- Fill your tank only when it is necessary: you use less gas and increase your mileage because less weight increase your mileage (yes, gas is heavy!)

- Use other types of transportation: bus, tramway, trolley, subway, walk,…

- Be careful with your tires: make sure they are well inflated and aligned. It could save you up to 10% of energy.

- Change oil regularly: you should change oil every 3,000 miles or every 6 months. Then, you can keep you car alive longer…

-  Change Air filters: again, if you keep your car efficient, you save more gas and more money…

- Gadgets are useless: you feel that the next gadget you saw on tv could help you save 20% on gas, that’s b…s…! Save money and gas on this one…

- Remove all ice: there is no need to use your windshield to remove ice after a cold night, clear the ice before using your car…

- Acceleration: there is no point about seeing how fast you can get from 0 to 60 even if it sounds cool…

- Use your A/C accordingly: if it is warm enough outside, there is no point about using your A/C. You should save gas using A/C accordingly!

In the five years from 2000 to 2005, hybrid auto sales increased from a mere 9,500 to a whopping 212,000. In 2006, that number increased to almost 350,000 with over 144,000 sold in the United States alone. And with recent stringent legislation on auto emissions passed by the California state government (and used as guide by eight northeastern states as well), hybrids will only become more popular.

And, thanks to federally-mandated tax breaks and increased competition, less expensive.

For those of you interested in this soon-to-be essential responsible technology, here are eleven models to look out for in 2007 – ten actual and one virtual.

1. “A Prius on steroids”: Toyota’s FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept

Toyota has earned an early reputation as the international “hybrid leader,” and why not? Toyota was one of the very first to jump into the hybrid market and the Prius was called “just about the most economical car you can buy” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/cars/story/0,15383,1357788,00.html) based on selection by the Environmental Transport Association, a UK-based organization devoted to awareness-raising on the impact of the automobile, back in 2004.

That same year, the UK government environmental institution the Energy Saving Trust dubbed the Prius 1.5 best-in-class family hatchback and, perhaps most importantly on the sales side, the vehicle took home the prestigious Motor Trend magazine “Car of the Year” award for 2004, the first hybrid ever to win the prize.
And this year, Toyota introduced the “Prius on steroids” at the 100th Detroit Auto Show in January. Sort of. The FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept wasn’t actually on display, but attendees checked out a computer-generated image of what the inevitably to-be-called “futuristic” vehicle will look like.
The rear-wheel drive Hybrid Sports Concept will boast a 400 horsepower engine, figures to go 0-60 mph in “about 4 seconds” and will cost around $35,000. A 3.5-liter V6 engine would deliver most of the thrust, and most experts suspect it will be an upgrade in design and performance of the 292-horsepower DOHC 3.5-liter V6 in the Lexus GS 450H.

2. Honda Civic for sportsters and geeks

If you’re involved in the quest for a hybrid car, you’ll undoubtedly stumble across the Honda Civic hybrid. Perhaps the most popular electrical hybrid ever, the Civic recently received the highest ranking in the latest U.S. Department of Energy study on all hybrid vehicles available in America in terms of waste. The Civic scored a 9 out of 10, the only car in any class to receive such a mark.

However, there has been bad news lately, and it’s big news. Just this week, Honda Motor Co. announced plans to recall 45,355 Civic sedans worldwide, mostly in Japan and America. Vehicles sold between September 2005 and September 2006 are affected; the company stated it would repair the defect in the electrical system and return the vehicles to their owners.

Meanwhile, Honda is advancing their wildly popular technology by hoping to appeal to sports-car lovers and doodad-lovers alike. Starting in March, we’ll surely be hearing more about Honda’s Small Hybrid Sports Concept, a sports car to be developed in Germany and be introduced at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show.

Of course, on a gut consumer level, how about, say, iPod adaptors that will be offered on all Honda hybrids soon?

3. Scion XB, Scion XD, Scion tC: Dude, where’s my virtual car?

Back in Toyota land, much hype centers on the Scion XB Wagon. In one of the highest-tech forms of advertising ever, the intensely clever Toyota marketing folks launched a model called the “Scion XD” in the virtual online world known as Second Life.

With the XD launch / virtual advertising campaign (geez, the line between reality and virtuality is blurring, eh?), Toyota officials even held a press conference in Tokyo and also in Second Life. Today, Second Lifers can play with the XD online.

By the way, Toyota released an actual minivan in the Scion line – the Scion XB last week at the Chicago Auto Show.

Getting universal praise for the more curvaceous design expected of 21st century vehicles, the Scion XB is a decent choice for those doing the majority of their driving on the highway, as its gas mileage tends to increase here.

The coupe known as the Scion tC was also showed off at the Chicago Auto Show. The power on this one has stayed at 161 horsepower and includes that wonderful iPod technology.

4. Saturn gets on the Green Line

Saturn is trying to stay near the top of the hybrid game, having carved out a place in niches from roadsters to mid-size sedans. The Vue is the small-sized SUV from Saturn and early sneak peeks have observers gushily buzzing about the “major makeover” for the 2008 model. The Vue is now available in its “Red Line” edition powered by a 3.6-liter V6 General Motors gasoline engine to deliver 250 horsepower. Prices range from $18,000 to $27,000.

Available later this year will be the “Green Line” version, which is set to offer even more in fuel savings thanks to the electric motor, will be out in the third quarter.

In sedans, Saturn’s Aura hybrid is equipped with an electric motor and the 4-cylinder engine found in the Vue SUV. The engine provides 164 horsepower. This hybrid will be released next spring with sticker price around $23,000.

5. Highlander taking the high road

Already among the second-most popular crossover SUVs, the Toyota Highlander SUV is set to become more so with the introduction of bigger and hybrid versions.
The 2008 Highlander hybrid is set for an August release and will use the 3.3 liter V6 engine currently in use in the standard 2007 models. The hybrid version carries an interesting feature in its “EV Only” mode, which runs on just the fully charged battery up to 25 miles per hour for short distances.

The standard Highlander will be getting a 3.5-liter V-6 engine, rated 270 horsepower and 249 pounds-feet of torque, increases of 55 hp and 27 lbs.-ft. over the small engine. The hybrid Highlander was originally forecast to have a fuel economy rating of 31 miles per gallon in town, 27 mpg on the highway.
The current Highlander starts at about $25,000, while the hybrid carries price tags from $33,000.

6. Hybrid luxury from (who else?) Lexus

Also in the hybrid SUV game is Lexus with its luxury-level SUVs, the RX400H and the GS450H. The GS450H carries a “high performance designation” with its 3.5 liter V6 and hybrid system, a combined rating of 339 horsepower and goes 0 to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds.

The 2007 Lexus RX400H is an evolution of the original, which debuted in 2006 as “the premium model” in the RX line. In that model, the rear wheels were solely electrically-powered, while the front pair were powered by a combination of electricity and gas. The RX400H starts at about $42,500.

7. Two advantages of Nissan Altima

The two reasons to check out a 2007 Nissan Altima hybrid unveiled at the Orange County Motor Show last October are the two most important reasons to be checking out hybrids in general: cleanliness and price.

Like most of its Japanese compatriots, the Altima routinely receives high marks from environmentally-conscious groups, most recently getting kudos in the 10th annual Green Book, an annual publication from the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The high standards on the 2007 Altima, in fact, are having the company release the car in the eight U.S. states with the most stringent emissions laws: California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

But the hybrid automobile is all about environmental consciousness, it may be argued, and other cars have comparable low-emission rates. Here Nissan hopes to appeal with low prices.

In what some are calling a “price war,” Nissan is putting stickers on its hybrid – its first bid in the U.S. hybrid market – as low as $24,400, some $100 less that for the Altima 3.5 SE. More importantly, that price beats the Toyota Camry Hybrid by over $2,000 and the Honda Accord Hybrid by over $8,000. Add a high tax credit of $2,350 offered by the government (surpassed only by the Honda Civic hybrid), and the Altima seems like quite the bargain.

The Altima Hybrid uses a 2.5-liter, 158-hp four-cylinder engine and an electric motor; fuel economy is estimated at 42 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway and thus a standard-sized tank gets 700 miles without a refueling.

The biggest of ‘em all

Finally, for cars you probably won’t be seeing in your neighbor’s driveway soon, but indicative of the state of automotive hybrid technology: Check out the big boys outfitted with the big Volvo Integrated Starter Alternator Motor (or I-SAM).

With a design assist from the U.S. Air Force, Volvo Group subsidiary Mack Granite in January demonstrated a construction truck built with the I-Sam at the Swedish embassy in Washington, DC. Earlier, Volvo had produced a hybrid engine for an Air Force refueler truck.

The I-SAM introduced in January represents the heaviest I-Sam hybrid using a diesel engine of 365 horsepower and a 120-kilowatt electric motor. A major difference between this one and the one in your Prius? Thanks to a little assist from military technology, this engine uses ultracapacitors in lieu of a battery. Most importantly, the I-Sam is claimed to provide fuel savings of up to 50 percent in the construction truck engine.