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No diesels in the running for 2016 Green Car Of The Year

It's a new era for the Green Car Of The Year. In the past, the theme of the award was to take a broad look at alternative powertrains and pick the best among them. "Clean diesels" from the Volkswagen group were often among the finalists and won the award twice. For the 2016 edition - which will be handed out at the LA Auto Show next month - not a single diesel made the list. There's little wonder why. Green Car Journal, which names the winner with a panel of experts, had to strip two VW brand vehicles of their past wins. The 2009 VW Jetta TDI, which won in 2008, and the 2010 Audi A3 TDI, which won in 2010, have both lost their titles now that the world knows about the "defeat devices" that VW installed in many of its TDI vehicles around the world. So, what does that leave us with for 2016? Two plug ins, a hybrid, and two gas vehicles. The two electric vehicle are the Audi A3 e-tron and the Chevy Volt, while the all-new Toyota Prius (which will come with a plug-in version later) is the lone pure hybrid. Rounding out the pack are two efficient gas models: the Hyundai Sonata and the Honda Civic. This is the tenth year for the Green Car Of The Year, and it will be interesting to see if diesels can come back into the award's good graces (for the record, no diesels were among the finalists in 2013, either) in the future. For now, we'd like to know who you think should win. You can read more about the finalists in the press release below and then cast your vote in our poll. Show full PR text FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR 2016 GREEN CAR OF THE YEAR Green Car Journal to Reveal Winner of 11th Annual Award at LA Auto Show Press & Trade Days, November 19 LOS ANGELES, CA (October 15, 2015) – Green Car Journal has announced its five finalists for the magazine's prestigious 2016 Green Car of the Year® award. The 2016 models include the Audi A3 e-tron, Chevrolet Volt, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, and Toyota Prius. An increasing number of vehicle models are considered for the Green Car of the Year® program each year, a reflection of the auto industry's expanding efforts in offering new vehicles with higher efficiency and improved environmental impact. Green Car Journal has been honoring the most important "green" vehicles every year at the LA Auto Show, since its inaugural award announced at the show in 2005.

Ford Police Interceptors dominate Michigan State Police testing

Once again, Ford Motor Company builds the fastest police vehicles. The Blue Oval touted the news in an official release following Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department testing. Ford did very well. Except for one acceleration metric – zero to 10 miles per hour – the Blue Oval's Taurus and Explorer-based cop cars were the quickest, with particular praise coming for the EcoBoost-powered models, which bested Chevrolet and Dodge's V8-powered variants. Dearborn's products also posted the fastest average times around MSP's vehicle dynamics course. But it wasn't all positive for Ford. The only four-cylinder in the contest, the 2.0-liter, EcoBoost Ford SSP Sedan, had both the lowest top speed, 120 mph, and the slowest acceleration figures. It was also the slowest in track testing. Ford's products also failed to match the braking and top speeds of its rivals from Detroit and Auburn Hills – the rear-drive Charger Pursuit posted the best braking stats of the entire test, while the V8-powered Chevrolet Caprice hit the highest top speed, at 155 mph. Ford did score a top speed award, among SUVs, but at 132 mph, the naturally aspirated Police Interceptor Utility had to share its award with the equally fast, rear-drive Chevrolet Tahoe. The LA County Sheriff's timing isn't publicly available, but according to Ford, the EcoBoost-powered police cars put on a similarly impressive show for cops on the West Coast. We've assembled a spreadsheet on Google Docs that offers an easy to browse comparison of the different stats assembled by the Michigan State Police, and divided the vehicles between standard V6-powered sedans, high-performance sedans (EcoBoost and V8 models), and SUVs. You can check it out here. Related Video:

Chevy Tahoe-to-K5 Blazer conversion shop renders Jimmy option

Back in 2019 we told you about a truck that looked like a K5 Chevy Blazer, but was actually a modern late-model Tahoe underneath. It was the product of Arkansas shop Flat Out Autos, which reskinned modern GM full-size SUVs to look like their predecessors. Now, the same shop is planning to release a GMC version, converting Yukons to Jimmys. We were impressed by Flat Out's workmanship, beautifully blending the lines of the Blazer into those of the Tahoe. The result was a cohesive design, not just a panel swap. It clearly required a lot of work, which helped justify the $69,000 price tag, not including the cost of the donor Tahoe. FlatOut Autos GMC Blazer Tahoe reskin 01 View 11 Photos At least one new owner was so impressed that they recently purchased four identical Blazer conversions at once. The quadruplets were all finished in blue with a white roof and all based on brand-new 2020 Tahoes. Obviously, with such demand it was only natural for Flat Out to explore other options. On Facebook the company said it was working on a 1972 version with an eggcrate grille. Now, they've also released a rendering paying homage to the K5 GMC Jimmy. The Jimmy conversion uses the original's quad-headlight face, crosshair grille and GMC badging. Like the Blazer conversion, it adds chrome bumpers and milled door handles while adapting the original's 2-door design to the new truck's 4-door body. The rendering only shows the front three-quarter view, but presumably a new carbon fiber rear door would have to be created as the Blazer's says "Chevrolet" across the back. Flat Out says that all the modern conveniences found on the donor Tahoe will work on the conversion, including parking, blind spot and lane keeping sensors. If you have the coin, it's a great way to have retro style without giving up modern safety and performance. The new Blazer has been disappointing to many fans that had hoped for a Bronco-like SUV. Instead, GM gave us a crossover. The Flat Out conversions might be a good compromise, and expanding it to the GMC brand only makes sense. Obviously there's no requirement to use a GMC Yukon as the donor vehicle for the Jimmy, as it's functionally identical to a Tahoe, but wouldn't you want to keep it in the family? Related Video: