Nissan Leaf

Nissan Leaf

Earlier this week, we told you that Nissan was tending to some electric glitches in the Leaf. But that minor setback didn’t stop the Leaf from earning a high honor in New York. “Today, at the New York International Auto Show, the 100-percent electric, zero-emission Nissan LEAF was named 2011 World Car of the Year, edging out the BMW 5-Series and the Audi A8 for the top spot,” says Nissan in apress release. “Today’s award is the latest in a string of accolades for the world’s first affordable mass-market, all-electric vehicle for the global market, which was also named European Car of the Year.”

Edging out luxury cars like the 5-Series and A8 is big news for the Leaf. “The award was the latest sign of the ascendancy of fuel-efficient models over high-performance models at this year's show in New York,” reports theDetroit News.

While the Leaf took the overall World Car of the Year title, it lost out on the World Green Car of the year title to the Chevrolet Volt. That’s a change from the North American Car of the Year awards handed out in Detroit in January. Autoblog writes, “Oddly, the Volt was named 2011 North American Car of the Year, while the Leaf was merely a runner-up.”

If you’re interested in a green car, especially since Earth Day is tomorrow, check out our hybrid car rankings. If you don’t feel like going green, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year's best cars and look for a great deal on a new car by checking out this month’s best car deals.

Nissan Leaf