New Chevrolet Volt Named Green Car of the Year

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The Chevrolet Volt plug-in sedan was named 2016 Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, winning the auto industry's most closely watched environmental honor. The car has a more efficient 1.5-liter engine-generator that creates on-board electricity to power the Volt's motors for a total 420 miles.

The Volt beat a field of finalists that includes the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Hyundai Sonata, and Audi A3 E-Tron.

The 2016 Volt is the second generation of the hybrid, which went on sale this fall with a range of 53 miles on electricity alone -- beating the automaker's prediction that the second-generation car would reach 50 miles under battery power.

The Chevrolet Volt won 2011 Green Car of the Year, shortly after the original was introduced.

Since then, a raft of other environmental models have also gotten better in succeeding generations.

• Toyota Prius was redesigned for the 2016 model year.
• Honda Civic is now in its tenth generation and was nominated for getting the fuel economy of a hybrid with a conventional gasoline engine.
• Hyundai Sonata is available as a conventional, hybrid and plug-in hybrid that can go up to 24 miles on electricity alone.
• Audi E-tron is a plug-in hybrid. The five-door hatchback can go 19 miles on electricity alone after which the gasoline engine acts as a generator to continue driving.

Earlier this year, the Green Car Journal, which gives the award rescinded the Green Car honors it had previously given Volkswagen in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal. 

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