ETA: Coming soon - The definitive guide to the greenest cars available in Britain

On March 15 the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) will announce this year’s Car Buyers’ Guide. The Guide, which highlights the best and the worst cars in Britain in terms of their impact on the environment, will be announced at an awards event in central London at RIBA, 68 Portland Place W1, at 10am and simultaneously on-line at www.eta.co.uk

The ETA’s Car Buyer’s Guide was first published in 1993 and since then has become the environmental benchmark for the car industry and the public, the standard which champions the greenest cars in Britain. The awards event on March 15 will announce all the results and acknowledge those manufacturers whose marques have come out on top.

Last year the Honda Civic 1.4 IMA Executive was identified as the greenest car on Britain’s roads for the second year running with the Toyota Prius 1.5 as close runner-up. Last year buyers looking for an off-road/SUV as a lifestyle choice were reassured that the Honda CRV-2.2 i-CTDi Sport was the greenest choice and prestige marques with a good environmental rating included the Jaguar X-Type, winner of the Luxury Car Category.

The Guide will again highlight the worst offenders in terms of damage to the environment. Top of the worst list for emissions – again for the second year running in 2006 - was the Lamborghini Diablo. More relevant to the average consumer is the least green large family car in the ETA’s guide which in 2006 was the BMW 3 series convertible, followed by the VW Passat W8 QM6. The majority of the least green vehicles on the bottom of the list pack a mean environmental punch with vast engines. Vehicles like these can produce up to five times the amount of climate change gases as the Toyota Prius.

The Environmental Transport Association (ETA), Britain’s motoring organisation for people concerned about the environment and the ethical alternative breakdown service, publishes their Car Buyers’ Guide annually for their members and for the general public as a whole. Providing an easy way to assess all the cars in Britain for their green credentials, this invaluable resource for car purchasing highlights the winners in each category.

“Although what car we drive continues to define us in terms of style and status, we must acknowledge the fact that our use of transport is the fastest growing cause of climate change,” explains Andrew Davis, director of the ETA. “Car emissions have a direct impact on the environment and climate change remains the number one threat to this country, over and above terrorism.

“As the provider of Britain’s only climate neutral automotive breakdown service, the ETA considers helping people to choose which car to drive as one of its most important objectives. The Car Buyers’ Guide provides an essential shortlist to help you choose the car that suits both your lifestyle and your conscience. Cleaner motoring advice is just a click away with the ETA.”

For the complete Car Buyers’ Guide visit www.eta.co.uk on March 15

Editor’s Note:

The ETA offers a comprehensive breakdown service across Europe. Their services also include motor insurance, cycle insurance, cycle rescue, travel and house insurance plus vehicle inspection service.

The mission: The aim of the ETA is to be the ethical alternative to other motoring organisations. Through the services above funds are generated for the ETA’s campaigns.

The aims:

To help ETA members and the general public take practical steps in reducing their impact on the environment and to demonstrate that people who make such changes have a better quality of life.
To encourage government at all levels to understand the benefits of doing less but making more impact. ETA transport proposals would reduce the national government’s expenditure on transport to almost zero whilst improving the transport system.