2009 World Green Car of the Year candidates announced

The World Car of the Year (WCOTY) organization has announced the initial slate of candidates for 2009 World Green Car of the Year. Launched three years ago, the World Green COTY title has been awarded in the past to the BMW 118d (2008), the Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec (2007) and the Honda Civic Hybrid (2006). The 2009 candidates must be new and on sale by December 31. The finalists are: 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) The WCOTY organization includes working automotive journalists from around the globe, including regular IL contributors Matt Davis, Hormazd Sorabjee, Peter Nunn and Peter Lyon.