The cost of gas has skyrocketed out of control. These high gas prices make filling up your gas tank equivalent to buying over a week's worth of groceries, and at the moment it does not appear that relief is in sight.

Those that were hoping for a new type of alternative energy had looked towards hydrogen as one possible solution, but it was quickly found that hydrogen itself was unrealistic, as it was difficult to create, possibly dangerous (explosive) and not at all welcomed by car manufacturers. Yet there is a way to utilize hydrogen power that has recently been sweeping the nation as a way to increase the MPG rating of your car and ultimately save more money.

While hydrogen itself may be difficult to harness, hydrogen is still a useful way to help power your engine. A fuel that uses hydrogen, known as HHO gas, can actually increase the MPG rating of your car, but HHO gas is not created in a lab - it is created using every day H2O.

Using a device that you can make yourself (known as an electrolyzer), you send an electric current straight from your battery and remove a piece of hydrogen from standard tap water. This particle then travels into your gas tank and helps the gasoline fuel your car. By doing this, your car's gas mileage can actually triple, because your car is no longer just using gasoline - it has become a hybrid that uses both gas and hydrogen.

The best part about HHO gas is that after it has been used it converts back to water. Thus you are not only significantly increasing your MPG rating, you are also doing less harm to the environment.

This technology has created cars that use nothing but water as fuel! These electrolyzers have proved incredibly effective, and there have been many examples of only water being used to power some smaller machines, such as torches, using no additional fuel or additives. At the moment, however, HHO is only used as a car supplement, rather than a completely new engine.

Until that day, however, HHO technology is still a form of alternative energy that can help all of us save thousands at the pump. Using water to power cars has the potential to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, lower the price of gas, and improve the health of the planet, all with a simple new energy source.

While it may be decades or more before car companies accept HHO gas as a viable source of energy to power their cars, it can still be used to help improve the gas mileage of your cars and save you from the high gas prices you experience every day. Someday your car may be made to run on water, but until that day, HHO gas supplements are one of the best ways to save money at the pump.

Environmentally conscious drivers will have more hybrid car and hybrid truck options this year and next, as auto manufacturers continue to roll out new versions and models. Consumer demand for hybrid vehicles continues to increase, as consumers begin to understand and accept hybrid vehicles as a viable alternative.

For those unfamiliar with how hybrid vehicles work and what they do, here's a short primer. Hybrid vehicles typically use both an energy storage system and a traditional gasoline engine, thereby eliminating sole reliance on gas for power. This in turn expends less gas and less harmful emissions.

Specifically, an energy storage system in a hybrid vehicle will in effect recognize when fuel is being wasted and will recycle energy to power the car or truck. Wasteful car and truck actions such as idling, traffic stops, etc. are recognized by the energy storage system and the gasoline burning engine is stopped. City drivers in particular notice a greater fuel economy with hybrid vehicles due to the constant stop and go flow of heavy city traffic.

Here's a brief list of 2008 hybrid car models:

Midsize Hybrid Vehicles:

Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion lead the list of new hybrid car choices later this year. Also, you'll see Chevrolet introduce the Chevy Malibu as a hybrid car later this summer as a 2009 model. Saturn's AURA will also arrive as the latest addition to their Green Line.

Crossovers and SUV's Go Hybrid:

Expect Saturn to roll out the VUE as the newest member of their Green Line, offering half the emissions of their regular model. Also with new models will be the Chevy Equinox, Toyota Prius, and Toyota Sienna.

2009 Hybrid Pickups and Hybrid Truck Models:

New from General Motors in the hybrid pickup and full size truck category will be the Chevy Silverado, a full size pickup expected to debut as a 2009 model. Also from GM and another 2009 model will be the GMC Sierra, also a pickup.

Other 2008 Hybrid Car Happenings:

Of interest is the first hybrid car from China, the Roewe 750, a midsize car. Chinese car manufacturer SAIE is producing the hybrid 750, their version of the United Kingdom's Rover 75.

Expect to see even more hybrid car and hybrid truck model introductions as we move into the 2009 and 2010 model years. The hybrid car and truck market is ever expanding, and auto manufacturers are more than happy to meet the demand.