Finalists named for 'green car' tech award

Chris Woodyard | USA TODAY

Most auto buyers just focus on finding new vehicles with impressive gas mileage estimates without considering the technology that led to those estimates.

Enter the 2014 Green Car Technology Award, which seeks to reward automakers who come up with the best ideas that lead to vehicles that save energy. The winner will named at the Washington, D.C., Auto Show on Jan. 22.

"Advanced technology plays an increasingly important role in the development of cars and trucks capable of achieving significantly greater levels of efficiency and improved environmental impact," say Ron Cogan, publisher of Green Car Journal. "While new and advanced vehicle models get the limelight, it's these underlying technologies that make their amazing achievements possible."

The nominees include:

•The three-motor, all-wheel-drive hybrid in the Acura Sport Hybrid SH-AWD.

•The turbocharged direct-injection engine in the Audi 3-liter TDI diesel engine.

•The carbon-fiber body of the BMW i3 electric car.

•The regenerative braking and deceleration charging system on the new Cadillac ELR extended-range electric car.

•The smallest turbocharged engine, the Ford 1-liter EcoBoost in the 2014 Fiesta.

•The plug-in charging system in the Honda Accord, capable of 115 MPGe.

•The fuel cell system in the new Hyundai Fuel Cell, a converted Tucson crossover.

•The capacitor system that stores energies in Mazdas, called the i-ELOOP Brake Energy Regeneration System.

•The plug-in hybrid system in the Porsche.

•The new diesel engine in the Ram pickup, the first diesel in years in a small pickup.