Green Cars Help Save You Money and Save the Environment on Earth Day

Today April 22 is Earth Day for 2012. As Americans look for ways to conserve, beautify and help make the world a better place, one consideration should be the car or vehicle that you currently drive. With gas prices rising and not likely to ever come back down, it may be time to consider an vehicle which uses less gas, or even none at all.

In the long run, a new car payment may still be cheaper than all that extra money being spent as the gas pump every week. To help guide you through the variety of hybrid and electric vehicles emerging from the auto makers, shopautoweek.com has released some information which may make it much easier to find the fuel efficient car or vehicle that is right for you.

Below, the company has evaluated a number or vehicles and discusses seven gasoline-powered hybrids that will help you save money by going green with gas mileage of 40 mpg or better.

“If you’re looking for something that sips gasoline for both city and highway driving, there are several 2012 model hybrids with impressive fuel economy that can help you save significantly year round without too much of an investment up front or changing your driving habits drastically,” says shopautoweek.com associate editor Angie Fisher.

Three of the seven fuel efficient hybrids identified by shoautoweek.com are listed here. The remaining vehicles can be found on their web site.

Toyota Prius C: 50 mpg combined, $1,200 annual fuel cost
The Toyota Prius family is synonymous with fuel efficiency, making green cars mainstream with the Prius debut more than a decade ago. Now, in addition to the Prius hatchback, the lineup grows to include a larger Prius V wagon, a Prius plug-in and the subcompact Prius C. Prius vehicles aren’t known for fun driving dynamics but are better suited for someone seeking class-leading fuel economy.

Honda Civic hybrid: 44 mpg combined, $1,350 annual fuel cost
The Honda Civic hybrid is a fun-to-drive sedan that is fuel efficient, sporty and stylish. In addition to the hybrid gas/electric engine, the Civic comes in standard gasoline and natural gas versions, and all achieve nearly 40 mpg highway or better.

Lexus CT 200h: 42 mpg combined, $1,400 annual fuel cost
Based on the Toyota Prius, the Lexus CT 200h is a performance-oriented hybrid. The luxury automaker took America’s most well-known hybrid and made improvements to the ride handling. It’s still a hybrid, so don’t expect a jaw-dropping 0-to-60-mph time, but it is a stylish and sporty option for hybrids.