LOS ANGELES – Green Car Journal announced its five finalists for the 2012 Green Car of the Year award. This award, which will be announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 17, honors environmental leadership in the automotive field.

The five finalists include the following:

• 2012 Ford Focus Electric

• 2012 Honda Civic Natural Gas

• 2012 Mitsubishi i

• 2012 Toyota Prius v

• 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI

Green Car Journal’s editors said that what makes this year’s group of nominees notable is that they represent different takes on what makes a vehicle “green.” Honda’s Civic Natural Gas runs on an alternative fuel that is abundant in the U.S.; the Passat TDI continues the automaker’s focus on clean diesel products and has a high MPG rating; the Prius v represents an expansion of the Prius into its own line of vehicles; and the Ford Focus Electric and Mitsibushi i continue to provide more choices of all-electric vehicles, according to the magazine’s editors.

Green Car of the Year jurors include Carl Pope, chairman of the Sierra Club; Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council; Jean-Michel Cousteau, president of Ocean Futures Society and Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA. Also, Jay Leno, host of “The Tonight Show” as well as automotive icon Carroll Shelby, will join Green Car Journal editors in rounding out the 2012 jury.