Honda Civic GX-Greenest Vehicle of 2008

The natural gas-powered Civic GX, stood first in the list of American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ’Greenest Vehicles of 2008’. The Civic GX wins this award for the fifth consecutive year making it the most eco-friendly car available to the public. Three other Honda vehicles that featured in the list were the gasoline powered Civic, Fit and Civic Hybrid, which made up one-third of the cars.

Introduced in 1998, the Civic GX, is the cleanest internal combustion vehicle certified by the EPA, and is 90% cleaner than the average gasoline-powered car on the road today. Equipped standard with a 5-speed automatic transmission, its 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine delivers 113 horsepower and 109 ft-lbs of torque while meeting federal Tier 2-Bin 2 and ILEV zero evaporative emission certification standards and carries the "Cleanest on Earth" title.

"Honda continues to set the standard for socially and environmentally-responsible automotive products and our commitment to alternative fuels will further expand with the zero emissions FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle coming to market this summer," stated John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda.

The entire list of eco-friendly winners for 2008:

HONDA CIVIC GX

TOYOTA PRIUS

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID

SMART FORTWO CONVERTIBLE / COUPE

TOYOTA YARIS

NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID

TOYOTA COROLLA 1.8L

MINI COOPER / CLUBMAN

FORD FOCUS

TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID

HONDA CIVIC

HONDA FIT

SUV of the year - Volkswagen Tiguan

The readers of OFF ROAD, a German trade journal, have given the SUV of the Year prize to the Tiguan. Attracting 17.4 % of the votes, the Tiguan emerged as the readers’ choice among the 20 nominated vehicles, ahead of its second and third-placed rivals the BMW X3 and the Land Rover Freelander. In the exceptionally prestigious category of Luxury Off-Roaders, the Volkswagen Touareg won the number-two ranking amidst a field of eleven rivals for the award in this category.

In the continuously growing segment for off-road vehicles, readers could this year choose from a total field of 87 models made by 38 manufacturers for prizes in eight categories. In addition to the fiercely competitive categories of Off-Road Vehicles and Luxury Off-Road Vehicles, SUVs and Luxury SUVs, there were also categories for Cross-Over Models, Classics, Pick-Ups and Special Vehicles. The criterion applied for the classification "Luxury" is a basic price tag of more than 40,000 euro.

Over 58,000 readers took part in this year’s poll. The prizes were presented in Munich last night.