We are all concerned about the environment and doing our part to take care of it. Of all the purchases we make, the purchase that will have the greatest impact on the environment will be the car we decide to buy. Hybrid cars are an affordable and innovative way to help protect our environment and benefit from the increased fuel mileage.

Only a few years ago talk of hybrid cars had consumers stepping back unsure; but today hybrids offer a practical choice for consumers, and more and more consumers are jumping on board.

What makes a hybrid a hybrid? Well, basically it’s a vehicle that uses more than one method for power. In the case of nearly all hybrids on the road today that means it has an electric motor supplementing its gasoline powered counterpart which is still the main means of propulsion.

Most “full” hybrids come with a feature called regenerative braking. That means when you slow down that energy is used to charge the batteries.

Hybrids also use a more advanced aerodynamic lightweight body, and combine it with low roll resistant tires that are stiffer and narrower to help reduce drag.

In 2004, out of the 17 million vehicles sold there were around 80,000 hybrid vehicles sold. By 2005 that number had increased by 1.2% to 200,000, and now manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand for these vehicles.

Nearly all Japanese and American auto manufacturers offer vehicles with hybrid systems. European manufacturers have been a little slower to embrace hybrid vehicles, and have been opting to make more fuel efficient diesel vehicles instead. (as long as it saves me money on gas, I really don’t care what they do.)

The current king of hybrids lies with the Toyota Prius which has a population over 1 million strong.

Manufacturers are certainly scrambling to offer more hybrids to lineups and if you follow cars you know that 2010 is going to be a good year to be green.

While none of us has a crystal ball to know exactly what we’ll be driving 50 years in the future, the hybrid is certainly going to be a prominent player in the quest to save gas for years to come.

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