January 22, on the second Policy Day at the 2014 Washington Auto Show, Green Car Journal will announce the winner of the 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year Award.
Automakers are constantly on the move, developing vehicle technologies that reduce emissions without sacrificing performance. There are ten nominees for the 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year Award, each of which brings something interesting to the table. We’ve been talking about each of these technologies, in no particular order, which you can find here: (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) That’s not a ranking, but we’ll get to our pick for the 2014 Green Car Technology of the Year Award in a second.
First, what is it that makes a certain green car technology the best? I’m not sure what Green Car Journal’s judging criteria will be, but if it’s anything like their previous award, Green Car of the Year, it’ll probably be similar to “Finalists are selected for their achievements in raising the bar in environmental performance. Availability to the mass market is a factor to ensure honored models have the potential to make a real difference in environmental impact, and finalists must be available for sale by January 1st of the award year.”
Diesel fuel and B20 (20% biodiesel blend) are fairly well-distributed across the country. The light-duty pickup truck is the best-selling in America. If one technology would have the most impact, it would have to be the Dodge 3.0ℓ EcoDiesel. It has been a long time since a diesel engine has been available in a light-duty pickup truck, such as the Ford F-Series.
According to one study, even a one-mpg (miles per gallon) fuel economy improvement, in the Ford F-Series would amount to an annual carbon dioxide savings of over 200 megatons, the equivalent of removing nearly 50,000 cars from the road. In a couple of weeks, we’ll see what Green Car Journal has to say about it.
Image © Ram Trucks
