America's Dirtiest Cars, 2012
We at SmartPlanet talk a lot about green, eco-friendly cars. But what about the other side of that coin? Lest we make our roads appear too rosy (or, er, green), keep in mind there are still plenty of gas guzzlers out there - and not just pre-historic models on their last leg.
Forbes has compiled a list of American's Dirtiest Vehicles of 2012, highlighting the least eco-friendly cars out there:
- BMW X5 M (17 highway miles per gallon)
- BMW X6 M (17 highway miles per gallon)
- Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon (18 highway miles per gallon)
- Dodge Challenger SRT8 (23 highway miles per gallon)
- Maserati Quattroporte (19 highway miles per gallon)
- Mercedes-Benz C300 4MATIC (25 highway miles per gallon)
- Nissan Titan (17 highway miles per gallon)
- Toyota Sienna (23 Highway miles per gallon)
See Forbes' slideshow of the nation's dirtiest cars, which contains more fuel efficiency metrics.
To compile the list, Forbes used the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's fuel economy ratings database, the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Vehicle Guide, as well as the Carbon Footprint calculator. In its analysis, Forbes did not consider heavy-duty cars, which are currently not subject to federal fuel economy regulations, or so-called "exotic" cars, such as the Bugatti Veyron.
Despite all the hype surrounding electric vehicles and alternative fuel sources, the vast majority of our cars still runs on plain old gasoline. Increased fuel efficiency in gasoline-powered vehicles is likely to have a much greater effect on cutting carbon emissions than the (still fledgling) alt-fuel market.
Photo: BMW
via [Forbes]
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com