2012 Los Angeles Auto Show: "Green Car of the Year"
The Los Angeles Auto Show which will open its doors on Friday, is the North American auto show at which the ecological component holds a very privileged place.
So it is that since 2006, this event has become the ideal setting at which to award the “Green Car of the Year“ honour, a vocation which has been taken on by management of the Green Car Journal, in collaboration with the Sierra Club.
The Sierra Club is a not-for-profit environmental NGO founded on May 28th, 1992, in San Francisco, which also has branches in Canada and Quebec.
A rigorous selection
Every year, experts get together to analyze the strong and weak points of so-called “green” technologies that are increasingly appearing under the hoods of alternatively powered vehicles sold in North America.
They also perform relevant road tests and environmental groups undertake targeted evaluations, carried out on over 80 different vehicles. All of this serves to determine a short list of five finalists, one of which will claim the top prize. The fortunate manufacturer of the winning vehicle will benefit from global press coverage.
Among the main jury members, we find Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, Jean-Michel Cousteau, President of the Ocean Futures Society, Matt Petersen, President of Global Green USA corporation, journalists from the Green Car Journal and a certain Jay Leno.
Six winners already
Since 2006, the parties behind this event have collaborated with organizers of the Los Angeles Auto Show to announce the name of the winners of the “Green Car of the Year“:
- 2006: Mercury Mariner Hybrid;
- 2007: Toyota Camry Hybrid;
- 2008: Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid;
- 2009: Volkswagen Jetta TDI;
- 2010: Audi A3 TDI;
- 2011: Chevrolet Volt (electric);
- 2012: Honda Civic Natural Gas.
2013 nominees
Each year, close to 80 vehicles become eligible to receive this prized title. They are subdivided into five categories:
- models which achieve over 40 miles per gallon (7.0 L/100 km);
- Hybrid and rechargeable hybrid powered models;
- Diesel-powered models;
- Electric motor models;
- Models utilising alternative or bio-fuels.
Finalists for the 2013 model-year include:
- Dodge Dart;
- Ford C-Max;
- Ford Fusion EcoBoost;
- Mazda CX-5 Skyactiv;
- Toyota Prius C.
The name of the automobile which will be bestowed with the title of “Green Car of the Year“ will be unveiled Thursday, during the second media day reserved for journalists attending Los Angeles Auto Show, the day prior to the show opening its doors to the general public.
