A green car is one that has a minimised impact on the environment. Debate rages on which is best, but as a rule of thumb a green car consumes less petroleum than a conventional vehicles, no petroleum at all and/or uses renewable energy sources.
The motorist can help by making informed choices and good decisions in respect of their vehicle:
Pick a responsible car
For most of us, ditching the car altogether isn't a viable alternative. So we should try to choose a cleaner car. Focus on a car's emissions (expressed as grams per kilometre of carbon dioxide, or g/km of CO2) and its economy (miles per gallon, or mpg). Low emissions, high economy is the name of the game.
Think about the manufacturing
Try to pick a make of car with a track record for environmental performance. Not all manufacturers are as green as they would like you to think.
Keep your car for long periods
Pull out of the rat-race and don't buy a new car every year. Pick one you'll run for years and years, reducing the environmental cost of manufacturing.
The UK government has produced a labelling system for cars, in relation to their environmental impact:
