2009 World Green Car of the Year candidates announced

The World Green Car of the Year is a sub-award of the annual World Car of the Year (WCOTY) handed out by a dedicated organization and chosen by a selection of journalist jurors from around the world. Inaugurated with the award of the Honda Civic Hybrid in 2006, the cars eligible for the 2009 Green WCOTY award have now been announced.

Just a month ago at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Green Car Journal Green Car of the Year was chosen, with the Volkswagen Jetta TDI taking the honor - the first time a diesel has nabbed the title from a hybrid. The Green WCOTY award has already had two diesel winners, however, with the Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTec and the BMW 118d with EfficientDynamics winning in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

This year a wide array of production and experimental vehicles are on the list, including everything from 'TetraFuel' cars to pure electrics. Because the rules state that production cars must be all-new and available for purchase between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2008, in order to be eligible, there are some odd omissions (the Toyota Prius and VW Jetta TDI, for example) while some other oddballs - like the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon Hybrid - made the list. Of particular note is the number of Volvo cars on the list - five in all, more than double the count of any other brand.

Vehicles eligible for the 2009 Green World Car of the Year award:

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
BMW 335d BluePerformance
Chevrolet Tahoe / GMC Yukon Hybrid
Citroën C1
Fiat Palio Weekend Electric
Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model
Honda FCX Clarity
Mazda Hydrogen Rotary RX8
Mercedes-Benz ML/R/GL 320 BlueTEC
MINI Cooper D
MINI E
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Nissan X-Trail 20 GT
Smart ed
Subaru Legacy/Outback PZEV
Tesla Electric Roadster
Toyota iQ
Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S80 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)
Volvo V50 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo V70 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)

Source: Motor Authority