Hybrids are part of the Top 12 Greenest Cars from Forbes

Just the other day I was pointing out one of the benefits of choosing a hybrid is its lower emissions. Or, you could pick a small car that emits less and gets great gas mileage. One of the nice things about hybrid technology is the ability to go bigger while emitting less and getting better gas mileage.

Forbes put together the top 12 Greenest Cars based on the numbers from the EPA. Not surprisingly, hybrids and small (compact) cars score well.

Source: Top 12 Greenest Vehicles - Forbes.com

For new vehicles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose data we used to compile our list, issues air pollution scores and greenhouse gas scores, both of which are ratings from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest. Only the Prius and Civic Hybrid have perfect greenhouse gas scores, but many cars tie for the top ranking on the air pollution scale (no new car has an air pollution score of 10, but several reach 9.5).

To assemble our list, we took the vehicles with air pollution scores of 9.5, then ranked them based on their greenhouse gas scores. Twelve cars got nods for superior environmental friendliness, including the 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid and the 2007 Ford Focus.

1) Honda Civic Hybrid sedan
Base price: $22,600
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 10/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 49/51

2) Toyota Prius sedan
Base price: $22,175
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 10/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 60/51

3) Toyota Camry Hybrid sedan
Base price: $26,200
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 9/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 40/38

4) Ford Escape Hybrid SUV
Base price: $25,740
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 36/31

5) Ford Focus
Base price: $13,995
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 27/37

6) Honda Accord Hybrid sedan
Base price: $31,090
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 28/35

7) Hyundai Elantra sedan
Base price: $13,395
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 28/36

8) Kia Spectra
Base price: $13,495
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 27/35

9) Mazda3
Base price: $14,490
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 28/35

10) Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV
Base price: $26,430
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 32/29

11) Nissan Altima sedan
Base price: $19,800
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 26/35

12) Saturn Ion
Base price: $12,890
Air pollution score: 9.5/10
Greenhouse gas score: 8/10
City/highway miles per gallon: 26/35