The Green Car of the year. Oh my. How far we have come.

Well I think the age of alternative energy fueled cars is really starting to take shape. We now have major league coverage of announcement touting the Greenest Cars of the year. Imagine that. Just a few short years ago there were no such things as [tag]alternative energy[/tag] cars. Or only in the labs of universities or companies at least. Now it is becoming normal to sell a hybrid in amongst the rest of the gasoline fueled cars made by the major carmakers around the world. Now they are beating the bush to innovate.

Much has been said about [tag]hydrogen fuel cells[/tag] powering our cars and trucks. That is something great for down the road but for now we have to stay the path of things that are possible and proven and as such that means hybrid cars that involve battery technology and conventional gas powered engines as well as bio diesel cars and trucks. Did you know that converting just the truck and bus fleets of major cities around the world to [tag]bio diesel[/tag] could have a major impact on the amount of particulate matter in the air and thus a major boon to increasing healthy breathing in many cities where currently millions suffer from air borne particulate induced health issues.

Maybe even a few true electric cars as well even though the carmakers essentially killed them off a few years ago. Now I feel that market forces may bring some of them back to the consumer choice on auto lot.

So what did they vote as they Greenest Car of the year for 2006? Well not much surprise here, as the Toyota Camry was voted as the greenest car of the year. It features a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric drive motor for a total output of 192 horsepower. With EPA estimated fuel economy of 40 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway, the hybrid Camry variant offers a marked improvement over the standard four-cylinder Camry’s 24/34 mpg and offers a reasonable price of just over $26,000.

“The Camry not only protects the planet, it protects consumers’ pocketbooks,” says Jason Mark, vehicles director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s one of the most cost-effective hybrids on the market.”

Here is the rundown of cars that were finalists this year:
The natural gas Honda Civic GX
Lexus GS 450h Hybrid
Mercedes-Benz E320 BLUETEC
Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid
Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Alternative Energy HQ will have to start its own list of best green technologies of the year. Maybe it won’t have tinges of corporate sponsorship attached. We like our independence. Keep your eyes out for that.

Oh by the way our new book covering the Wild West days of Alternative Energy Technology is coming along smashingly. We are so proud to be close to releasing it to the public in about four weeks. Stay tuned for that announcement.

By the way what are you driving?