Disaster relief and green ratings for vehicles

(Ford)

Disaster relief
Oil-soaked booms from the Gulf of Mexico will be used to create a year's worth of air-deflecting baffles for the Chevrolet Volt. General Motors will reuse 227 miles of the material. The baffles will be made of 25 percent boom material, 25 percent recycled tires, 25 percent packing plastic from a GM assembly plant and 25 percent post-consumer plastics.

(Ford)

Green rating
Look up scores of vehicles that are more friendly to the planet at greenercars.org. The site by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has green-car ratings, a shopping guide and driving tips. The Honda Civic GX (shown above) topped the site's list of the greenest vehicles of 2011.

--NWautos staff, The Associated Press