The Green Car of the Year is a ''

Car of the Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards. The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the ...

'' award from the ''

Green Car Journal ''Green Car Journal'' a monthly publication created in 1992, now published as an annual, focuses on green vehicles and environmentally friendly energy and technologies. The founder and editor is Ron Cogan. Co-founder and executive publisher thro ...

''. The winner is selected by an 11-member panel comprising automotive and environmental experts. Invited jurors have included

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

;

Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified duri ...

, Jay Leno, Carl Pope ( Sierra Club), Christopher Flavin (

Worldwatch Institute The Worldwatch Institute was a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., founded by Lester R. Brown. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Su ...

), Jonathan Lash (

World Resources Institute The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global research non-profit organization established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI's activities are focused on seven areas: food, for ...

) and Jean-Michel Cousteau ( Ocean Futures Society). A separate Green Truck of the Year award was launched in 2015. In early October 2015, the 2009 and 2010 awards were rescinded as a result of the

Volkswagen emissions scandal The Volkswagen emissions scandal, sometimes known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Vol ...

Winners

:2006 —

Mercury Mariner Hybrid The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford since 2000 over four generations. The first generation was jointly developed with Mazda which also created the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner as the twin model. Second generations of th ...

:2007 —

Toyota Camry Hybrid The Toyota Camry (XV50) is a mid-size car produced by Toyota from August 2011 to March 2019. Replacing the XV40 series, the XV50 represents the seventh generation of the Toyota Camry in all markets outside Japan, which follows a different gener ...

:2008 — Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid :2009 — ~~Volkswagen Jetta Clean Diesel~~ (Rescinded due to

)) ::: The other four finalists were the BMW 335d, the

Ford Fusion Hybrid The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-sized Ford Fusion sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford, now in its second generation. A plug-in hybrid version, the Ford Fusion Energi, was released in the U.S ...

, Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid, and the Smart Fortwo. In 2015, VW admitted their diesel line from 2009-2015 was designed to correctly limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions only during static testing.) :2010 — ~~Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel~~ (Rescinded due to

)) ::: The other finalists were the

Honda Insight The is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its ...

, the

Mercury Milan Hybrid The Ford Fusion Hybrid is a hybrid electric vehicle, gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-size car, mid-sized Ford Fusion (Americas), Ford Fusion sedan (automobile), sedan manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford, now i ...

, the

Toyota Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, ...

and the clean diesel VW Golf TDI. Like the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta, the winning 2010 Audi and the 2010 VW Golf were diesel vehicles that Volkswagen admitted in 2015 were designed to limit NOx emissions only when being emission tested. :2011 —

Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in th ...

plug-in hybrid. ::: The other finalists were the

Nissan Leaf The , stylized as LEAF, is a compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation was introduced in October 2017. The Lea ...

battery electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quiet ...

, the

hybrid electric A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intended ...

versions of the

Hyundai Sonata The Hyundai Sonata is a mid-size car that has been manufactured by Hyundai since 1985. The first generation Sonata, which was introduced in 1985, was a facelifted Hyundai Stellar with an engine upgrade, and was withdrawn from the market in two ...

and the

Lincoln MKZ The Lincoln MKZ, is a four-door, five-passenger mid-size luxury sedan manufactured by Ford and marketed as the Zephyr ( MY 2006) and as the MKZ (MY 2007–2020) by Ford's Lincoln brand across two generations in both gasoline and hybrid gas/elect ...

, and the gasoline-powered Ford Fiesta, which achieves in highway driving. :2012 —

Honda Civic GX The Honda Civic GX is the only car factory-built to run on compressed natural gas (CNG) in the United States available to non-fleet customers. The GX was based on the Honda Civic and available for fleet sales in all 50 states. It was previou ...

natural gas vehicle A natural gas vehicle (NGV) is an alternative fuel vehicle that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Natural gas vehicles should not be confused with autogas vehicles powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), ma ...

. ::: The other finalists were the

Ford Focus Electric The Ford Focus Electric is a 5-door hatchback electric car that was produced by Ford. The Focus Electric is Ford's second production all-electric vehicle (the first being the Ford Ranger EV), and was made from December 2011to May 2018. The Fo ...

and

Mitsubishi i The is a kei car from automaker Mitsubishi Motors, first released in January 2006, twenty eight months after its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show#2003, 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is the first four-door automobile since the 1960s to employ ...

battery electric cars,

Toyota Prius v The Toyota Prius ''v'' (for versatile), also named Prius α (pronounced as Alpha) in Japan, and Prius+ in Europe and Singapore, is a hybrid gasoline-electric automobile produced by Toyota introduced in Japan in May 2011, in the U.S. in October 2 ...

hybrid electric car, and the Volkswagen Passat TDI clean diesel. (See 2009 and 2010 listings regarding clean diesel.) :2013 — Ford Fusion second generation line-up, including the

EcoBoost EcoBoost is a series of turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engines produced by Ford and originally co-developed by FEV Inc. (now named FEV North America Inc.). EcoBoost engines are designed to deliver power and torque consistent with thos ...

gasoline engine option, and the Fusion hybrid and plug-in variants. ::: The other finalists were the Ford C-Max hybrid and plug-in hybrid, Dodge Dart Aero,

Toyota Prius c The Toyota Prius c (''c'' stands for "city"), named the (''" aqua"'' is Latin for water) in Japan, is a full hybrid gasoline-electric subcompact/supermini hatchback manufactured and marketed by Toyota. The Prius c is the third member of the P ...

hybrid electric car, and the

Mazda CX-5 The Mazda CX-5 is a compact crossover SUV produced by Mazda since 2012. A successor to both the Tribute and the slightly larger CX-7, it is Mazda's first model to feature the "Kodo" design language and the first model to be fully developed with ...

. :2014 — Honda Accord ninth generation line-up, including gasoline, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid variants. ::: The other finalists were the BMW 328d, Audi A6 TDI, Toyota Corolla, and the

Mazda3 The Mazda3 (known as the Mazda Axela in Japan (first three generations), a combination of "accelerate" and "excellent") is a compact car manufactured by Mazda. It was first introduced in 2003 as a 2004 model, replacing the Familia/323/Protegé ...

. :2015 —

BMW i3 The BMW i3 is a B-segment, high-roof hatchback manufactured and marketed by BMW with an electric powertrain using rear-wheel drive via a single-speed transmission and an underfloor Lithium-ion battery, lithium-ion battery pack and an optional R ...

::: The other finalists were the

Audi A3 TDI The Audi A3 is a subcompact executive/small family car (C-segment) manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi AG since September 1996, currently in its fourth generation. The first two generations of the Audi A3 were based on the ...

, , Chevrolet Impala Bi-Fuel, third generation Honda Fit, and seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf line-up. :2016 — Second generation Chevrolet Volt ::: The other finalists were the

Audi A3 e-tron The Audi A3 is a subcompact executive/small family car (C-segment) manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi AG since September 1996, currently in its fourth generation. The first two generations of the Audi A3 were based on the ...

, the fourth generation Toyota Prius, the 2016 Hyundai Sonata, and the 2016 Honda Civic. The Chevrolet Volt became the first model to be awarded Green Car Of The Year more than once. :2017 — Chevrolet Bolt EV ::: The other finalists were the Toyota Prius Prime, the

Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid The Chrysler Pacifica is a minivan produced by the Chrysler division of Stellantis. It is unrelated to the discontinued crossover and concept vehicles by the same name and replaced the Chrysler Town & Country for the 2017 model year. It is ...

, the

Kia Optima Optima is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Hermann Zapf and released by the D. Stempel AG foundry, Frankfurt, West Germany in 1958. Though classified as a sans-serif, Optima has a subtle swelling at the terminals suggesting a glyphic s ...

(including hybrid and plug-in hybrid models) and the

BMW 330e iPerformance The sixth generation of the BMW 3 Series consists of the BMW F30 (sedan version), BMW F31 (wagon version, marketed as 'Touring') and BMW F34 (fastback version, marketed as 'Gran Turismo') compact executive cars. The F30/F31/F34 generation was pr ...

. :2018 —

Honda Clarity The Honda Clarity is a nameplate used by Honda on alternative fuel vehicles. It was initially used only on hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles such as the 2008 Honda FCX Clarity, but in 2017 the nameplate was expanded to include the battery-elec ...

group of vehicles :2019 —

:2020 — Toyota Corolla :2021 —

Ford Mustang Mach-E The Ford Mustang Mach-E is a battery electric compact crossover SUV produced by Ford. The vehicle was introduced on November 17, 2019, and went on sale in December 2020 as a 2021 model. The vehicle uses the Mustang nameplate, with a Mach-E ...

:2022 —

Audi Q4 e-tron The Audi Q4 e-tron is a battery electric compact luxury crossover SUV produced by Audi. It is based on Volkswagen Group's electric MEB platform and is the fourth fully-electric model in the Audi e-tron series after the Audi e-tron, e-tron G ...

:2023 —

Toyota Crown The is an automobile which has been produced by Toyota in Japan since 1955. It is primarily a line of mid-size luxury cars that is marketed as an upmarket offering in the Toyota lineup. Introduced in 1955 as the Toyopet Crown, it has served ...

{{cite news , last1=Eisenstein , first1=Paul , title=Toyota Crown Named “2023 Green Car of the Year” - The Detroit Bureau , url=https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2022/11/toyota-crown-named-2023-green-car-of-the-year/ , access-date=14 November 2022 , date=9 November 2022

References

External links

Official website
Motor vehicle awards Green cars

Winners

See also

References

External links