Green Car Journal has announced its five finalists for the 2012 Green Car of the Year award today.  This award honors environmental leadership in the automotive field.  The winner will be announced at the L.A. Auto Show Press Days on November 17.

The finalists for 2012 are Ford Focus Electric, Honda Civic Natural Gas, Mitsubishi i, Toyota Prius v and Volkswagen Passat TDI. These five finalists are also honored as Green Car Journal’s Top 5 Green Cars for 2012 for rising to the top of a field filled with increasingly more environmentally conscious and exciting models.

“This year’s Green Car of the Year finalists underscore that there is no single solution to our transportation challenges,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal. “Here we have five exceptional answers to the question of how we’re going to increase efficiencies, reduce tailpipe and CO2 emissions, and decrease petroleum use. These nominees deserve to be recognized for their unique approaches in providing consumers diverse choices as cars intelligently evolve toward a more environmentally-compatible motoring future.”