Top: Honda Civic GX
Bottom: Drivers of the Civic GX fuel up with compressed natural gas rather than gasoline.

This is the twelfth year that ACEEE produced the Green Book Online, which assigns vehicles a single “green” score based on tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, greenhouse-gas emissions, and a cradle-to-grave lifecycle analysis. The most dramatic trend this year was the emergence of two Chevy cars on the top ten list—and the introduction of clean diesel vehicles.

We spoke with Shruti Vaidynanathan, primary analyst for Green Book Online, about these trends.

HybridCars.com: The Honda Civic GX was once again named greenest car of the year. Yet, the vehicle sells in very low quantities and most consumers don’t have access to CNG. Do sales numbers matter in the overall green car equation?

Shruti Vaidynanathan: To a certain extent, they do. We try to rank as many vehicles as we possibly can. The GX has seen as recent explosion of interest in California and Utah. Because it’s so popular in certain pockets of the United States, we think it’s worth ranking. It’s important to get that information out there, especially if people are looking at compressed natural gas technology to reduce emissions from vehicles.

Do you see CNG as rising above its niche status at some point?

Hopefully. One thing that the green list this year has told us is that there’s so much technology making it to the market. You never can tell. I think people are interested in CNG as an option, but if some other technology becomes more valid and cheaper, then that might take over. CNG is one of the front-runners for now.

A couple of Chevy cars made it to the top 10 list this year.

I know. The domestics did pretty well this year.

Is this the beginning of a trend of domestic cars becoming greener, and maybe catching up with Asian manufacturers?

I think so. I think domestic manufacturers have realized the need to go greener in order to compete effectively. With fluctuating gasoline prices and oil prices, and an unstable economy, domestic manufacturers are realizing they have to up their game and provide consumers with what they want. And in this case, it’s a smaller more fuel-efficient vehicle. Hence, the Chevy Aveo and Pontiac G5 making it to the list.

When you’re looking across the whole spectrum of several hundred vehicles, do you see a shift between domestic and import car companies, with domestics making gains?

I can’t say I’ve seen a definitive pattern, but I have noticed that the [greener domestic] offerings have gradually increased in the past couple of years. GM and Ford have introduced a variety of extra fuel efficiency vehicles to their model lines. So, they are making an effort. I suspect that it will take them a little more time to actually catch up to the foreign vehicle makers.

Fifty-state clean diesels finally arrived in 2008, and it looks like more are coming.

Seems like it. We only ranked the Volkswagen Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen, and some of the Mercedes and BMW vehicles out there, but I’m anticipating that a lot more are going to start flooding the market.

Are the BMW clean diesels the cleanest vehicles among all that BMW offers?

They ranked higher than almost all of the other BMWs, except for some of the smaller BMWs that rank better because of lower weight.

There seems to be an overall trend toward greening. The greener cars are greener than ever, and the dirtiest vehicles are not as dirty. How is this happening?

For a large part, the fact that the meanest vehicles aren’t as dirty this year is because a lot of the big diesel vehicles that were on the list last year were not produced this year. For example, last year the vehicle that topped our meanest list was the diesel Volkswagen Touareg. It’s not being made this year. There’s been a shift away from the dirtier heavier diesels toward the cleaner Bin 5 diesels. That’s positive.

Besides dropping the dirtiest vehicles from production, is the total greenness of the fleet greener than it was last year?

It’s negligible. But I think we’re inching in the right direction. There’s a minute change from last year and this year, but if you look over the course of four or five years, we’ve come a fair ways. The fact that manufacturers are making so many tweaks to their engines and to the body of the vehicles, trying to lightweight and make them more streamlined and efficient, is a good thing. They are obviously sitting up and taking notice that people want greener vehicles.

Does the economic downturn and low gas prices threaten progress toward greener vehicles?

I don’t think so. Don’t forget that while we have lower gas prices now, I think we’re still in for long-term fluctuations. At the end of the day, it would make more sense to the average customer buy a car that doesn’t guzzle as much as gas. So, I don’t think [the economy] will put a standstill on the development of green car technology.

The post Chevy and Clean Diesels Hit Greenest Car List appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The Chevrolet Aveo is an affordable and fuel-efficient subcompact car for scampering around town and getting to and from the office. Its appeal extends to first-time buyers and anyone who has to keep an eye on the monthly car payment. With its combined city/highway rating of 30 mpg the Aveo is near the top of the EPA’s rating for subcompact cars.

Aveo arrived in the U.S. in 2004, a result of the 2002 General Motors’ takeover of the bankrupt South Korean car company, Daewoo. Since then it has undergone makeovers to better compete in the fiercely competitive subcompact segment. Kelly Blue Book says that despite its weaknesses, the Aveo does cover all the bases. “It’s comfortable, reasonably scooty, fuel-efficient and easy to drive. It simply doesn’t cover them nearly as well as its rivals.”

In 2010, the Aveo’s engine received a modest horsepower increase and the hatchback version was redesigned. There are no changes for the 2011 model year.

The Aveo has two body styles, a four-door sedan and a four-door hatchback named Aveo5. Each is available in three trim offerings: a bare bones LS, the 1LT and 2LT. The hatchback is constructed on the same 97.6-inch wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear axles) but its 154.3-inch length is more than 15 inches shorter than the sedan. Yet, each has the same 91 cubic feet of passenger volume.

For fuel economy, the Aveo has an EPA rating of 27 city/35 highway with a manual transmission. With an automatic, it rates at 25 city/34 highway. The combined 30 mpg equals that of the top-selling subcompact Nissan Versa.

Exterior And Interior

While the Aveo sedan has a fresh, clean design, it’s not particularly distinctive. The V-shaped hood and the grille’s horizontal bar confirms its Chevrolet heritage and, indeed, from a distance it could be mistaken for the larger Chevy Cobalt. Three-dimensional headlights and bold, round taillights do give the car some flair.

The Aveo5’s front end looks nothing like the sedan. An Audi-like drop-jaw grille and oversize flared headlamps set it apart from its companion, while a couple of character lines along the flanks and an available hatch-top spoiler provide a sporty look.

Inside, the Aveo doesn’t reflect its bargain-basement price. Standard-for-the-class hard plastic materials are nicely textured, erasing the shiny, cheap-looking surfaces that persist in some competitors. The dash layout is simple and the uplevel LT adds a bit of flair with brushed chrome swoops that give the impression of a dual cockpit. Audio and climate controls lay easy to hand and the instrument cluster would feel at home in a sports car. With an eye on youthful car shoppers, even the base LS can connect to iPods and other music players.

Despite its small exterior dimensions, the Aveo’s cabin is surprisingly roomy, though not great by absolute standards. The driver and front passenger will find plenty of headroom, but come up short on leg space. In back, theater-style seating enhances the view, however, legs again will want more room. And, like all subcompact sedans and hatchbacks, the Aveo is classified as a five-passenger vehicle but the reality is four adults and one small child.

The sedan’s trunk holds 12.4 cubic feet of cargo, dimensions that are comparable to most cars in its class; the notable exception is the Nissan Versa with a trunk capacity of nearly 14 cubic feet. The hatchback has a miserly 7.1 cubic feet behind the rear seats, enough space for just a single row of grocery bags. Flip-and-fold the 60/40-split rear seats and room expands to a respectable 42 cubic feet, but that’s less than several competitors.

On The Road

Both the Aveo sedan and Aveo5 hatchback are propelled by GM’s Ecotec 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with variable valve timing. A five-speed manual transmission is standard; a four-speed automatic is optional but not the base LS model. In these days of unrestrained horsepower wars, the engine’s 108 horsepower output doesn’t sound like much, but at 2,500 pounds-and-change, the Aveo doesn’t need a lot of motivation. Acceleration response is immediate, keeping the little car from feeling underpowered around town. Head for the freeway and the briskness becomes dampened at around 50 mph. Equipped with the five-speed manual transmission our tester did have enough oomph to attain freeway speeds without a lot of drama, the fuel-efficiency numbers easing the pain of the stroll to 65 mph.

The steering is well-weighted, avoiding the too-light feel that plagues so many entry-level cars, and has great on-center feel, reducing the effort drivers expend keeping the Aveo in its lane. A slight lean is evident when corners are taken at speed but the overall driving experience is pleasant. As expected from this class of vehicle, extraneous sounds enter the cabin, but a variety of sound-damping measures hold road and wind noise to acceptable levels.

During our week with the Aveo, fuel economy exceeded the government’s estimate. Driving in our normal fashion—no trying to squeeze the most miles out of a gallon of gas—we clocked 227 miles of mixed city and highway trips with a return of 33.1 miles per gallon.

Economics

The 2011 Chevy Aveo is an opportunity to begin enjoying that new-car smell on the cheap. The base LS sedan starts at $11,965, the hatchback LS at $12,115. While not quite a bare bones model—remote keyless entry, power locks, tilt steering column and an AM/FM stereo radio are standard—air conditioning, power windows, power outside mirrors and cruise control are not even available.

Ironically, a number of years ago GM pioneered low-cost and standard anti-lock brake systems, but it is not available in the entry LS and is a $400 option on the other trim levels. Top competitors include ABS as standard on every model, and Toyota equips its Yaris subcompact with the added safety margin of an electronic stability and traction control system, a safety feature not available on any Aveo model. Additionally, front-and side impact airbags are standard; side curtain airbags are not available, unlike most competitors.

A value added feature of the Aveo is the warranty. It doesn’t quite match the Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent coverage, however, it trounces the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris. Coverage includes 3-years/36,000-miles bumper-to-bumper and 5-years/100,000-miles powertrain. In addition, Aveo buyers receive 24-hour roadside assistance at no extra charge for 5-years/100,000 miles.

The Aveo was the third best-selling subcompact car in 2010, trailing only the Nissan Versa and Honda Fit. Obviously, Aveo’s comfortable ride, easy to drive manners, decent performance and fuel-efficiency have won over a significant number of buyers.

Prices are Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) at time of publication and do not include destination charges, taxes or licensing.

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