Honda has been awarded the Greenest Automobile award not once, not twice, not even three times. The Japanese auto maker was the recipient of this prestigious green award Five Years in a row. The award was given thanks to the company's stride to lower greenhouse emissions and minimize smog output.

Its average score from the Clean Vehicles Program suggests Honda's fleet is 14% cleaner than the average scores from the competition.

"It was a photo finish, but Honda is still the champ," Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer in UCS's Clean Vehicles Program and the author of the analysis. "Toyota was poised to take the lead, but stalled in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Meanwhile, Hyundai's fleet saw dramatic efficiency improvements, pushing the company into a title contender spot."

This test has evaluated automakers on average global warming and smog emissions levels five times beginning with the 1998 model year. The analysis found that two of the three top-ranking automakers produce vehicles in seven of eight classes. "Clearly, claim to the crown does not occur through the production of small cars alone," the analysis said.

In fact, the top-ranked carmakers receive better scores by delivering "best or near best performance, both on smog-forming and global warming emissions, in nearly every vehicle class."

Overall, the evaluation noted that all automakers did improve in terms of smog-forming emissions, largely due to new tight federal regulations. The regulated driver promises to play a role in the future environmental performance, as new fuel andemissions standards take effect over the coming years.

Check out the latest from Honda and all their green cars today at your local Honda dealership.