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Jeep Grand Cherokee, BMW i8, Ford F-150 win 2015 Green Car Awards in DC [w/video]

There were three shiny trophies handed out at the Washington Auto Show last week by Green Car Journal, and they went to three different examples of what "green" means in the automotive industry today. The Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel won the award for the 2015 Green SUV of the Year, the BMW i8 was named the 2015 Luxury Green Car of the Year and the Ford F-150 took the 2015 Green Car Technology Award honor. There is a case to be made that the aluminum body of the new Ford truck will make a bigger impact in the overall fuel usage in the US than almost any other vehicle, given the numbers of F-150s that Ford sells each year. The B20 biodiesel-capable Jeep gets up to 30 miles per gallon on the highway. And the i8 puts all sorts of new, fuel-saving technologies into an attractive package. Looking over the winners, and the list of finalists you can see in our photo gallery, and you can see that the definition of green is expanding every year. You can watch Green Car Journal editor Ron Cogan hand out the 2015 awards in the video below and we'll for sure be paying attention to what wins next year. 2015 Luxury Green Car of the Year, Green SUV of the Year and Green Car Technology Winners Announced WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Car Journal has named the Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel its 2015 Green SUV of the Year™ and the BMW i8 its 2015 Luxury Green Car of the Year™, with the aluminum-bodied Ford F-150 earning the magazine's 2015 Green Car Technology Award™. Winners were determined by a jury of Green Car Journal editors and automotive experts. The prestigious awards were announced in Washington, D.C. today at a Green Car Awards™ press conference held during the Washington Auto Show's Public Policy Day at the Washington Convention Center. "These are truly commendable vehicles representing the 'best-of-the-best' in so many ways," said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of the Green Car Journal and CarsOfChange.com. "The auto industry's very early focus on small cars and efficiency-for-environment tradeoffs has evolved to now include a more dynamic field of 'greener' models in all vehicle classes. Those wanting greater efficiency or better environmental performance are no longer constrained by limited choices or vehicle types that fall outside their top purchase preferences.

Ford readying Ranger-based Everest SUV?

Way back in August, we showed you a Ford concept for the Australian market called the Everest. Now, we can show you that work on the new Ranger-based SUV is well under way.
At this stage, it's still quite clearly a mule (note the misalignment of the front and rear doors), wearing the Ranger's front end and the rump of Ford's overseas Territory crossover. The wheelbase is shorter than a Ranger, according to our spy photographers, which strikes us as somewhat odd for a more passenger-oriented vehicle. Disc brakes should be fitted at all four corners, while the new SUV, which will almost certainly wear the Everest name, should sport a new rear suspension.
In terms of looks, we're expecting the Everest Concept to inform the appearance of the production model. Naturally, there will also be some interior tweaks, particularly around the dashboard, which is covered in these photos.

Reflecting on the Ford GT on its 10-year anniversary

Ten years ago, during the bright-eyed enthusiasm of the early 2000s and before the collective automotive industry did its best Titanic impression, we had the Ford GT. An everyman's supercar like there'd never been (remember, this was before 638-horsepower Corvettes were a thing), the GT arrived with a supercharged, 5.4-liter V8 that produced 550 horsepower and graced this retro-styled rocket with an easy, sub-four-second sprint to 60 miles per hour.
Equal to the GT's performance were its looks. Inspired by the GT40 racers that dominated Le Mans and bested Ferrari in the 1960s, the sleek, low, almost-reptilian look of the GT was the absolute pinnacle of the retro styling that so defined the early 2000s.
Crank and Piston put together a video celebrating the ten-year-old GT, arguing that Ford is a bit too busy with the next-gen Mustang, which turns 50 next week, to do it themselves. In the short clip, there is gratuitous engine noise and supercharger whine, not to mention scenes of the white-on-red GT prowling the deserts and streets of Dubai. It's a bit short, but very nicely shot. Scroll down, have a look and be sure to turn up those speakers before getting started.