Honda Accord wins Green Car of the Year

green car of the year honda accord hybrid
The Honda Accord was named this year's Green Car of the Year. It comes in gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions.

The Honda Accord was named Green Car of the Year in an award ceremony Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The Accord is a mid-sized family sedan that is available in hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions as well as fully gasoline-powered versions with four- and six-cylinder engines.

"Mainstream buyers have long found the Accord a popular choice because of its efficiency, functionality safety and value," Green Car Journal editor Ron Cogan said in a statement. "With the addition of exceptional hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions to the already fuel-efficient Accord line, Honda (HMC)'s Accord becomes an even more compelling choice."

The Accord Hybrid gets EPA-estimated 50 miles per gallon in city driving and 47 on the highway. (Hybrid cars often get better fuel economy in low-speed city driving than in highway cruising.)

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The Accord Plug-in gets slightly lower city and highway mileage than the non-plug-in hybrid but it can go 12 miles on a charge before using any gasoline, according to EPA estimates.

Even gasoline-powered Accords are very fuel-efficient for their class. The V6 gets 34 mpg on the highway while the four-cylinder gets 36.

The other finalists for the award this year were two diesel-powered cars, the BMW 328d and Audi A6 TDI. Diesel cars are more fuel efficient that gasoline-powered cars. Two compact cars, the Toyota (TM) Corolla and Mazda3, were also finalists for the award.

To be eligible for the award, a car must be all-new or have significant changes for the new model year.

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Judges for the award included Tonight Show host and noted auto collector Jay Leno, Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society; Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club.

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The award is presented by the Green Car Journal, a magazine about electric, hybrid and other fuel-efficient automobiles.

Past winners of the award have included the Ford Fusion, the natural gas-powered Honda Civic and the Chevrolet Volt.




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