Here are five great fuel efficient cars that are on the market today:

Ford Focus
Though most people associate foreign cars made by the likes of Volkswagen and Toyota with fuel efficiency, the Ford Focus is one of the more fuel efficient cars out there right now. The Ford Focus also has the distinct advantage of being a surprisingly economical car in terms of the cost to the car buyer. Most vehicles that feature great gas mileage tend to cost a bit more too.

Honda Civic
As one of the most economical non-hybrid cars to drive available from any manufacturer, the Honda Civic has proven popular with individuals and families alike. The Civic is particularly popular with those that have sizable commutes to and from work. For those that do want to take the step to better fuel efficiency as well as want to move into an alternatively powered vehicle, the Honda Civic is also available in a hybrid version.

MINI Cooper
Despite it being well known as one of the smaller appearing vehicles on the road today, the MINI Cooper comes packed with a very spacious interior. Even the turbocharged versions of the MINI Cooper are somewhat fuel efficient. There distinctive look combined with their great gas mileage has made them one of the more popular cars today.

Nissan Altima
The Nissan Altima provides things for the prospective owner that they would not expect to find in a fuel efficient vehicle, including a big 2.5 liter engine and a great deal of space. This is one fuel efficient vehicle that doesn’t get labeled as a small car. The Nissan Altima combines great use of space and fuel efficiency to make it a great family car.

Toyota Prius
The most famous of all hybrid vehicles, the Toyota Prius regularly gets gas mileage in the upper 40s and occasionally even into the 50s. The nice part about the fuel efficiency offered by the Toyota Prius is that to achieve it, the car doesn’t sacrifice anything else that the vehicle owner would want. There is plenty of space and luxury inside the Prius and car buyers have shown how great a car it is with their customer loyalty and word of mouth advertising.

Driving a more fuel efficient vehicle is a great way to combat the high cost of fuel, food, and everything else. When money is saved in one area of a person or family’s life, it can be put to better use in another area that is lacking. These five fuel efficient vehicles show that there are options out there for those interested in improving their gas mileage when they buy a new car. Fuel efficient cars are the wave of the future and there are already plenty of great examples available on the market.

The Mini Finally Goes Electric

Anyone that has seen these tiny, very stylish and trendy cars has probably asked themselves, why not this car for an electric? It’s extremely small, lightweight and has the engineering powerhouse of BMW backing it. Well, your wish has come true- the Mini Cooper is coming out as an E-plug car as early as 2009.

Mini E

While BMW has plenty of projects with alternative energy vehicles, this will be their first product for the US. The Mini E will be sold in limited quantities- about 500 for the 2009 model year. They will be available for sale in only 3 states: California, New York and New Jersey.

Tech Specs of the Mini E

It looks like the Mini E will definitely not disappoint. The car will featured a powerful motor getting about 204 horsepower and offering decent acceleration from 0 to 60 in about 8.5 seconds. The top speed is slow for those looking to take this baby on the autobahn, but at 95 mph, it will be just fine for American roads. Here is the real surprise, with a full battery charge, expect the Mini E to get a fantastic 150 miles, which is much more that practically any other electric plug in is expected to get. For instance the Chevy Volt is only expected to get about 40 miles on a full charge.

The Mini E will use lithium-ion batteries and these batteries will take up plenty of room in the Mini- good bye back seat. The weight for the new Mini E will also increase to about 3,200 pounds, about 700 pounds more than the gas powered version. However, charging the Mini E using a special charging adapter at one’s home will be quite quick at only 2.5 hours. It should be noted that a driver can use a standard wall socket- but this will increase the charging time. Right now no price has been set, but if the US government offers a tax credit, this vehicle may be in the range of a lot of car buyer’s budgets.

The Chevy Volt is a passenger vehicle and similar in appearance to the Prius, however instead of being a hybrid (running both on gas and electricity), the Chevy Volt offers an electric motor powered by Lithium-ion batteries.  It should be noted that a small gas engine may be included (making it also a hybrid), but this gas burning engine will only power up the batteries and not run the vehicle directly.  Slated for sale starting as early as Fall 2009 as a 2010 production model, on September 17, 2008 the Chevy Volt was finally unveiled to the press.

Fuel economy is unknown until more tests are done, however GM has stated that with a full charge in its current configuration, the vehicle can get about 40 miles to a charge.  This is more than most Americans drive in one day and using the small gas engine to charge the batteries, theoretically, you can drive all day long with relatively high fuel economy.

As far as price goes, most industry analysts are expecting the vehicle to be anywhere from the low thirty thousand dollar range to the forty thousand or more.  However, GM is expecting backing from the US government in the form of tax rebates for consumers which may drive down the price further.

There are a number of benefits that hybrid powered vehicles have for a wide variety of people. How many and how important those benefits are is hard to say without seeing who each benefit applies to.

Government Incentives
To encourage the public to invest in this new technology there are a number of government incentives that benefit car buyers who purchase a hybrid powered vehicle.

Fuel Efficiency
The most publicized benefit of a hybrid powered vehicle is the savings in gas. With the electric motor portion of the vehicle handling much of the power needs, the car needs less gasoline to create the power needed to move the car down the road. Using less gasoline means the owner will be spending less money on their travel or commute expenses than owners of standard automobiles.

Environmental Benefits
Due again to the electric motor portion of a hybrid vehicle being present, there is less exhaust emissions eminating from a hybrid vehicle than from a standard automobile. An additional benefit would be that with each hybrid vehicle that is on the road there is that much less gasoline being used. This stretches out the usability of the world’s remaining oil resources.

Warranties
Many hybrid vehicles come with fantastic warranties to take advantage of. Some warranties reach all the way up to 100,000 miles or more and even cover the batteries used to store the excess power.

Long Term Value
One of the worst parts about buying a new vehicle is how much the value of it decreases from the moment you drive it off of the car lot and then each year after that as well. Hybrid vehicles have so far shown to hold their values very well in comparison to standard vehicles.

Hybrid powered cars come with a number of benefits that a wide variety of car buyers can take advantage of. The more that this still new technology develops in the future, the more chance that there will be additional benefits to both current and future owners of hybrid vehicles. Based on their success on the roads and in the marketplace, it doesn’t appear that hybrid vehicles will be losing popularity or market share anytime soon.

One of the biggest benefits of electric cars is that they are environment friendly and cause less of pollution. Also, their feature of energy efficiency has made them much in demand today.

An electric car is powered by either fuel cells or an electric motor. The rechargeable batteries used in electric cars include lead-acid, nickel metal hydride, Li-ion polymer, and lithium ion batteries. The electricity stored in electric car batteries is measured either by coulombs or by ampere-hours. The electric car runs on rechargeable battery that stores electricity in either ultra-capacitors or flywheel. In some electric cars, one can replace the batteries at the filling stations with the fully charged ones.

Enjoy A Ride On Electric Car

The electric car has small motor but it gives modest acceleration as multiple motors are connected to the wheels due to which each wheel helps in propulsion and applying brakes. The electric cars have a unique feature of regenerative braking due to which energy used for acceleration is recovered and this in turn increases the efficiency of the car.

Environment Friendly Cars

Electric cars are environment friendly as they cause less pollution as compared with gasoline-powered cars. It is difficult to judge sometimes that a car is electric or not as only while driving when you hear no engine noise then you realize that it is an electric car. If you have to spend more while buying an electric car then its worth, the money as the cost will be recovered with its energy efficiency with time.

The electric cars are more energy efficient in comparison to other fuel vehicles. A regular car needs servicing and maintenance of the cooling system, gearbox, and engine tuning while there is no such tension withy electric car. The battery should be charged on timely basis for an uninterrupted travel. One should take due care of the battery in case rapid battery discharge happens suddenly as it might cause fume and fire in the car. So, get an environment savvy car that ensures you do not add to the environmental pollution.

One of the things that makes Hybrid vehicles operate so effortlessly is the combination of the gasoline engine, the electrical engine, and the battery cells. The batteries store up energy and recharge themselves when the vehicle is slowing its speed, then when more power is needed the batteries shift power to the electric engine. When all of these operate in conjunction with each other, maximum efficiency of the vehicle is reached, this is where the improved gas mileage comes from.

Hybrid automobiles actually perform more efficiently at lower speeds than traditional gas powered vehicles. In standard engines, when the automobile’s RPMs decrease so does the available power for the car, this is not true in Hybrid vehicles. The constant flow of power makes it so that the automobile can operate efficiently at any speed.

The price of a Hybrid vehicle is usually significantly more than a standard automobile. This is mainly because of the supposed newness of the technology and that the assembly process is still being developed to it’s fullest. Like most technologies, even automotive, as the technology and process improves the price should decrease. Though the initial outlay of money for a Hybrid car is more than that of a standard car, the money can be made up later and over time when considering that less money will be spent on fuel. Other discounts are available too, for example some insurance companies offer discounts to the owners of Hybrid vehicles.

There are many arguments against buying a Hybrid vehicle. Some people will say that the technology is so new that it cannot be completely tested and perfected. While there may be some improvements made over the coming years, in all actuality Hybrid technology has been around for years. The manufacturing process is new though and there will be significant improvements made. Another argument heard against Hybrid vehicles is that they are too compact. The earlier models of Hybrids included mostly compact and sub-compact cars, but lately more luxury models are being produced along with even what was once the unthinkable, Hybrid SUVs.

Automobile manufacturers have come a long way in the process of bringing alternate fuel technology to the people. At first most companies seemed resistant to the public’s desire for Hybrid vehicle technology, but as time has passed most major car makers have developed at least one Hybrid vehicle and added it to their existing product line. Through the coming years we will undoubtedly see major improvements in Hybrid automobile technology. The fact that Hybrid vehicles are good for the environment, good for the wallet, and good for the future of the world mean that they are not going any where anytime soon, and that is a good thing.

The basic chemistry behind using water as fuel is the energy produced by the decomposition of water. Water upon electrolysis gives hydrogen and oxygen while partial electrolysis leads to the formation of brown gas molecules of the composition HHO. It is the partial electrolysis of water that is employed in the case of water fuel cars. The resulting Brown’s gas formed upon combustion gives energy with water vapor as it’s byproduct. The calorific value of Brown’s gas is very high indeed and thus a small amount of water can produce energy equivalent to larger amounts of gasoline.

One of the biggest plus points of this process it that there is absolutely no pollution produced . The combustion of fossil fuels leads to the formation of Carbon Dioxide and oxides of Nitrogen and Sulphur. These oxides of Nitrogen and Sulphur are highly responsible for the creation of smug and ozone layer depletion in the atmosphere while Carbon Dioxide is the leading cause of Green House effect. On the contrary, Brown’s gas upon combustion produces water as by product thereby contributing immensely to the environment. Therefore, it wouldn’t be totally out of context to assume water fuel technology as the torchbearer for alternate cars. With higher calorific values and lesser environmental pollution, water powered cars look all set to dominate in the times ahead.

How to build your own water fuel cell is a D-I-Y guide for converting your car to burn water + fuel, getting better mileage and Car performances.

Generally, hybrid cars are made up of two kinds: mild hybrids and full hybrids. The first is powered by utilizing both the gasoline engine and electric motor, allowing the vehicle to shut down the gasoline engine and drives the car on electric power only. This technology is employed in hybrid cars by carmakers such as Toyota, Lexus and Ford. By contrast, mild hybrids use the electric motor primarily to boost the performance of the gasoline engine when it needs extra power; this technology is seen most often in the hybrids sold by General Motors. Most mild hybrid vehicles sold today use a system known as the stop/start system, which shuts the gasoline engine off at idle, e.g. at a red light and instantly starts it up again on demand, like when the light turns green and you hit the accelerator.

Japan’s Toyota Prius and Honda Civic are leading the line-up of hybrid cars, along with the likes of Lexus’ GS 450h, RX 400h and LS 600h L, Saturn’s Aura Green Line and Nissan’s Altima. Additionally, hybrid minivans and SUVs are also available: Dodge Ram and Durango, Toyota Highlander, Ford Escape, GMC Sierra, Saturn VUE Green Line and Mercury Mariner, among others. Meanwhile, a list of other hybrid cars, minivans, SUVs and pick-up trucks still in the production stage are expected to hit the market in the next couple of years.

Taken as a whole, hybrids offer a mixed bag of issues when it comes to their environmental considerations. Despite offering greater fuel efficiency and fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional cars, they still run on gasoline, a finite and diminishing resource. The heftier price tags are also one of the most obvious impediment; hybrids cost more money to buy and maintain than conventional cars. The added weight of the electric batteries means reduced overall engine efficiency; they are also very costly to produce and dispose of, financially and environmentally. Hybrid cars are generally accepted by green car enthusiasts as a positive step forward in greener personal transportation, but not as a long-term solution for a greener future. The next development in hybrid cars is likely to be the “plug-in hybrid electric vehicle” (PHEV), which has a larger battery pack more capable of powering the vehicle on its own, without the need of the gasoline engine for a number of miles.

Not only does this car comes in as a user friendly vehicle, it is also an environmental friendly car because of it’s, well you have probably guessed it, the car is built with an environmental friendly battery which could last for a period of 10 years.

There is no doubt that an automobile of gasoline engines are good too. Gasoline engines have the obvious advantage over diesel in being lighter and are able to work at higher rotational speeds, and typically, gasoline engines are the best choice to fit a high performance sports car, so why bother getting a hybrid car or to even waste time to think of getting one?

If you are as prudent as you think you are, a hybrid car may sound expensive, and it is the way it sounds in reality, but it could help you financially in the long run due to the fact that hybrid cars do not require high usage of any type of fuel, including gasoline.

Now you’re probably thinking, a hybrid car can really save you all that money in the long run. And with the recent globally increased price in fuel, the agonizing uncertainty as to when the hike in fuel price would happen for the umpteenth time has made you to become more motivated than ever to at least dream of owning one.

So, what are the types of hybrid cars out there that would suit you well enough?

Toyota, a multinational corporation which came into prominence since the early 1940′s is one of the main contributors in bringing the name “hybrid cars” into worldwide recognition. It is believed that the company has been forking out a total sum of $28 million dollars for research purposes on a prominent basis; hence, making the company in par with other main companies in contributing to the development of hybrid cars.

It was announced recently that Toyota would built 10,000 units of Camry hybrid cars in Altona, Australia. It was also announced that they would expand their projects in other parts of the world too, specifically Thailand, and the reason being so is to cater for the Asian market needs as well. That’s the way to go Toyota! Let no continents be left out.

It is also understood that there has been an increase in the demand for hybrid cars, thus, Toyota has announced that they would joint venture with another prominent electronic manufacturer, Matsushita Electric Industrial Ltd, to set up a specialized research department to have a next-generation battery developed that could outperform the current lithium-ion batteries that is used by every cars in general.

However, these questions come into mind, is the price of a typical hybrid car is in any way justified? How does it come in as a value for money type of purchase when hybrid cars are generally sold $17, 000 dollars more expensive than a similar sized car with a slight difference in terms of performance? And to add, it is predicted that a lithium-ion battery needs to be replaced by a new one after every 10 years of usage, and it doesn’t stop there, a new lithium-ion battery would cost you $4,000 dollars.

But, there is potential for every hybrid car owners to be provided with incentives by respective governments. The US Government would be a good example to follow as the government has provided $30 million dollars to have plug-in hybrid cars to be built with joint efforts with companies like General Motors and General Electric, and it is said that hybrid cars of the type mentioned would be produced by 2014.

So what do you think? It goes back to that question again, are you as prudent as you think you are? In the future, we could expect an increase in fuel price, and let’s face it; this will never stop as fuel comes from very scarce resources. Hypothetically speaking, the future generation would never get to see planet earth as the way we look at it today if we keep ignoring the fact that typical cars are one of the main causes of high carbon dioxide emissions. Wouldn’t it be wise if we could start contributing in making our planet earth a better place to live in for our future generation?

Chevrolet tackled the issue of alternative vehicles, hybrid powered vehicles to be specific, by offering two main production models, the Chevy Malibu and the Chevy Tahoe. Hybrid technology allows for electric motors to run in tandem with standard petroleum powered engines. The idea is that the electric motor can power the incidental and accessory items in a vehicle like air conditioning, stereos, lights, and power windows to name a few. While that is happening, the regular engine can use less power overall while it is devoted solely to powering the vehicle down the road. The Malibu joins a growing list of hybrid vehicles being offered by the major car manufacturers and the SUV Tahoe sticks out as one of the few truly hybrid SUVs available on the market today.

The 2008 Chevy Malibu Hybrid is a great option for vehicle buyers interested in the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. The Malibu has a very modern appearance with 18 inch alloy wheels accented with chrome. The modern appearance and functionality follows inside as well with heated bucket seats, climate control system, and more. The six speed automatic transmission provides more than enough power to move this sporty looking family friendly vehicle down both in-town and highway/freeway roads. Safety is also covered well as the 2008 Malibu also attained five star crash ratings in both front and side impact tests.

Two of the more popular reasons a vehicle buyer may purchase a 2008 Chevy Malibu Hybrid is for its fuel efficiency and its benefit to the environment. The Malibu Hybrid is a very nice green vehicle, but doesn’t exhibit the phenomenal gas mileage found in some other hybrid vehicles on the market. The stated mileage is 24mpg in the city and 32mpg on the highway which may or may not be better than a buyer’s current vehicle’s performance. The 2008 Malibu Hybrid also comes equipped with a dashboard indicator that will let the driver know when the vehicle is operating at its most efficient. It truly is one of the nicer hybrid vehicle options available for consumers to take a look at.

The 2008 Chevy Tahoe Hybrid was a direct response to Ford’s Escape Hybrid. Chevy has replaced the wasteful V-8 standard engine with a newer and better designed V-8 engine that also takes advantage of newer “green” technology. This newer engine makes use of Active Fuel Management as well as a two mode hybrid propulsion system. Amazingly, the Tahoe Hybrid appears to have similar high performance results as the standard Tahoe model. Add to that the increased fuel efficiency, the eyes of many skeptics were opened wide when the Tahoe Hybrid began reporting mileage of up to 21 in the city and 22 on the highway, which is borderline phenomenal for a large size luxury SUV.

In terms of accessories, options, and features, the Tahoe Hybrid has won over new fans and kept fans of the previous models satisfied as well. The new Tahoe features updated looks and lines with a sleeker shaped body including a front end with a lower profile, more pleasantly shaped contours, and a much improved grille. The 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid has impressed industry experts so much that after being out on the market for less than a year it was able to garner many awards like the Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year.

The coming need for alternatively fueled vehicles has been acknowledged by many and embraced by some. Chevrolet embraced this theory and produced two of the more popular, accessible, and positively received hybrid vehicles, the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid. There will be much excitement in the years to come looking at all of the new hybrid technology that builds on the development and production of the current hybrid technology, and it appears that a large segment of automobile buyers will be waiting and willing to give it a chance.

Further Readings:

• Looking at the 2011 Chevrolet HHR
• 2011 Chevrolet Orlando MPV