With global warming and climate change becoming bigger issues more than ever, car companies are showing that they're not completely oblivious to what's going on. In fact, a lot of them have developed and are in the process of improving hybrid cars that reduce fuel emissions.

About a decade ago, electric cars were viewed as a possible solution to the progressing air pollution problem. However, the models produced by GM and Honda proved to be no more like novelty cars as they had serious issues with reliability, mileage, and utility. In the end, the idea was shunned by consumers and abandoned partly by manufacturers.

Recently, however, car companies have blended qualities of gas engines with electric cars. These were called hybrid cars, and the cooperation between electricity and gas would mean that less fuel would be consumed while maintaining a performance level close to that of the gas-powered vehicles. It looked good initially as popular car lines by Toyota, Honda and others picked up the alternative. It would only be a matter of time, however, before the mileage issues rang again.

This year, car companies have submitted reports to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) that their products have not only gotten more nature-friendly, they're also more efficient at using gas. The Honda Civic, Ford Escape and the Toyota Camry are all posting better numbers that reflect less emissions and more utility.

The ball is now in the hands of future buyers. To be nature-friendly, buyers will have to shell out somewhere between US$ 1, 500 to US$ 4, 500 more than the cost of non-hybrid models. Manufacturers say that the consumers will end up getting their money back in the form of money they save from gas, but some experts say that it would take 1.5 to 10 years before you break even, depending on what car you're using.