When is a blue book not a blue book? Why when it’s green of course. Kelley’s Blue Book, a famous collaboration of the value of vehicles stateside, has put together a green car section of its website helping its users find the ‘top ten green cars’.
The decision is reflective of growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles across the Atlantic with prices at the pump breaking through the $4 a gallon barrier earlier this year.
There has been a strong push for a variety of green vehicles ranging from hybrids to plug-in hybrids such as the Chevy Volt and models from Toyota that are expected to be released within the next two years. Car manufacturers such as General Motors are strongly pushing flex-fuel vehicles that can run on E85, a mixture of petroleum and ethanol, while several new diesel models are much cleaner than their predecessors.
The top ten green cars list highlighted by Kelley’s book actually incorporates five hybrids – as follows:
1. 2008 Toyota Prius, 46 mpg
2. 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid, 42 mpg
3. 2008 smart fortwo, 36 mpg
4. 2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid, 34 mpg
5. 2008 Mini Cooper, 32 mpg
6. 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, 32 mpg
7. 2008 Honda Fit, 31 mpg
8. 2008 Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC, 26 mpg
9. 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 26 mpg
10. 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, 21 mpg
Executive analyst for Kelley Blue Book Jack Nerad did however, state that car buyers should be very analytical before deciding on the right green car for them and that something midsize may be more suitable to people making the switch from very large vehicles.
