The Rise of the Hybrid Car

With the price of gas driving demand, take a
sneak peak at the future of car buying in the USA...

Demand for the Toyota Prius &
other hybrid car models
has skyrocketed.

With gas prices at an all-time high, owners of new hybrid gas-electric cars (now getting on average 50-plus miles per gallon) are laughing all the way to the bank.

Growing demand for hybrid cars - long believed to be the vehicle of choice for either aging hippies or consumers "on the fringe" - may about to revolutionize car buying in the traditional land of the gas guzzler.

Not surprisingly, hybrids are most popular among Californians, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. Cities where traffic and gas prices make hybrids a smart choice also include Chicago, Washington, DC, and New York.

Yet experts say it may be a decade before the vast majority of car owners in America are driving vehicles powered by both gas and electricity. However, with gas prices at more than $4 a gallon, recent buying trends say hybrids may well be here to stay.

The reasons for the upsurge are obvious, and "Budgeting 101" plays a big part in car owners considerations. In a recent poll by Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book, for example, 49 percent of new car buyers said that gas prices would play a large part in the car they would choose.

But does that mean most consumers will pick a hybrid?

Car manufacturers are betting on it. At least a dozen hybrid car models were introduced by 2006, and more are forecast to be on the road in the years to come as gas prices show no sign of stabilizing any time soon.

Patriotic fervor for reducing America's oil dependence - as well as saving a buck at the gas station - may well push even the most ardent big car enthusiastic to take another look at hybrids.

More about hybrid cars around the Web:

Green Car Journal - Excellent guide to the latest models of hybrids and smart cars with general how to's on gas savings, along with a history of the hybrid car and stalled attempts at their manufacture in the past.

CNET editors' hybrid car buying guide - How hybrids work, what they can save and how to find one, with an interactive fuel savings calculator and a look at hybrid concept cars of the future.

Hybrid Car Guide - Research, Reviews & News - Owner reviews and previews of top models including an MPG savings calculator and a guide to the technology behind hybrids.

Edmunds.com - Hybrid Car Discussion Forum - Register free to pose a question or seek opinions and how to's from hybrid car buyers and prospective owners.

Consumer Reports Guide to today’s hybrid cars & SUVs - Reviews of popular hybrid small cars, sedans and SUVs.

Fuel Economy.org - Guide from the U.S. Department of Energy on hybrids, diesel and fuel alternatives, tips on better gas mileage and car comparisons using criteria such as greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution ratings, and safety information.

also in Cars--> Who Pulled the Plug on The Electric Car?

also in Cars--> Car Buying Guides | Car Forums | Electric Cars

also see in Science -> Global Warming