These days it’s cool to be green. And while the environment is always a concern, high gas prices probably have more to do with America’s new found green movement than anything. No longer do we want those gas guzzlers - we want the fuel sipping hybrid cars to be the ones lining our driveways.

Even a few short years ago consumers were leery of buying and driving a hybrid. Today that’s all changed. Manufacturers like Toyota, Saturn, and Honda can’t make enough of them.

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.

One cool feature that you find on a lot of hybrids is that when you stop at a stoplight for more than a few seconds, the engine shuts off. Other hybrids will turn off unneeded cylinders when driving on the highway to save fuel.

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.

Hybrid sales have been picking up each year. While only 80,000 hybrids sold in 2004, that number more than doubled in 2005 to 200,000. These days manufacturers can’t make enough to keep up with demand.

There are several hybrids currently available in North America. They include the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, and the Mercury Mariner. There are also Hybrid SUVs available - the Ford Escape, the Lexas 400H and the Toyota Highlander. Pretty much every manufacturer has at least one entry in this market.

The Toyota Prius is the uncontested king of hybrids with over 1,000,000 on the road.

Now that consumer support for the hybrids has arrived, auto manufacturers are increasing the pace at which they introduce hybrid models.

While nobody can say for sure what will be powering our vehicles in 50 years, we can say with certainty that the hybrid is a definite part of our immediate future, and likely will remain a major player for quite some time.