At the LA Auto Show this morning, the Audi A3 TDI was crowned the 2010 Green Car of the Year, wresting the title away from last year’s winner, the Volkswagen Jetta TDI. Even though three hybrids made this year’s list of finalists, the A3’s win marks the second year in a row that a TDI diesel car took top honors in the Green Car Journal competition.
Each year, Green Car Journal picks the five finalists and then hands over selection duties to celebrity jurors (Jay Leno, Carroll Shelby, and the Sierra Club’s Carl Pope, to name a few). During the award ceremony, Green Car Journal editor Ron Cogan said that the five finalists are notable because they are all mainstream vehicles that are available today. They exist because that’s what the market is asking for.