The hybrid car market has built upon us slowly but steadily over the last decade ago. If you can remember back that far you’ll recall that gas was hovering around a dollar a gallon and we were in an economic boom, right on the edge of the dotcom bubble and the economic reality of the new millennium.

The last half decade or so has brought a few other realities as well, the most prevalent being the truth in global warming. The social effects are just now starting to be seen, right alongside the commercial effects. The evolution of the automobile has sidled right up to the plate as the next major development. For those interested in helping out by owning one of the new generation of the car, your choices were limited for a long time, but with each passing year a whole new slew of options open up as car companies hop onto the bandwagon, realizing that there is in fact money to be made in this market.

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It’s been ten years since Toyota introduced their first hybrid car, the Prius, to the market for energy and pollution conscious consumers. The model has seen significant success and maintains a steady waiting list for this interested in owning one. The market is booming and yet where is the competition? Honda hopped on with hybrid models of their popular Civic and Accord models, and Nissan is looking to edge their way in as their market share grows world-wide, but the original developers of the automobile, the American Auto Manufacturers, with the exception of a product line equivalent to sticking their toe in the water, have remained rather silent on the issue.

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The auto industry has been abuzz about the developments and introduction of new technologies for as long as it’s been around. The big new of this decade is the introduction of the Hybrid car. It’s not quite the electric machine everyone thought we’d be driving by now, but it’s halfway there and it’s a good solid step in that direction. But what exactly goes on under that slick new hood that makes these cars so special?

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