The American Honda Motor Co., Inc., the most fuel efficient car company in the United States, has earned the title of America's "2007 Greenest Automaker" from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) for the fourth consecutive time this year. The award is given by the UCS on a biennial basis to the auto manufacturer with the lowest overall production of smog-forming emissions and global warming emissions (primarily CO2) in its American fleet.
"Honda remains the greenest U.S. automaker. The company installs clean technology across its entire fleet of cars and trucks and that consistency makes it a top environmental performer. Honda is one of only two automakers to have better-than-average global warming scores in every class of vehicles it sold in MY2005," said Don MacKenzie, a vehicles engineer working with the Union of Concerned Scientists. "In addition, Honda continues to have the best smog score in four out of the five classes."
Honda, one of the rising Japanese automakers, is committed to remain a leader in the development and application of new auto technologies that respond to three critical environmental challenges: improving fuel efficiency to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible to global warming; dipping smog-forming emissions to limit air pollution; and delivering real-world alternatives to gasoline to slash foreign oil dependence.
"We are proud to be recognized as a leader, and will continue to challenge ourselves to improve the environmental performance of our company and our products," said John Mendel, the executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We have entered a period in history where society is more critically aware of how the actions we take today determine the course of our environmental future for generations to come. We accept this as our challenge."
The American Honda, the Torrance-based automaker, has applied leading-edge fuel efficient technologies to the full range of its Honda and Acura product lines and thus gets the result of having industry-leading corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) as determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA imposes a 33.9 mpg and 24.7 mpg, respectively, for model year 2006 passenger cars and light trucks. Quality auto parts of the automaker that include , engines and radiators have established a good name in serving environment-friendly purposes.
In May last year, the Japanese automaker became the first to publicly announce voluntary targets for the cutback of CO2 emissions by 2010 from both its products and production operations. Honda is targeting a five percent reduction in CO2 emissions for its global automobile fleet from 2005 levels, on top of a five percent reduction achieved in the 2000-2005 time period. It also will work toward a ten percent reduction for motorcycles and power products from 2000 levels by 2010.
In order to reach the voluntary CO2 reduction goal, Honda will introduce a series of new fuel-efficient technologies and products that include intelligent engine systems; a new, more affordable gas-electric hybrid vehicle in 2009; second-generation Variable Cylinder Management (VCM); and a new clean diesel vehicle in about two years with high fuel efficiency and ultra-low emissions equivalent to a gasoline engine vehicle.
