Green Living? Lets Talk About Electric And Hybrids Car.

How can Electric And Hybrids Cars Effect Our Environment.

Plug-in electric vehicles may be the hip newcomers on U.S. streets this year, but they aren't the only eco-friendly stars, a scorecard of greenest cars reveals Tuesday.

The natural gas Honda Civic GX wins top honors for the eighth year, earning 54 points, followed this time by the all-electric Nissan Leaf and the gasoline-powered, two-seater, the Smart Fortwo, according to the 14th annual environmental ratings by the private American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE.)

Hybrids (Toyota Prius, Honda Civic and Honda Insight) take the next three spots, followed closely by Ford's new Fiesta SFE (Super Fuel Economy) and the new Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Also making the top dozen are three other gas-powered cars (Hyundai Elantra, Mini Cooper, Toyota Yaris) as well as the Chevy Volt, a new electric vehicle with a back-up gas engine.

"We're seeing an increasing number of highly efficient gasoline options from both foreign and domestic automakers along with the first electric vehicles," ACEEE vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan said in announcing the results, which include five new models among its top dozen.

Why don't plug-in electric cars win hands-down?

"Vehicles running on electricity emit nothing from the tailpipe, but their 'upstream' emissions can be substantial, depending on where they're charged. As U.S. power generation becomes cleaner, these vehicles' scores will rise," said Therese Langer, ACEEE's transportation director.

The ratings are based not only on tailpipe emissions but also fuel consumption, emissions that cause global warming and emissions associated with battery manufacture and disposal. Hybrids lose a few points because of their batteries.

The ratings, posted on ACEEE's greenercars.org website, also pick winners in each vehicle class. Honors go to trucks and SUVs such as the Hyundai Tucson, Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Canyon, and the Ford F-150 (FFV).

The "meanest" list this year includes mostly heavy trucks and SUVs, a marked change from the numerous European sports cars that dominated last year's list. The Bugatti Veyron gets the overall lowest score, 19.