Automaker Rankings 2007

The Union of Concerned Scientists' 2007 report ranks eight major automakers on their environmental impact, focusing on smog and global warming pollutants. Honda is named the 'Greenest Automaker' for the fourth consecutive time, though Toyota has closed the gap significantly due to hybrid technology and consistent performance across all vehicle classes. The report highlights a stark contrast between the top performers and the 'Big Three' (Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler), with DaimlerChrysler ranking as the dirtiest. Key findings indicate that while smog emissions have improved due to tighter regulations, progress on global warming emissions has been minimal since 1998. The analysis also critiques the use of flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) as a regulatory loophole that increases overall emissions and notes that diesel vehicles reduce global warming pollution but significantly increase smog.

• Honda is the top-ranked manufacturer, earning the 'Greenest Automaker' award for the fourth time due to consistently low emissions across nearly all vehicle classes, although its lead over Toyota has diminished to just one point on global warming emissions.
• Toyota ranks second overall and is the only one of the 'Big Six' automakers to show consistent improvement in global warming scores from 2001 to 2005, reducing those emissions by eight percent.
• DaimlerChrysler is the worst performing of the major automakers, with the highest emissions for both smog and global warming; its vehicles emit 70 percent more smog-forming and nearly 30 percent more global warming pollutants per mile than Honda's.
• While smog-forming emissions have decreased across the industry due to EPA Tier 2 and California LEV II regulations, progress on global warming emissions has been minimal, with average emissions for the Big Six decreasing by only one percent between 1998 and 2005.
• Flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) are found to increase global warming emissions because a regulatory loophole allows automakers to claim inflated fuel economy based on an assumed 50 percent ethanol use, while actual usage is less than one percent.
• Hybrid technology can significantly improve an automaker's global warming score if deployed in high volumes; for example, hybrids improved Toyota's overall global warming score by three points and its midsize car score by nine points.
• Diesel vehicles present a trade-off, reducing global warming emissions but increasing smog; for Volkswagen, diesels improved its global warming score by three points but decreased its smog score by 19 points.
• General Motors (GM) is the top producer of vehicles with an EPA city rating of 15 mpg or less, despite marketing its leadership in vehicles achieving more than 30 mpg on the highway.

APA

MacKenzie, D. (2007). Automaker Rankings 2007. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/autorank_2007report.pdf

Chicago

MacKenzie, Don. Automaker Rankings 2007. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2007. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/autorank_2007report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MacKenzie |first1=Don |title=Automaker Rankings 2007 |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=April 2007 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/autorank_2007report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mackenzie2007automaker, author = {MacKenzie, Don}, title = {{Automaker Rankings 2007}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2007}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/autorank_2007report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }