Tip! Another good reason to drive an electric hybrid car is because they can save their drivers a lot of money. Electric hybrid cars use far less fuel than gasoline powered engines.

Cars are ranked based on their fuel efficiency and pollution generation

According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) Green Book, Honda and Toyota models are identified as the most environment friendly automobiles of last year.

Honda’s Insight, a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle launched in 1999, got the top honors. This hybrid model pairs an efficient electric motor with a gasoline engine to save gas and minimize emissions. Even though this is the most environment friendly car, its sales declined significantly in the last couple of years and Honda decided to discontinue this model soon.

Best green models as recommended by American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) are Toyota’s hybrid Prius, Corolla and Matrix and Honda’s Civic (particularly its natural gas version). Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Mazda 3, Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion are some other big names in the league.

Tip! In the first place, there aren’t that many hybrids on the market to compare. And, secondly, they come in all different sizes and shapes, making ranking of hybrid cars very difficult.

Recycling of batteries is another way to keep the environment clean. Toyota and Honda use nickel-metal hydride batteries which have far fewer pollutants than the lead-acid types present in conventional gas-powered cars. Some auto manufacturers like Toyota buy back the used hybrid batteries for $180 and recycle them. Toyota has improved its recycling process so much that it can recycle every part of the battery, link plastic, metals, steel case etc. Toyota and Honda are trying continuously to devise smaller, more efficient and less toxic batteries for hybrids and other vehicles.

Environmentalists also prefer cars that run on bio-diesel, a fuel derived from renewable crops which works seamlessly in most diesel engines. Volkswagen Jetta TDI uses bio diesel. Jetta gives the best overall fuel economy (50 miles/gallon) on the road today under city driving conditions.

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