Vehicles produced by U.S. automakers rank as nearly the worst polluters on the road, behind only Isuzu models in a new study of 11 automakers by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The study looked at fuel economy, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions from the 1998 models each auto company sold in the U.S. For Isuzu, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors, polluting SUVs and pickups contributed to their poor rankings. “The largest trucks can still pollute five times as much as cars,” said Candace Morey, one of the report’s authors. Honda’s cars and light trucks were rated the cleanest, with an average fuel economy of 31 miles per gallon, compared to 21 miles per gallon for Ford.
