If you are looking for hybrid vehicle information for a way to go green, then first you must decide what is important to you. With 20 different models to choose from, the hybrid vehicle is coming of age. Hybrid sales have grown dramatically since their first introduction in 2000. There were 9,367 vehicles sold that first year. The number has grown rapidly to be over 330,000 sold in the year 2007.

The best selling hybrid for the year 2008 was the Toyota Prius with 158,884 cars purchased. The Toyota Camry was the second best seller at 44,384. This places Toyota as leader in sales by far with over half of all hybrid sales going to this one company. But not surprising, the third, fourth, fifth and sixth place goes to manufacturers from Japan also. But what are American companies doing?  We are still waiting for that answer but a hybrid Tahoe/Yukon was seventh in sales with 3683 vehicles sold. This is a hybrid with a fuel economy hovering around 20 mpg.

Good news for Americans is that there is a cooperative agreement from the Electric Power Research Institute and the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority to develop and put in place an information collection program on the operations of electric and hybrid buses and infrastructure.  This will be an electronic database to share the wealth of information on the subject that will be used for the public good.

With a mass transit system using electric and hybrid vehicles, A large portion of the emissions generated in all of the cities of America will be reduces. This is a positive step and has already been expanded to include buses that use alternative fuel sources.

This is a great step forward for America. Now I hold my breath when I am near a bus as it pulls away from a stop.  If only the car manufactures of this country could share hybrid vehicle information and start competing with the Japanese.

For the year 2009 there is a wide variety of new hybrid cars to choose from. There are different ways to put all the models in categorically form for comparison. The following is by fuel mileage.

For the consumer that is looking for the best fuel economy from their hybrid car, there are two models to choose that rate between 40 and 50 mpg:
1) Toyota Prius is equipped with a 1.5L engine with fuel economy at 45-city, 48-highway, and retail price of $22,000 – $24,270.
2) Honda Civic is equipped with a 1.3L engine with fuel economy at 40-city, 45-highway and retail price of $23,650.

If the consumer would like more choices but still receive relative good fuel economy there at 4 different models to choose from that rate between 30 and 40 mpg:
1) Chevrolet Malibu is equipped with a 2.4L engine with fuel economy at 22-city, 30-highway, and retail price of $21,605 – $26,880.
2) Nissan Altima is equipped with a 2.5L engine with fuel economy at 33-city, 35-highway, and retail price of $26,650.
3) Saturn Aura is equipped with a 2.4L engine with fuel economy at 26-city, 34-highway, and retail price of $26,240.
4) Toyota Camry is equipped with a 2.4L engine with fuel economy at 33-city, 34-highway, and retail price of $26,150.

This class still provides an increase in fuel economy but size and performance is not compromised to achieve it. These cars get between 20 and 30 mpg:
1) Lexus GS450H is equipped with a 3.5L engine with fuel economy at 22-city, 25-highway, and retail price of $56,400.
2) Lexus LS600h is equipped with a 5.0L engine with fuel economy at 20-city, 22-highway, and retail price of $105,885.

All of these hybrid cars come with a variety of options and accessories. But from looking at the cars above and the engines offered, except for the Toyota Prius, there is a direct correlation between engine size and fuel mileage. The Toyota hybrid system statistically has the advantage. So chose your new hybrid car with what you feel is your priority.