Civic, Leaf named greenest cars of 2011

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has ranked the natural gas-burning Honda Civic GX as the greenest vehicle, for the second year. The battery-powered Nissan Leaf scored as high as the Civic GX on the green chart (click the image for full size), but the Honda took the first place on environmental items.

However, the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is the greenest vehicle. According to the ACEEE, the Fortwo scored 60 (the Civic and the Leaf scored 54), but was not eligible for the greenest list due to low sales volume. Only 250 units of the 2011 Smart Fortwo EV will be available on a trial basis in the U.S., the ACEEE states.

The plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt ranked twelfth overall due to its comparatively poor fuel economy.

For more, visit the ACEEE website

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All 2011 Green Car Vision Award finalists are electric vehicles

The Green Car Journal has nominated five electric vehicles for the 2011 Green Car Vision Award: the Ford Focus BEV, the Honda Fit EV, the future Mitsubishi i model for the American market, the Toyota RAV4 EV (currently under development with Tesla) and the Volvo C30 DRIVe. The winner will be announced on January 27 at the 2011 Washington Auto Show, in the American capital. Here's what the jury has to say about the finalists:

Ford's Focus BEV, which is based on the automaker's all-new 2012 Focus model, will be introduced in the U.S. sometime in 2011. The automaker is leveraging global platforms like the Focus and collaborating with key powertrain suppliers like Magna International as part of its global electrification strategy.

The Honda Fit EV concept shares the direction and styling of the upcoming production Fit EV that will be coming to U.S. shores in 2012. The five-passenger electric will be powered by lithium-ion batteries and feature Econ, Normal, and Sport modes to maximize efficiency or improve acceleration.

Mitsubishi will produce the newly-named Mitsubishi i electric vehicle, a battery powered iteration of the automaker's popular 'i' minicar sold in Japan. Retooled and larger for U.S. tastes, this lithium-ion powered car will be sold in four Western states starting in November 2011 with a national roll-out to follow.

Toyota's second generation RAV4 EV will begin a demonstration program in 2011 with plans for market arrival of a fully-engineered vehicle in 2012. The automaker has partnered with Tesla to fast-track development, with Tesla providing the lithium metal oxide battery and related components and Toyota handling the rest.

The Volvo C30 DRIVe is an electric variant of this automaker's small sport hatchback that's powered by lithium-ion batteries from Indiana-based ENER1. A small test fleet is currently operating in Sweden with a larger demonstration of DRIVe electrics planned for Europe, China, and the U.S. in 2011.

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VIDEO: Honda debuts solar powered plug-in charging station

Tweet this post Honda has announced it is conducting real life tests on its network of solar powered plug-in charging stations in Japan's Saitama Prefecture.

The company is also developing smaller sized solar hydrogen stations for individual costumers that could fit in a garage.

Watch the video after the jump, from NTDTV:

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Honda Eyes China's Electric Car Market

From The Wall Street Journal: The president of Honda Motor Co. said Monday the company is studying the possibility of rolling out electric vehicles in China, making it the latest Japanese car maker to look for potential demand in an untapped slice of the world's largest auto market.

The Japanese car maker is considering initiating a testing program in China for electric vehicles, following similar tests in the U.S. and Japan, the company said in a release.

"The chances are good in China," Takanobu Ito, Honda's president, told reporters after a news conference for an electric-vehicle test program in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

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US federal agency to investigate Honda Accord Hybrid

From the New York Times: A little more than five years after a crash killed Lalitha Seetharaman’s husband, Gautam, she is hoping the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be able to confirm her contention that her Honda Accord Hybrid’s brakes were responsible for his death.

To obtain that information, she is employing a little-used and little-known federal regulation that requires the safety agency to consider carrying out a defect investigation.

Ms. Seetharaman, 31, of Newton, Pa., was driving the Accord Hybrid at the time of the accident, in which she was badly injured. She was initially charged with careless operation, but the charge was later dismissed for “not meeting the burden of proof,” according to officials from the New Jersey State Police and local court.

Lalitha Seetharaman hopes to learn whether the brakes on her Honda Accord Hybrid contributed to the crash in which her husband, Gautam, was killed.Now, N.H.T.S.A. is considering whether to grant her defect petition, which would ask the safety agency to investigate Ms. Seetharaman’s claim: that a loss of stopping power occurs when the Accord Hybrid’s brakes are applied on a rough or uneven surface. Read more...

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