30.3.2006
GM brands clean up in What Car? going green awards

GM’s continuing efforts to improve the fuel efficiency of its cars have been recognized by the influential British motoring magazine What Car?, with four cars from Saab and Vauxhall named as the greenest in their sector.

In a special section of the magazine devoted to ‘Going Green’, cars from all sectors of the new car market were assessed for their environmental credentials. Swedish premium brand Saab cleaned up in the prestige car segments, with its 9-3 and 9-5 models winning both of the executive categories. Vauxhall scooped a pair of awards too, taking titles for its Zafira and Tigra.

What Car? judges voted the Saab 9-3 1.9 TiD (120 bhp) the cleanest Compact Executive Car, stating that the aircraft-inspired sedan is “so good on CO 2 emissions that it equals the output of the Ford Ka city car.”

The Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 CDTi was named the greenest MPV, with the experts saying the “Zafira records a CO 2 output of 165g/km, beating all of its closest rivals and bringing new virtues to its long list of talents.”

The world’s first and only, turbocharged bio-ethanol vehicle, the Saab 9-5 2.0t BioPower, was named What Car?’s greenest Executive/Luxury Car, the magazine commenting that the Saab easily “has the potential to out-green any other cars here.”

In addition the Tigra picked up the title of ‘Greenest Open Top Car’. What Car? experts said: “The two-seat Tigra’s 61mpg average makes it the most fuel-efficient open-top car on sale in the U.K., so you’ll save money at the pumps as well as saving the environment…. It’s a combination that marries open-top style with genuine green credentials.”

The Vauxhall Vectra station wagon also gets acclaimed in the family car section for being “a great big hulking station wagon with a 540-liter boot, yet still rated to return 48mpg on the combined cycle.”

The awards comes as GM continues to advance its commitment to the environment, with a range of ever-more fuel efficient and green cars and an onward commitment to alternative fuels such as hybrid powertrains and hydrogen fuel cell development.