:
BMW 335d
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid
Smart ForTwo
VW Jetta TDI
Nice list. Heres the problem: The 335d, Fusion Hybrid, and Vue 2 Mode arent out yet. Now, I drove the Vue 2 Mode last month, but it was just for a few minutes at a media event -- its official launch wont take place until December. Similarly, BMW has U.S.-spec 335d sedans in the States for media to sample, but again, you cant go to your dealer and test drive one right now even if you wanted to. The real stretch, however, is the Ford Fusion Hybrid. The 2010 Fusion (shown above) was only revealed, via a photo and a press release, just last week. The cars official debut doesnt even take place until the Los Angeles Auto Show. Think about that -- the new Fusion Hybrid could conceivably be named the 2009 Green Car of the Year just as its being shown to the general public for the very first time. Sorry, thats ridiculous.
According to Green Car Journal, "To qualify for consideration as a nominee, a vehicle must exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance and be in production by January 1 of the award year." Green Car Journal also drives each finalist, but this year, three of those cars driven -- the Bimmer, the Ford, and the Saturn -- will essentially be pre-production models. The Smart and VW Jetta TDI, on the other hand, are both actually on the market right now. Novel concept, eh?
Source: Autoblog
month at the Los Angeles Auto Show. They are:
BMW 335d
Ford Fusion Hybrid
Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid
Smart ForTwo
VW Jetta TDI
Nice list. Heres the problem: The 335d, Fusion Hybrid, and Vue 2 Mode arent out yet. Now, I drove the Vue 2 Mode last month, but it was just for a few minutes at a media event -- its official launch wont take place until December. Similarly, BMW has U.S.-spec 335d sedans in the States for media to sample, but again, you cant go to your dealer and test drive one right now even if you wanted to. The real stretch, however, is the Ford Fusion Hybrid. The 2010 Fusion (shown above) was only revealed, via a photo and a press release, just last week. The cars official debut doesnt even take place until the Los Angeles Auto Show. Think about that -- the new Fusion Hybrid could conceivably be named the 2009 Green Car of the Year just as its being shown to the general public for the very first time. Sorry, thats ridiculous.
According to Green Car Journal, "To qualify for consideration as a nominee, a vehicle must exhibit characteristics that substantially raise the bar in environmental performance and be in production by January 1 of the award year." Green Car Journal also drives each finalist, but this year, three of those cars driven -- the Bimmer, the Ford, and the Saturn -- will essentially be pre-production models. The Smart and VW Jetta TDI, on the other hand, are both actually on the market right now. Novel concept, eh?
Source: Autoblog
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