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Top 25 Green Cars of 2004 by the EPA
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6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 |
Mazda3 Ford Focus (sedan and wagon) Hyundai Elantra Volkswagen Jetta Toyota Camry Nissan Altima Volvo V70 Volvo S60 Subaru Legacy (sedan and wagon) Subaru Outback (sedan and wagon) Honda Accord BMW 325i, 325Ci (and wagon) Toyota Solara (coupe and convertible) Suzuki Forenza Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible Lexus ES330 BMW 330i and 330Ci BMW 530i Volvo S80 BMW 525i |
Every year, massive amounts of fuel economy and emissions data are compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, allowing these folks to rank every new model according to environmental compatibility. Here, we present the top 25 models in EPA’s 2004 Green Vehicle Guide to help you navigate toward a greener automotive path.
EPA methodology compares the smog-producing emissions of a vehicle and then assigns an emissions/air pollution score on a scale from 0-10, with 10 being best. For example those vehicles rated “10” produce 0-1.0 pounds of smog-forming pollution per 15,000 miles, an exceptional accomplishment. Those ranked “9” produce 2.8-4.1 pounds, and so on down to the “0” rating, which includes vehicles producing 63.8-121.1 pounds of smog-forming pollution per 15,000 miles.
This ranking also takes into account a vehicle’s fuel economy, which directly correlates with the amount of CO2 emissions produced and thus a vehicle’s contribution to global warming. The higher the fuel economy, the fewer greenhouse gases emitted for each mile traveled.
Diesel-powered vehicles such as the Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, and
New Beetle are among EPA’s top 10 fuel economy achievers with
35 to 50 mpg, but are absent from this list due to their diesel
engines’ higher smog-forming emissions. That’s a dynamic
that should change as low sulfur diesel fuel comes to the pump in
the near future.
A car listed here with a range variation, such as “9-10”
in the emissions/air pollution score, means that some variations
exist within a model that could have found it ranked several times
within EPA’s top listings. A model with a manual transmission
may have ranked slightly higher in the hierarchy with a “10”
while its automatic transmission variant could have still been clean,
but achieved a “9” score and appeared again slightly
lower on EPA’s charts. The same may hold true with 2WD and
4WD variations of a model, or sedan, coupe and wagon iterations.
We combined these separate listings into the highest ranking for
a model if the separate listings appeared higher on EPA’s
chart than our #25 vehicle listing.
We should note that the Daewoo Lacetti and Chevrolet Optra have
not been officially announced for sale yet in the U.S. for the 2004
model year, so these are not included in this Top 25 list, despite
their inclusion in EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide. While most of
the vehicle models identified here are sold nationwide, some may
not be available in certain areas of the country. Check with your
local new car dealer for details.
Interested in a model not shown here? All cars, light trucks, and
SUVs are included in EPA’s Green Vehicle Guide.
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