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I remember watching the Jetsons when I was kid. Who doesn't, right? I mean, they had it all. A robot maid, elevator tubes that used only air, cities in the sky, and flying cars that folded up into a briefcase! I think we can all agree that was very cool.

Flash forward to the modern day. The Jetsons may not be as popular with people today, but the fascination with technology hasn't faded in the slightest. We still love our growing army of gadgets and gizmos, and while originally tech gadgets were bulky and hard to use, todays tech features slick, intuitive interfaces, smoothly operating touchscreens, and even voice commands to better integrate into everyday life. Cool? Very.

Enter the hybrid car. Hybrid vehicles are the cutting edge of current technology. While they have been around for years, only lately have they become the de facto standard in terms of advancement. For example, the Honda Civic Hybrid comes with voice activiation - simply talk to your car and it will perform most basic functions like changing the radio station or setting the cruise control. Eat that, Jetsons!

Further, most hybrids are indistinguishable from their gas-guzzling counterpart. Head to a Honda dealership and you'd be hard pressed to point out which Civics are hybrids and which are not based on body style alone. Ditto the Ford Escape hybrid. Other than some clever styling cues, the only thing that differentiates the two is the "hybrid" badge on the rear. Oh, and the gas mileage. With gas prices rapidly going into the stratosphere, saving any amount I can at the pump is definitely very cool.

Now, a hybrid might not have the panache of a gas-guzzler like an Mitsubishi Eclipse or a Ford Mustang (don't expect to see hybrid models of your favourite sports cars any time soon) but technology knows no limits. The Tesla Roadster - a car that goes beyond hybrid into the all electric realm - has a 0 - 60 time that rivals a Porsche 911, and doesn't use a single drop of gas to do it. Plus, it does all this while looking like something out of Gone in 60 Seconds, with styling cues taken from a Lotus Elise. Any cooler and it would be frozen.

In closing, while hybrid cars may not have the eye-popping "wow" factor of a pure-gasoline car, great strides are being taken to change this. To me, saving money is always cool, and if I can sit behind the wheel of a great looking car while I do it, so much the better. See you at the pump!

Learn more about this author, D A Lavizzo.
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