Switzerland recently hailed the Toyota
Motor Corp.'s Prius as the world's greenest car, reports Reuters.
The land
of breathtaking Alps has named the Japanese automaker's hybrid
after the vehicle has recorded the highest green rating in a draft
study evaluating the environmental impact of driving around 6,000
different cars, including C02 emissions which contribute to global
warming.
The
Swiss government said that it hopes that the list, which is still
in draft form and could be revised before it is finalized next year,
will persuade drivers to buy cars which have the lowest impact on the
environment. Additionally, the list could also be used to impose an
emissions-related tax on cars. "The goal is to modernize the fleet of
cars and to make the use of natural resources as efficient as possible,
so that using cars will exert less pressure on the environment," says
Adrian Aeschlimann, a spokesman for the Federal Office for the
Environment.
The Prius,
one of the mass-produced hybrids, was produced for sale
in Japan, Europe and North America. The hybrid first arrived in
showrooms in Japan in 1997 and around the globe in 2001. By the end of
2003, about 160,000 vehicles had been produced for sale.
The
milestone product line of the Japanese automaker is engineered to
showcase cutting-edge features which are way incomparable with the Toyota
Celica radiator
and other parts and accessories. It has won several awards to make it
noticeable even by celebrities. The Prius has won the Car of the Year
Japan accolade in 1997 and 1998, the American Car of the Year in 2004,
and the European Car of the Year award in the following year.
The
hybrid was rated by the States Environmental Protection Agency's
revised fuel economy procedure at 48 mpg in city driving, and 45 mpg on
the highway. California Air Resources Board has rated the hybrid as a
Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle.
In the 2000
North American
lineup of the automaker, the vehicle was slotted between the Corolla
and the Echo. The hybrid was redesigned in 2004 to turn into a midsize
hatchback that slot between the Camry and Corolla. The new version of
the vehicle was certified as an Advanced Technology Partial
zero-emissions vehicle.
The Toyota
Prius, equipped with a twinning battery power and a
combustion engine, also is considered as one of the most affordable car
vehicles in the United States. It also is the best selling hybrid on
the road today, though they account for only a fraction of auto sales
worldwide.
Switzerland's
NZZ am Sonntag newspaper recently
published the names of the top 20 and bottom 20 cars. The Swiss
government confirmed the names to Reuters.
The list, as
reported, includes Fiat's Punto 1.2 Bipower and its Panda 1.2 Bipower,
the Daihatsu Cuore and Citroen's C3 1.4i GNV were all in the top five
of the draft list, which will be sent to the industry for comments
before being finalized. Ford's Transit and Transit 4x4, the
Volkswagen's T5 and Peugeot's Boxer were in the bottom five. The Nissan
Patrol GR 3.0, meanwhile, got the lowest rating. The said list will be
sent to the industry for comments before being finalized. Small cars
and other hybrids dominated the top 20 of the list.
The United
States accounts for more than half of Toyota's Prius sales. China and
U.S are the world's top emitters of CO2, reports Domain -B.
Environmentalists
welcomed the Swiss government initiative. "It's great when a national
government is behind this, and a list like that will have much more
sway and can function as a guideline for the automotive industry," says
Juergen Resch at Germany's environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe.
