Toyota Camry Hybrid Named 2007 Green Car of the Year

Toyota's 2007 Camry Hybrid, the Toyota brand's third gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, has been named Green Car Journal's 2007 Green Car of the Year®. The award was presented during a Green Car Journal press conference at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show.

"It's a pleasure to recognize this milestone vehicle as the magazine's 2007 Green Car of the Year®," says Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal. "Applying Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology to a model that's been the best-selling car in the U.S. for eight of the past nine years makes this hybrid vehicle all the more significant, since the mass market is clearly the target."

The Camry Hybrid combines a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric drive motor for a total output of 192 horsepower. With EPA estimated fuel economy of 40 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway, the hybrid Camry variant offers a marked improvement over the standard four-cylinder Camry's 24/34 mpg and offers a reasonable price of just over $26,000.

"The Camry not only protects the planet, it protects consumers' pocketbooks," says Jason Mark, vehicles director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. "It's one of the most cost-effective hybrids on the market."

Green Car Journal editors reviewed dozens of 2007 model year vehicles to identify those deemed to have raised the bar in environmental performance, which met the award program's rules and would be on sale no later than January 1st, 2007. Finalists include the natural gas Honda Civic GX, Lexus GS 450h Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC, Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid, and Toyota Camry Hybrid.

This year's Green Car of the Year® jury included automotive icon Carroll Shelby and the leaders of many of the country's most prominent environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, International Council on Clean Transportation, Union of Concerned Scientists, Ocean Futures Society, and Worldwatch Institute. The Camry Hybrid won a majority vote from these jurors and four Green Car Journal staff that comprised the 11 member GCOY jury.