Technology for Better MPG

With gas prices at all-time highs and tolerance of dirty tailpipe emissions at all-time lows in California and the Northeast, truck owners are taking it on the chin. Despite what Greenpeace or Sierra Club types may say, you don't have to give up an eight-foot bed in favor of a dash-mounted bud vase just yet. In the foreseeable future, automakers will offer a new generation of pickups and SUVs boasting increased fuel economy and decreased emissions. It's also possible to clean up your older truck, and perhaps realize a financial savings, by converting to an Environmental Protection Agency-recognized clean fuel.

Over the next couple of years, gas/electric hybrid pickups and sport/utilities will be offered by Toyota, Lexus, General Motors, and Ford. Dodge also has a diesel/electric-powered hybrid Ram in the works, but hasn't announced when it'll appear on showroom floors.

Here's a rundown of the factory hybrid trucks and sport/utes on the horizon.

Lexus RX 400h/Toyota Highlander
The Lexus RX 400h will hold the distinction of being the first luxury hybrid SUV on the market and, possibly, the first hybrid sport/utility on the market, if it makes it to showrooms before the gas/electric version of the Ford Escape.

Though Toyota's enviro-trendy Prius compact car provided the technology for the RX 400h, the full-hybrid sport/utility needs double the battery voltage to power the front and rear electric-drive motors necessary for its all-wheel-drive system. Under the hood will be a Toyota 3.3-liter V-6, but, Toyota officials say, when coupled with the permanent-magnet electric motors, the Lexus will deliver 270 horsepower--about 20 percent more than the non-hybrid Lexus RX 330, which the RX 400h is based on.