Environment Magazine

John Addison the publisher of Clean Fleet Report has nominated his top 10 low carbon cars in the US.  Only two cars are made by US  companies but the list only includes cars available for fleet purchase.  His report follows.

The four-door sedan continues to be a popular vehicle for fleets and for individuals. These sedans often deliver the right amount of space for 4 or 5 passengers and enough cargo space for a taxi. The following 10 four-door sedans have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per mile of any vehicles available for volume commercial sale in 2009. In many cases, they also have the best fuel economy. Most are already selling in quantity. In a few cases, we are betting that the manufacturer will sell 1,000 to fleets by the end of 2009. Buying these clean cars often gives fleets tax breaks and special funding opportunities.

Average CO2 emissions from new cars must be slashed to 130g/km by 2015, the equivalent of achieving 58mpg with a diesel engine and 52mpg in a petrol car.
The EU new car CO2 legislation passed by the European parliament today sets out a tough programme for car manufacturers with 65% of new cars averaging the 130g/km target by 2012, 75% by 2013, 80% by 2014 and 100% by 2015. An additional 10g/km must be achieved by complementary measures like alternative fuels and tyre pressure monitoring systems. Manufacturers exceeding the targets will be heavily fined per additional gram of CO2 emitted, for every car registered across Europe.