Name the greenest car. If you answered "Prius," the gas-electric hybrid made by Toyota, you'd be wrong, at least according to a study just released by Britain's Cardiff University and the automotive consultancy Clifford James.
The study put the Prius -- wait for it -- in 12th spot on the clean scale. Ahead of it were cars -- some of them diesel powered, none of them hybrids -- made by Smart, Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat, Ford and Mini. The Prius is still the cleanest car for its size, but weight, or lack thereof, counts for a lot: The cars at the top of the rankings are smaller and lighter than the Prius. For example, the Smart roadster and cabriolets are two-seaters, though the others have back seats.
The Cardiff and Clifford James researchers just didn't focus on exhaust emissions. They measured the entire environmental "footprint," from raw materials used in construction to the car's ultimate disposal. The Prius lost points because of is greater overall size and heavy batteries.
The researchers said new, ultra-low emission vehicles, in both gas and diesel form, could soon overtake hybrids like the Prius in like-for-like comparisons.
Still, the "green halo effect" belongs to the Prius, and Toyota by extension. But that might change. Last week, I interviewed Achim Steiner, the head of the United Nations Environmental Program, about climate change's business opportunities. Unsolicited, he praised Italy's Fiat for learning how to make money from small, fuel-efficient cars and said he wished other car markers would do the same (two Fiat models, both Pandas, made the study's top-10 clean list). Fiat also has a notable and welcome lack of SUVs.
Toyota seems to aware that it will soon face competition in the green sweepstakes. It has been reducing the hefty price of the Prius. Maybe it should reduce its weight too.
