Despite all their talk about ethanol and hydrogen, American car companies are way behind in the race to create reduced emission vehicles.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently released its list of the greenest cars for 2008, and it's dominated by Japanese producers. The list of 12 greenest cars, which is slanted toward hybrids, includes four Hondas (NYSE: HMC) and four Toyotas (NYSE: TM). Ford (NYSE: F) made the list with its Focus hybrid, while General Motors (NYSE: GM) failed to place in the top 12, although its Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid was cited by the group for 'scoring well.'

The good news, if there is any, is that Detroit is not alone in failing to create cleaner cars. The Council also released a Meanest Vehicles for the Environment list which is dominated by German cars, including three Mercedes diesels. But three American vehicles also made the list, including the GMC Yukon and the Hummer H2.

The problem goes way beyond matters of national pride. Green technology is an increasingly important asset for global producers, and it's obvious that Detroit is still far behind in this important area of competition. Worse, it's not clear how serious the Big Three are about catching up. When someone like GM Vice Chairman and noted American car nut Bob Lutz dismisses global warming as a "crock," you have wonder how much effort is going into new technology -- as opposed to simply talking about new technology that is always just around the corner but never on the showroom floor.