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Meet the Greenest and Meanest vehicles of 2016

If you've been keeping track, you won't be surprised with the number one entry in this year's list of greenest cars from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). In fact, the top three spots on the 2016 list are all the same as they were in 2015. After that, things get interesting. For one thing, this is the first Greenest list that doesn't have any purely internal combustion engine powertrain on it. Hybrids, yes, but if you want to be one of the top 12 greenest cars this year, you'd better have some sort of electric angle. ACEEE says that the conventional, gas-powered Smart Fortwo and Chevrolet Spark just missed the cut. In a statement, ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan said, "The 2016 scores are in, and plug-in electric vehicles are outpacing all other vehicle offerings in terms of environmental friendliness." Like last year, one of the noticeable vehicles missing from the green list is the Tesla Model S. One reason? ACEEE takes curb weight into account (lighter is better), and the Model S is a heavy beast. The ACEEE doesn't just look at the clean side of the ledger. It also puts out a "meanest" list. These are the vehicles that pollute the most, not only from their tailpipes, but also any pollution created during the entire manufacturing process, from mining the raw materials to the energy used to produce the vehicle at the factory. The entire list, from greenest to meanest, is done using a "cradle to grave" analysis. You can see how the ACEEE determines its rankings here, explore the entire greenest cars site here, or click through our galleries to see which vehicles are extra green (above) or extra mean (below) this year. 12: Mercedes-Benz GL550 4MATIC View 12 Photos More Electric Cars than Ever on Greenest Vehicles List Electric Vehicles Nab 9 out of Top 12 Spots in ACEEE's Environmental Vehicle Rankings Washington, DC: Despite a tumultuous year for the automotive industry, manufacturers have continued to offer exciting technology options for a growing vehicle market. Today at greenercars.org, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 19th annual comprehensive environmental ratings for vehicles. The following vehicles comprise the Greenest List for 2016: Greenest Score 1. Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Convertible / Coupe 63 2. Chevrolet Spark EV 63 3. Fiat 500E 62 4. Toyota Prius Eco 61 5. Volkswagen E-Golf 61 6. Nissan Leaf S / Leaf SV 61 7. Kia Soul Electric 59 8.

Nissan Qashai gets the Juke R treatment

It would appear that we're a little behind the times on this one, but a UK-based tuner of the Nissan GT-R is creating its own take on the lustworthy Juke-R starting with the Nissan Qashqai crossover. Severnvalley Motorsport claims to be the leading authority for tuning of the current GT-R in Europe. The outfit is now turning its attention to stuffing the drivetrain of a GT-R under the body of a Qashqai+2 - a seven-passenger compact crossover similar in size to our Nissan Rogue - resulting in the Qashqai-R.
The project started back in March when Severnvalley took delivery of a new Qashqai. After stripping the crossover down to its bare essentials and building a custom jig to support the body shell, it was then transferred onto an awaiting GT-R chassis. The crew aimed to keep Qashqai's appearance as stock as possible, but fender extensions and hood vents were required to accommodate the sports car underpinnings.
The white Qashqai-R seen above will be tuned to produce 900 horsepower, while a black version will get bumped up to 1,000 hp. And, looking at the build photos, we surmise that this project will take nothing less than a herculean feat of supercar determination before it's through.

2014 Nissan GT-R squeaks in under $100k*, Murano CrossCabriolet priced, too

Another year, another price hike for the ridiculously awesome Nissan GT-R. When the GT-R was introduced for the 2008 model year, it had a starting price of $69,850, increasing steadily each year up to $96,820 for 2013, and now Nissan has announced that the 2014 GT-R will have a base sticker price of $99,590 (*not including the destination charge, which has not been announced yet).
More than just a simple price hike, the 2014 GT-R gets some upgrades, continuing the model's other longstanding tradition - continuous improvement. While there has been no increase in power, Nissan says the 545-horsepower, twin-turbo V6 now has better response in its mid- and upper-rpm ranges. Nissan has also improved the car's handling, giving it different shock absorbers, springs and a reworked front anti-roll bar, along with "increased body rigidity," though it doesn't specify how the latter is accomplished. The changes are said to lower the coupe's center of gravity and further improve its (already spectacular) handling. A few styling tweaks include the addition of a Premium Interior Package offering hand-stitched red leather seats, a color pattern for the steering wheel on the $109,300 GT-R Black Edition and an engraved aluminum plate showing the owner who built their car's engine.
Along with the announcement of the 2014 GT-R, Nissan also released details for the 2014 Murano CrossCabriolet. The big - but not surprising - news is that Nissan has lowered the price of its slow-selling crossover convertible to $41,995, representing a price drop of just over $2,500. Aside from price, model year changes include two new exterior colors and redesigned 20-inch wheels.