The Greenest Car

This week saw the American Counsel for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) announce their findings for the "most Green" vehicles.  And do you want to know who came out on top?  Yes, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive.  With a Green Score of 59 it bested even the Toyota Prius C (57), Prius (55),  and the Prius Plug-in hybrid (55).

But what does the ACEEE mean by "Greenest" vehicle?  What do they measure and is it all empirical?

The ACEEE takes many factors into consideration when attempting to determine a proper score for any vehicle.  In the past, the average vehicle score for the vehicles that are conducive to cleaner driving, often receive a score around 37.  Where as the "meaner" vehicles, like trucks, SUVs, and vans tends to be closer to 17 on average.  The total score is ranked out of a possible 100 points,

Although most of the Toyota Prius line is in the top 10 Greenest, and the Prius C was the champion last year, a score of 59 has not yet been awarded to any vehicle, until now. This year the rating system has some added changes that may have accounted for the fact that the ED made the top of the list.  Here's the list

• Updates to in-use emissions factors for methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) 
• Changes to the methodology for estimating fuel economy for 2b trucks 
• Updates to evaporative emission estimates 
• Rating vehicles with LEV III tailpipe emission standards 
• Updates to upstream emission factors for gasoline, diesel, and CNG 

The primary concern seems to be tailpipe emissions, but materials used in manufacturing the vehicle are also considered.  If you read the comments on the blogs that have reported on this announcement, you may have noticed the dire skepticism and regular arguments that continue to pop-up.  The ACEEE address these issues directly in each vehicle.

Although no vehicle has crested 60 out of a possible 100 on the ACEEE index, it's clearly important to note that whatever Smart is doing in the construction and endgame for the ED, it is good.  I will definitely toot the horn of my Smart ED in saying that it's not just environmentally safe, but also the most affordable battery electric vehicle available in the US.