Increasing gas prices made me fret. And I guess I am not alone in this predicament. So many individuals have been affected by the peaking prices and it’s no good.

What’s more, environmentalists are painstakingly reminding us of the escalating global warming issues. The effects are frightening! And they could be even more frightening in the coming days…

As such, efforts trying to circumvent these circumstances are very much appreciated. Lawmakers are working on raising mileage standards without sacrificing the environment. Researchers, on the other hand, are busy formulating alternatives to gasoline fuel. Alternative fuels not only save the environment - they also curb foreign all dependence of our nation.

Meanwhile, automakers’ role is to produce fuel efficient and environment-friendly vehicles. And so the showdown to produce the superlatives in a vehicle is on….

In many ways, the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, launched at the 2006 Detroit Show, was GM’s biggest. This is because that was time when a true hybrid was born. The hybrid system used by the vehicle was co-developed with BMW and DaimlerChrysler - and applied it to a full-size truck.

The two-mode system produces around 300 horsepower and consists of an electric motor/generator and a Vortec V-8 OHV engine, using electric power only, engine power only, or a combination thereof at low speeds and light loads. It’s the Toyota approach with two planetary gear seats and two electric motors mated to a gasoline engine. Unlike previous GM hybrids, the Tahoe hybrid will be able to accelerate with the gasoline engine shut off.

Two-mode hybrid engines combine the traditional gas powered engine with electric input and can operate in three modes, gas only, electric only and a combination. Sport utilities are to be found in every heavy traffic flow across the country, and operating on electric power as a full hybrid with the low speed, stop and go situations commuters experience every day, major fuel economies can be delivered as well as reducing pollution caused by these gas guzzling beasts, says Car Junky.

When running the 300 volt electric powers the automobile until you reach 20 mph and then the gas engine kicks and you run on both systems, reduce the speed back below the 20mph and you hear the changeover as you revert to electric power only. The Chevrolet Tahoe ignition coil was enhanced to blend with the purpose.

The Chevrolet Tahoe full-size sport utility will be joined shortly thereafter by the GMC Yukon hybrid. These vehicles will feature what GM calls the "world’s first two-mode hybrid system." They will use V-8 gasoline engines combined with electric motors, says AZ Central.

In the Tahoe/Yukon, there will be separate hybrid modes for city driving and for highway cruising, the company added. “Overall fuel savings will be about 25 percent over a base V-8 equipped Tahoe or Yukon. The technology will be extended later to the Cadillac Escalade, which is similar in construction to the Tahoe and Yukon.”