Green Cars are here now.

The cost of gasoline has helped Americians drive less but hasn't broken our addiction to the internal combustion engine. Most analysts projected a slow down in 2008 U.S. auto sales, but only to about 15.5 million (new) cars. The US transportation sector emits more CO2 than all but three other countries' emissions from all sources combined.

While choosing green cars may reduce our fuel costs, Americans alone can't solve the problem of global warming. In 2007, according to Automotive News, vehicle sales in China exceeded five million for the first time, a 21 percent increase over 2006. As standards of living rise in emerging markets the first thing the new middle class wants is a car!

As long as the U.S. is still the standard that the rest of the world looks up to we should be the leaders in clean transportation. The American Public Transportation Association estimates that using public transportation saves $1.4 billion worth of gasoline each year. That's not practical for most of us today. If we are going to be transportation consumers - lets make it cool to do it right.

Alternative cars break down into the following:

Hybrids

Best Bets for Hybrids Cars.com

After 7 years on the market, the Toyota Prius is almost mainstream. With a moderate price, great milage, comfortable interior and good crash-test ratings, the Prius is still rated on "best buy" lists.

Hybrid cars, trucks, and SUVs are seen as Earth-friendly inventions. By capturing kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost during the vehicle braking process, and using this energy to charge the vehicle battery, hybrid vehicles reduce the total amount of gasoline the car, must burn to generate motion. Therefore, this type of technology results in significant fuel savings for the consumer.

Although hybrids are a major advancement over most cars on the road, they still burn gasoline and releases CO2 into the atmosphere.

Electrics

5 Electric Cars you can buy now CNN Money.

Most of the electric cars available are pretty small, scary, slow and ugly but Tesla Motors is breaking that mold.

"Our first car, the Tesla Roadster, isn't a pipedream or a plan; this car exists now. It's a no-compromise driver's car that does 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 second and will hit a top speed of nearly twice what the law permits. With a range of about 220 miles on a single charge, you can use it all day long and not worry you'll run out of juice. Just plug it in at night the same way you drop your cell phone into its charger, and sleep well, without guilt."

Electric cars use battery power. Clean, quiet and easy to use, an electric car gets the job done with efficiency and ease. From reduced dependence upon foreign oil to zero emissions and economical cost-of-use, electric cars offer many pros. Of course, electric cars still need to be charged and the utility that provides the electricity isn't necessarily green.

Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Cars

Top Gear test drives GM Hy-Wire water car

Unlike many of the hybrid and "green" cars currently on the market, hydrogen cars offer the promise of zero emission technology, where the only byproduct from the cars is water vapor.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing to get 200 hydrogen filling stations built by 2010 stretching from Vancouver, British Columbia, all the way down to Baja, California. Since Californians buy one-fifth of the nation's cars, the new hydrogen car technology could simply replace the current gasoline engine automobiles very quickly.

All major car manufacturers are working on hydrogen cars. Honda and GM are developing home hydrogen fueling stations which will make this car of the future the car to buy today.