American Honda Motor Company was recognized by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) as the 2004 Greenest Automaker in the organization's biennial ranking of car manufacturers' environmental performance. It's the third consecutive number one ranking of Honda in the UCS study. 

"Honda is in a class of its own when it comes to producing clean cars and trucks," said David Friedman, Research Director of UCS's Clean Vehicles Program and lead author of the report.

Ed Cohen, Honda's vice president of government affairs, said "it's a commitment that goes to our core objective of being a company that society wants to exist."

Honda has a long history of environmental leadership including the introduction of America's first hybrid, the Honda Insight, and the first vehicles to meet stricter emissions standards, including the first Low Emissions Vehicle (LEV), the 1996 Honda Civic, Ultra-Low Emissions vehicle (ULEV), the 1998 Honda Accord and Super Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV), the 2000 Honda Accord. Fully 60 percent of the company's 2004 model cars and light trucks, more than any other automaker, meet the U.S. EPA's Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions standard, well in advance of regulatory requirements.