Yaris In Top 12 Green Cars List

[bronsin]

The Yaris has scored number 11 out of the 12 greenest cars. That is one ahead of the Chevy Volt.

Something else to feel good about driving a Yaris!

[tk1971]

I personally don't care about the "Green" label that short sighted feel-gooders use to gain more snob points (no offense intended to anyone).

Having said that... In a world of diminishing finite resources, a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle that requires less of everything (less plastics made with said resources, longer maintenance intervals, and less of the same resources in day-to-day operation), just makes a lot of sense.

It still doesn't help the fact that my neighbors probably think I'm in financial difficulty, since I've been trying to live the "Less is More" lifestyle (getting rid of sports cars, etc), ever since my kids were born.

[bronsin]

A "green" rating doesnt really mean anything to me either in terms of whether or not I will buy something. But I am concerned with economics and reliability. I need money for motorcycles my real interest.

But im thinking if I ever sell the Yaris that green rating will make me charge another $1000 for it.

[DebbyM46227]

I've never really cared about "being green", heck, I even toss CFL bulbs in the trash. I love my Yaris just because it's so much fun to drive, and I don't like to waste all my money on gas. :)

[Yaristeve]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

I've never really cared about "being green", heck, I even toss CFL bulbs in the trash. I love my Yaris just because it's so much fun to drive, and I don't like to waste all my money on gas. :)

CFL?? Ugh, goody two shoes, Greenie!

[DebbyM46227]

Originally Posted by Yaristeve

CFL?? Ugh, goody two shoes, Greenie!

I'm really living dangerously, I dropped two fluorescent bulbs on my kitchen floor, broke them, and I didn't bother calling the haz-mat team out for clean-up!

[Dave]

Yes! The Yaris is also very near the top of the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency's list of fuel efficient vehicles.

In my workplace, it actually came up that buying a fleet of Yarii for staff use would count towards a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) credit in a building owner's major construction project. Since it has a combined fuel efficiency of less than 6.5L/100km it qualifies as a low-consumption vehicle.

[Yaris240]

The green rating is nice for the 1NZ-FE engine that has been around since 1999, I think. I bought the car primarily for it's simplicity. It is excellant for driving in city stop and go traffic, which is really the only type of driving I do.

[rick996]

The green label is good because it may bring the Yaris to more people's attention.

I admit that I am an eco-nut. But I bought my Yaris because I'm poor and cheap. I need to stretch every mile I can out of a gallon of gas.

As to CFL's, do you want your grandchildren eating those ?

[bronsin]

I think its interesting it came in ahead of the Volt, the latest and greatest thing to come down the pike. And the Volt is only number 12 on the list! They must be slipping or something?

[tk1971]

Originally Posted by bronsin

I think its interesting it came in ahead of the Volt, the latest and greatest thing to come down the pike. And the Volt is only number 12 on the list! They must be slipping or something?

Batteries = Chemicals, plastics, etc... Not all recyclable / re-usable.

[DebbyM46227]

Originally Posted by rick996

I admit that I am an eco-nut. But I bought my Yaris because I'm poor and cheap. I need to stretch every mile I can out of a gallon of gas.

As to CFL's, do you want your grandchildren eating those ?

No kids, no grandkids. As a child I played with a big ball of mercury and I turned out ok.

[tk1971]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

No kids, no grandkids. As a child I played with a big ball of mercury and I turned out ok.

Mercury needs to be methylated before it can harm us.

[fearturtle44]

Looked at the Hybrid Honda CRZ. Nice looking car but gets no better MPG than the Yaris. Unbelievable. You would think this "green" car would get 50-60 MPG.

Go YARIS

[Yaristeve]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

No kids, no grandkids. As a child I played with a big ball of mercury and I turned out ok.

Well.... You may THINK you turned out okay. I mean, after all, you drive a Yaris...

[Kal-El]

Here's the full chart.

The Yaris is actually tied in 9th place out of 14 cars. Not 11th out of 12 as the OP stated.

Chevy Volt Barely Makes 2011 List of Greenest Vehicles

By Brad Berman · February 17, 2011

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s Green Book is the bible of environmental rankings for cars and trucks. And the 2011 issue, the 14th annual edition, just hit the streets. “This is the most exciting Green Book in a decade for me, because there are so many vehicles in the running,” said Therese Langer, ACEEE’s Transportation Director, in an interview with PluginCars.com. The non-profit uses an exacting methodology for calculating the environmental impact of all cars and trucks.

Despite new competition from electric vehicles, such as the all-electric Nissan LEAF and the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, the winner for the 8th consecutive year is the Honda Civic GX, which runs on compressed natural gas. “The Chevy Volt came very close to not making the list,” said Shruti Vaidyanathan, ACEEE Vehicle analyst. The first negative mark against the Volt in ACEEE’s methodology is the weight, which provides an indication of how much energy went into producing the vehicle. The Volt weighs about 500 pounds more than the Nissan LEAF or Toyota Prius.

The non-profit also took a hard look at the Volt's operation on the road. “The Volt running on gasoline doesn’t have terribly impressive fuel economy. It’s rated at 35 mpg in the city and 40 highway,” said Therese Langer, ACEEE’s Transportation Director. “If you think of it as a vehicle that is roughly two-thirds electric and one-third gasoline, as an electric vehicle it does pretty well, but not quite as well as the LEAF.”

The "two-thirds EV and one-third gas" approach stems from data about typical driving patterns of American drivers, as used by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency.

“As a gasoline vehicle, the Volt does okay, but there are a whole lot of gasoline vehicles that beat it out," said Langer. "So when you take the fact of those two things together, it comes out about where you think.”

While the Civic GX took top honors, the Nissan LEAF was an incredibly close second place—coming within 2 percent of ACEEE’s calculations for environmental impact. When you consider that ACEEE uses a national average for the green-ness electricity generation, the Nissan LEAF becomes the clear winner in parts of the country where electricity is made mostly from renewable sources.

The diversity of auto technologies and drivetrains is striking in this year’s Green Book. The top four slots are made up of a vehicle running on compressed natural gas, an EV, a small internal combustion engine vehicle, the Smart ForTwo, and the Toyota Prius, a conventional hybrid.

The Smart ForTwo leapt ahead of the Prius and the Civic Hybrid because ACEEE shifted its methodology to utilize version 2.7 of the Argonne National Labs GREET (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation) Model. In prior years, the battery of a hybrid or electric car was scored for weight just like any other component of the car. But with the new GREET methodology, batteries are considered to have a greater environmental impact, because of the energy and other resources required to manufacture the batteries. As a result, hybrids took a hit in 2011.

Nonetheless, the Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, and Honda Insight ranked fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. The rest of the list was made up of small internal combustion cars: Ford Fiesta SFE, Chevy Cruze Eco, Hyundai Elantra, Mini Cooper and Toyota Yaris. And taking the final spot in ACEEE’s Top 12 Greenest Cars is the Chevy Volt.

Update 2/17/11: On Feb. 16, ACEEE corrected two mistakes in its calculations. The 2011 Toyota Prius uses a 1.8-liter engine, not a 2.0-liter as previously noted. More importantly, the Chevy Volt is certified as a Bin 4 / ULEV II, not a PZEV. As a result, the Volt drops to 13 in the list, and is bypassed by the Mazda 2.

Other vehicles that nearly match the environmental score of the Volt, but that did not make the top 12, are clean diesel versions of the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta and Audi A3; the hybrid Honda CR-Z; and the gas-powered Mazda2.

When asked how much longer the Civic GX could maintain its top position, ACEEE researchers pondered that the competition is going to get even tougher next year. Vaidyanathan pointed to the upcoming Smart ED (Electric Drive), which already scores well as a gasoline car; and the plug-in Prius, which already scores well as a conventional hybrid without plug-in capability. By running on electricity instead of gasoline, both of these cars have a chance of taking the lead position in 2012.

The 8th consecutive victory for the Honda Civic GX hopefully will draw attention to the model, which is the only compressed natural gas vehicle in U.S. showrooms. Last year, Elmer Hardey, Honda’s senior manager of alternative vehicles, told HybridCars.com that the Honda Civic GX will become an even more important option for the upcoming 2012 redesigned Civic. “With all the activity in the environmental vehicle space, we’re anticipating growth in sales of CNG vehicles, not only in California but nationwide,” said Hardey.

[tk1971]

1) "first negative mark against the Volt in ACEEE’s methodology is the weight, which provides an indication of how much energy went into producing the vehicle"

How? Heavier = more energy to produce?

2) "In prior years, the battery of a hybrid or electric car was scored for weight just like any other component of the car. But with the new GREET methodology, batteries are considered to have a greater environmental impact, because of the energy and other resources required to manufacture the batteries. As a result, hybrids took a hit in 2011."

Makes lots of sense to me and something that was always nagging at the back of my mind when hybrids made their debut.

3) "Other vehicles that nearly match the environmental score of the Volt, but that did not make the top 12, are clean diesel versions of the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Jetta and Audi A3; ..."

I would imagine as oil supplies dwindle in the future, clean diesel from renewable sources will make more sense. Anyone know the actual scores for these diesel vehicles?

Thanks for posting that up. Clears up some things...

[Chuck G]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

No kids, no grandkids. As a child I played with a big ball of mercury and I turned out ok.

I did too!!!