Automakers’ environmental impact

Honda continues to sell the “greenest” vehicles in the United States, and DaimlyerChrysler continues to sell the most polluting vehicles, according to a report released in early December by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The UCS report evaluates the top six automakers in the U.S. market—Honda, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler—on the basis of their fuel efficiency and smog-forming emissions for model year 2001 and 2000 vehicles. The last time UCS conducted the study was two years ago on model year 1998 vehicles. Honda, which leads the U.S. market in terms of fuel economy, continues to hold the number-one ranking in terms of environmental performance, even though new standards have forced competing automakers to lower their smog-forming emissions. DaimlerChrysler, on the other hand, continues to stay at the bottom of the rankings because of its focus on truck sales. Toyota is the only automaker in the study that actually reduced its greenhouse gas emissions from model year 2000 to 2001, as the company made improvements in the fuel efficiency of its fleet, particularly its larger trucks. Ford moved up in the rankings, surpassing General Motors, because of its lower smog-emitting trucks and sport utility vehicles. To read more about Automaker Rankings: The Environmental Performance of Car Companies, go to www.ucsusa.org.