World Car of the Year Awards

To be eligible for the World Performance award a vehicle had to have a specific and overt performance/sports orientation; be all-new or substantially revised; be in production, in quantities of at least 1000 per year; and introduced for sale to consumers in at least one major market during calendar year 2005.

WORLD GREEN CAR 2006

The Honda Civic Hybrid was chosen from an initial entry list of twenty-one (21) candidates nominated by the World Car of the Year jurors.

The Civic Hybrid averages a combined U.S. city/highway fuel economy of 50 mpg (U.S.) by mating a lightweight 1.3-liter, 4-cylinder, variable valve (VVT) engine, a 20- hp electric motor, and a fourth-generation continuously variable transmission (CVT) into a hybrid-electric configuration. A Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) system shuts down all four cylinders to permit full-hybrid electric-only operation. The Civic Hybrid achieves California’s stringent PZEV (Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle) tailpipe emission certification.

The top three contenders for World Green Car were the Honda Civic Hybrid as well as the Citroen C1 1.4 Hdi (Diesel) and the Lexus RX 400h/Toyota Harrier Hybrid:

“Honda continues to be a leader in producing environmentally responsible vehicles that set the standard for fuel economy and low emissions," said John Mendel, Senior Vice President, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “The award-winning 2006 Civic Hybrid is the latest embodiment of Honda’s long-term commitment to the development of environmentally friendly technologies that are also fun to drive.”

The World Car of the Year Awards are intended to reflect today’s auto industry and market trends. Northing is more au courant than concern for the environment – hence the creation of this eco-friendly category.

To be eligible for the World Green Car award, a vehicle had to be all-new or substantially revised, in production and introduced for sale to consumers in at least one major market between September 2004 and January 2006. In addition, the cars had to satisfy one or more of the following “green” criterion:

...continued