Low CO2 cars and vans are the chief players bringing green motoring to the US. Typically, vehicles which produce 100g/km or less of carbon are acknowledged as low CO2 and they normally consist of small capacity gas and diesel engines.

In order to maintain the highest levels of performance and elegance expected from a modern vehicle, the small capacity engines are usually turbocharged and sometimes they are even coupled with a hybrid electric drive system.

The hybrid system is an innovative and clever partnership between a gas or diesel engine with an electric motor, resulting in an impressive performance of superior fuel efficiency and most importantly with low C02 emissions.

Hybrid engines are built smaller to accommodate the bulk of the time when the vehicle will not be ascending a hill or accelerating quickly. The battery is used to produce extra acceleration power as needed.

When a hybrid vehicle stops, the fuel motor shuts off allowing the vehicle to exclusively run off the electric battery and motor. Often, hybrid vehicles are able to recover braking energy and re-use it to charge the battery.

Several manufacturers have focused much of their attention on re-engineering existing technology to improve their vehicle’s performance - with particular emphasis on CO2 emissions and fuel economy.

These technologies include innovations such as high precision injection, brake energy regeneration, auto stop-start functionality and particulate filters. With the introduction of these technologies, vehicle manufacturers have been able to greatly reduce CO2 emissions and improve their fuel economy resulting in green cars that are better for the environment.

Quite simply, an electric vehicle is a car powered by an electric motor rather than a gas or diesel engine. From the car's appearance, you would probably have no idea that it was electric and even when you drive an electric car, the only thing which reveals its true framework is the fact that it is practically silent.

Electric vehicles are quiet and pollution free and they add up to substantial savings over the vehicle's lifetime with a nearly zero effect on our environment.