Top 10 Greenest and Dirtiest Cars of 2010

The headline grabber: Italy's Lamborghini Murcielago has been named and shamed as the most polluting car of the nation by the UK's Environmental Transport Association (ETA), being five times as worse than the greenest automobile of 2010, Japan's 99g/km Toyota iQ.

"With emissions five times worse than the greenest car, the Lamborghini is the bull in an environmental china shop," said Andrew Davis, director of the ETA. "Thankfully, there are very few on the roads and there is an increasing choice of environmentally-sound cars."

The group said it examined over 5,000 cars sold in the UK ranking them for their power, emissions, fuel efficiency and the amount of noise they produce. ETA also said that a poll of 1,500 British drivers found that Scots were most inclined (42%) to buy a smaller car in order to reduce their motoring costs, while drivers living in the north of England were the least inclined (34%).

The untold story: As with most reports of the sort, ETA and Mr. Davis forget to stress the fact that super cars like the Lamborghini Murcielago and the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, which top both CO2 and fuel cost lists, are not only extremely rare, but also won't ever be used as near as much as a Toyota iQ or the Honda Insight.

This means that their actual total emissions (we won't even bother with fuel costs) are pretty much inconsequential. A quick search on UK's (since the study was for Britain) eBay can provide proof for this.

Source: Environmental Transport Association

ETA's GREEN CAR AWARDS 2010

Category	Best	Worst
Green Car of the Year 2010	Toyota iQ	Lamborghini Murcielago
Greenest small family car	Honda Insight 1.3	VW Golf 3.2 V6
Greenest large family car	BMW 320d Touring	Vauxhall Insignia VXR V6 Turbo
Greenest Supermini	Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D	Renault Clio Sport 200
Greenest city car	Toyota iQ	Ford Ka 1.6 Sportka
Greenest sports car	Vauxhall Tigra	Lamborghini Murcielago
Greenest MPV	Peugeot Bipper Tepee	Mercedes R63
Greenest small MPV	Renault Modus 1.5dci	Vauxhall Zafira VXR 2.0i Turbo
Greenest off-road car	BMW X1 E84	Mercedes ML63
Greenest luxury car	BMW 740d	Bentley Brooklands

TOP 10 MOST POLLUTING CARS

1. Lamborgini Murcielago
2. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
3. Bentley Motors Brooklands
4. Bentley Motors Arnage
5. bentley Motors Azure
6. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
7. Bentley Motors Continental
8. Aston Martin V12 Vantage
9. Cadillac Escalade
10. Rolls Royce Phantom

TOP 10 LEAST POLLUTING CARS

1. Toyota iQ
2. Honda Insight
3. Volkswagen New Polo
4. Toyota Yaris
5. Toyota Prius
6. Nissan Pixo
7. Suzuki Alto
8. Honda Civic Hybrid
9. Ford Fiesta
10. Mazda 2

TOP 10 CARS WITH HIGHEST FUEL COSTS

1. Lamborghini Murcielago
2. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti
3. Bentley Motors Brooklands
4. Bentley Motors Arnage
5. Bentley Motors Azure
6. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
7. Bentley Motors Continental
8. Aston Martin V12 Vantage
9. Cadillac Escalade
10. Ferrari 430 Scuderia

TOP 10 CARS WITH LOWEST FUEL COSTS

1. Smart Fortwo
2. Volkswagen New Polo
3. Ford Fiesta
4. Vaixhall Corsa
5. Seat Ibiza
6. Peugeot 207
7. Volvo C30
8. Volkswagen Polo
9. Citroen New C3
10. Toyota Prius

Honda Launches Insight and Civic Sedan Hybrid Taxis in Europe

Most, if not all taxis on the other side of the pond run on diesel or LPG, but Honda believes it might be able to convince some European cabbies to try out its Insight and Civic mild-hybrid models. Both cars come in appropriate exterior colors and are equipped with pre-installed roof brackets and a mounting for the taxi-meter on the dashboard as well as some other special equipment such as heavy duty floor mats.

In the European driving cycle, the Insight achieves a combined fuel rating of 4.4 lt/100km (53.5 mpg US) while the Civic Hybrid, 4.9 lt /100km (48 mpg US).

Prices in Germany start from €15,990 for the Insight and from €17,990 for the Civic Hybrid (about US$22,000 and $24,700 at today's exchange rates) with Honda offering upon request, a warranty extension to 3 years or 300,000km, whichever comes first.

Honda to Debut Insight Sports Modulo and other Models at Tokyo Auto Salon

A tricked out Insight hybrid that looks like it came straight off the set of a cheesy sci-fi B-movie will be the crown jewel of Honda's fleet of cars at this week's Tokyo Auto Salon 2010. The largest aftermarket tuning show in Japan will be held from January 15 to 17 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba.

The Insight Sports concept has been modified by Honda's own Modulo customization brand and features numerous aero parts that glow in the dark along with a set of oddly styled alloy rims.

The hybrid model's interior has been upgraded with bucket seats trimmed in Alcantara, while the same material is also found on the three-spoke steering wheel.

Honda did not say if the Insight Sports Modulo concept features any kind of performance modifications.

Aside from the Insight, the Japanese automaker will also showcase various other vehicles including the Freed Styling Study and Life Styling Study.