Green Car Journal announced its five finalists for the 2012 Green Car of the Year award. For the seventh consecutive year, the Green Car of the Year honors environmental leadership in the automotive field, with the winner being announced during a press conference at the Los Angeles Auto Show Press Days on Nov. 17. This year's five finalists include the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas, 2012 Mitsubishi i, 2012 Toyota Prius v and 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI.

 

The Green Car of the Year award recognizes vehicles that become available by January 1 of the award year.

 

These five finalists are also honored as Green Car Journal's Top 5 Green Cars for 2012 for rising to the top of a field replete with increasingly more environmentally conscious and exciting models.

 

"This year's Green Car of the Year finalists underscore that there is no single solution to our transportation challenges," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and editor of GreenCar.com. "Here we have five exceptional answers to the question of how we're going to increase efficiencies, reduce tailpipe and CO2 emissions, and decrease petroleum use. These nominees deserve to be recognized for their unique approaches in providing consumers diverse choices as cars intelligently evolve toward a more environmentally-compatible motoring future."

 

Narrowing the field to five nominees these days is no easy thing, according to Green Car Journal editors. Literally dozens of models are considered that feature improved environmental impact and increased efficiencies. Vehicles running on all fuels and technologies weigh in, including high-efficiency gasoline and diesel models along with ones that run on gaseous fuels, electricity and other alternative fuels. Along with quantifiable environmental achievement, market significance and 'newness' are but a few of many criteria considered as the field is narrowed to a final five.