The best fuel economy cars around are hybrid automobiles, like Toyota's Prius or the smaller Honda Civic hybrid. These are followed by the compact foreign non-hybrid autos such as the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla, the Mini Cooper, the Nissan Altima and even the luxury Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec diesel passenger car.

Toyota Prius has an EPA mpg score of 48/45. That's 48 miles per gallon (mpg) in the city and 45 mpg out on the open road. Not bad, eh? The Prius combines a regular 1.5 liter, 4-cylinder gas-powered engine with storage batteries and a nifty little electric motor. When you hit the brakes in traffic, the energy that is routinely converted to heat in brake drums is made use of to boost the hybrid car's batteries.

The hybrid version of Honda's little Civic manages an EPA mpg score of 40/45 mpg and is powered by a 1.3 liter, 4-cylinder petrol engine with an added electric motor. It looks exactly like the regular gasoline model Honda Civic except for a badge which says Hybrid.

The standard Honda Civic shows an EPA score of 26/34 mpg (with manual gearbox) or 25/36 (auto transmission). The Honda is stylish, small and luxurious, and Honda sure know how to make this baby squeeze every inch of distance from every molecule of fuel that the car burns.

The zippy Mini Cooper boasts an EPA mileage score of 28/37 miles per gallon (manual transmission) or 26/34 miles per gallon (automatic). The first number is for driving in the city. The second is on the freeways. This re-design of the world-renown 1960s British "Mini" is built by BMW these days. It is a really small vehicle with an amazing amount of space once you sit inside it. And like the tiny Cooper S version of old, this baby can accelerate and corner like a race car. Sadly, that makes it all a bit of a waste with all the speed cameras are a part of life these days!

The Toyota Corolla continues to amaze as a reliable cheap-to-run favorite car. It does 26 miles per gallon in the city and 35 miles per gallon on the highway (manual) and 27/35 mpg (auto version) according to EPA testing. That's truly excellent fuel economy. The new 2009 Corolla is affordable, roomy and comfortable. And its reliability is legendary.

The Nissan Altima does an EPA 23/32 mpg (manual gearbox), 23 mpg city driving, 31 mpg highway (auto transmision). Just like the hybrid vehicles mentioned earlier, its got a CVT - that's a continuously-variable transmission that means no obvious gear changes - since it is making infinitely-small gearing changes as you drive. The Nissan Ultima is a mid-sized vehicle with a 2.5 liter engine, and it squeezes every bit of power out of it while delivering excellent fuel economy.

The Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec does a pretty good 23/32 mpg on the EPA tests, and manages this with luxurious style both inside and outside, powered by its 3 liter V6 engine which makes you think that you are at the wheel of an 8-cylinder car.

Crazy fuel prices and the worldwide financial crisis are forcing American drivers to think twice about their big fuel-hungry cars. And while Japanese and Korean-made imported cars were cheap in looks and quality some years ago, that is not true today.

The car quality is top-notch these days and the money savings can't be ignored any longer. So it is high time to pick your next automobile from the best gas-saving cars on the market.

At the moment, the best fuel-economy cars are almost all made in Japan, but American car makers are changing to meet the challenge. And perhaps one day the US will be making the best fuel economy cars.