Pleasantly, it was a diverse group; there were no shoo-ins. The Lexus CT200h, the BMW 7-Series Hybrid, the Fisker Karma and the Mercedes E320 Bluetec, among other worthy candidates, made the second annual GoodLife Report GreenLux Award for Greenest Hybrid Auto a real head-scratcher. Of course, under-the-hood issues – cutting-edge energy efficiency, ecological design and uncompromising emissions standards – are first and foremost, but they must be bolstered by unmatched luxury, class and cabin technologies that make the car, and the ride, a show-stopper.

But there can be only one winner, and GoodLife Report is proud to bestow this year's honor of Greenest Hybrid Auto to the Ford Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.

“The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid shows that customers don’t have to sacrifice luxury to own a green vehicle,” said Kate Pearce, Lincoln’s marketing manager. “You’ll find an unusual amount of standard luxury features that are hard to find on a hybrid.”

This particular category sprouts from a very simple fact: The days of cheap gas are done. Oil is a finite resource, and new players, the billion-plus populations of China and India among them, are putting more cars on their roads. This results in the dwindling of the world petroleum supply, plus the sending of billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere (another finite resource).

That’s the bad news.

Here’s the good news – technology is picking up the slack. Hybrids and electric cars are garnering more press, energy efficiency and renewable fuel sources now have government sanction and auto producers are seeing the writing on the wall.

And the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is a particularly good read. It is the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan in America, delivering an EPA-certified 41 mpg rating in city driving and 36 mpg on the highway. (The front-wheel-drive model gets an estimated 18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway; the optional all-wheel-drive model gets an estimated 17 mpg city and 24 mpg highway.) Moreover, MKZ’s fuel economy is 6 mpg greater than its nearest competitor.

Lincoln designers from the start set out to make an ecological masterpiece. The 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid uses the 2.5-liter Atkinson-Cycle I-4 hybrid engine, named one of Ward’s “2010 10 Best Engines,” allowing the MKZ Hybrid more than 700 city miles on one tank of gas. The combined gasoline engine and electric motor provide best-in-class 191 net horsepower. Plus, the pure electric mode on the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid extends to a best-in-class 47 mph. Feel lost? The MKZ Hybrid features SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide to help master all this new-fangled eco-tech. This highly interactive technology provides real-time information to help drivers maximize fuel efficiency and also coaches them on how to optimize hybrid performance to get the most bang for their buck.

Of course, Lincoln’s commitment to being environmentally conscious doesn’t stop under the hood. The company uses a number of recycled materials in the cabin, personifying the overall goal of using components that are both renewable and recyclable. Some of the materials Lincoln uses include post-consumer plastics and recycled resins such as detergent bottles, tires and battery casings to create splash shields and radiator air deflector shields, as well as genuine wood appliqués that come from well-managed forests as defined by strict environmental, social and economic standards.

And let there be no doubt of the luxury here. Heated/cooled seats, SYNC^® AppLink™ (a software application that gives Lincoln SYNC users hands-free voice control of select smartphone apps) and blind-spot technology are all included. A keyless entry keypad, a Lincoln-exclusive feature providing secure entry at a driver’s fingertips, is another prime feature. If an owner is out for a run and doesn’t want to take the keys along, the vehicle can be opened with the touch of a few buttons (programmed to hold a memory of a passcode of the driver's preference). 

All of this is on top of Lincoln’s already well-established reliability. The J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Vehicle Dependability Study named Lincoln as the top brand based on the number of problems per 100 vehicles. Out of 35 brands, Lincoln had the lowest.

Comedy writer Robert Orben wrote, “There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.” But if you think about it, putting it there won’t do any more good than any place else. Best to just stop making it.