Soaring oil prices and grid locked traffic which leads to large amounts of greenhouse gas emission, have led many consumers to consider alternate methods of transportations such as hybrid and electric vehicles, bicycles, mass transit and even walking.

Price of oil and gas in United States has more than doubled over a decade. Competition for natural resources with emerging economies such as India and China as well as the scarcity of oil and gas has led to many average families in America spending more for fuel. The economic dependents of America on foreign oil have become worrisome to the American government. This has led to many government sponsored initiatives to develop alternative forms of energy. One of the largest areas of American fuel consumption is transportation, especially automobiles. Because of this the federal government and local governments are working with researchers, car companies and business to encourage new technologies to promote hybrid and electric vehicles.

Driving is one of the most polluting activities that people do on a regular basis. This has led to the creation of thick heavy smoke in the large cities around the world, including Los Angeles and Beijing.  This air pollution has been linked to many ailments such as respiratory problems and skin disorders. The brown hazy smoke robs people of clean air and blue skies and it is becoming a fast growing problem in developing countries such as China and India. For example the brown smog in East Asia is so large that it can be seen in the outer space. Many experts say that this brown smog would disappear if people of East Asia would stop driving for one week. Unfortunately that is economically impossible because people in governments would not agree to not driving for that long because of the economic damage it would cause. Because not driving is not an option in the United Sates, the emphasis has been placed upon electric vehicles and gas electric hybrid vehicles. Electric vehicles only run on electric power however, currently the range is very limited and the charging time of the battery can take up to seven hours. Additionally the cost for electric vehicles is very high, significantly higher than the comparable gas driven car. However, electric vehicles have some key advantages. First they have absolutely zero emission, meaning they create no greenhouse gases. Second, surprisingly, electric vehicles have superior torque than gas vehicles meaning that they are very powerful and do not waste any energy. Additionally electric vehicles have regenerative braking which is a process of taking the energy applied in breaking to recharge batteries, making electric vehicles highly efficient.

Gas electric hybrids on the other hand, while producing some green house gases have less limitation than the electric vehicles counterparts. A gas electric hybrid has a traditional gas motor along with the electric motor and batteries. When driving a gas electric hybrid a computer system switches between the gas engine and the electric engine to optimize the mileage. When the car is not accelerating quickly in the city where there is a lot of braking, the computer will switch to a battery power when stopped at a light, conserving gas. When extra power is needed, the computer will switch to the gas motor. Having this balance between electricity and gas creates some of the most fuel efficient vehicles on the market.

United States encourage the purchase of electric vehicles or gas electric hybrid vehicles by offering tax breaks to both buyers and car manufacturers. Furthermore, state and local governments have now begun to invest money in building electric vehicle charging station that will help to extend the range of electric vehicles. Additionally, researcher and businesses are investing time and money in development is faster charging batteries and recharging technologies.