The 12 greenest cars of 2007

It's green month here at CNET Car Tech. That means a focus on alternative-fuel vehicles and emissions-reducing technologies, as well as a peek at how the automotive world will look in the post-petroleum age. Here in the present, a number of car makers are already doing a pretty good job of making low-polluting, fuel-efficient models. Each year, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) puts out its list of the 12 "greenest cars," taking into account tailpipe emissions, gas mileage, and curb weight. Here's our round-up of this year's least dirty dozen.

Honda Civic GX

The Civic GX, which runs on compressed natural gas, gets the ACEEE's accolade of greenest of the green. Mileage figures of 30mpg (city) and 34mpg (highway) are propped up by the car's EPA emissions rating, which is the lowest of all vehicles on the road. As well as being certified as an advanced technology partial zero emissions vehicle (AT-PZEV), the GX also is rated by the EPA as an inherently low emissions vehicle (ILEV), meaning it conforms to standards for zero evaporative emissions.

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