Massachusetts drivers are increasingly going green as the number of registered hybrid vehicles in the state has increased by 36 percent during the past nine months. The timing couldn’t be better for those drivers as the state’s new managed competition system for auto insurance allows them, for the first time in state history, to take advantage of auto insurance discounts created especially for hybrid drivers from insurers such as Travelers of Massachusetts.

According to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles, there are currently 22,353 registered hybrid cars in Massachusetts, up from 16,477 in July of 2007, for an increase of 36 percent. Hybrid cars are generally defined as vehicles that use gasoline and an alternative fuel source such as electric or fuel cell.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will once again deliver an action-packed weekend for race fans April 18-20 and this year's series of events also will feature an environmental theme for the first time in its 34-year history. The sustainability theme is highlighted by the on-site Green Power Prix-View, featuring displays of advanced technology vehicles and on-circuit activities.

Toyota will showcase its entire hybrid vehicle lineup at the Green Power Prix-View, along with the "Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience," a nationally touring exhibit designed to provide visitors with a firsthand opportunity to experience automotive hybrid technology. Also on hand will be Toyota's fuel cell-powered Highlander Hybrid which made a 2,300 mile trek on the Alaska-Canadian highway last year and the Land Speed Prius - known for setting the record and establishing the hybrid class at Bonneville. On April 20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., a hands-on ride and drive opportunity including Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles will be available to all race attendees.

Going green is all the rage, so it’s not surprising that searches for hybrid vehicles on Cars.com are at an all-time high. In fact, a recent Cars.com survey showed that 59% of car shoppers have purchased or would consider purchasing a hybrid as their next car.

So which cities are the greenest when it comes to car shopping? According to the Cars.com Green Index, a ranking of hybrid vehicle searches by market, West Coast shoppers show the greatest interest in going green. San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Sacramento and San Diego make up the top five. In each of these markets, hybrids account for more than 3 percent of new car searches on Cars.com. While West Coast cities seem to embrace hybrid vehicles more than their counterparts in the Midwest and on the East Coast, cities in the South lag behind most major cities in the country, with Houston, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Birmingham and Miami rounding out the bottom five.

ExecuCar of Phoenix is purchasing three new Hybrid Chevy Tahoe's. Visitors to the Phoenix area can now request a clean ride when going to and from the airport to hotels, shopping and golf courses, all provided by ExecuCar of Phoenix.

ExecuCar of Phoenix is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SuperShuttle International. SuperShuttle as long been a national leader in using natural gas vehicles SuperShuttle began using CNG vehicles in 1998, and 65 percent of its fleet currently operates on CNG. ExecuCar Sedan Service of Phoenix is taking the next step by implementing a Hybrid vehicle program in the Valley.

Currently ExecuCar has 130 livery sedans and is looking forward to adding more hybrid vehicles in the months ahead. The new hybrid vehicles will be recognizable by the green H on the cars saving approximately 8 miles per gallon with every trip.

Toyota is bringing its nationwide tour called "Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience," to the Better Living Show in Portland, Oregon March 28 - 30. The tour is designed to provide consumers with a firsthand opportunity to experience automotive hybrid technology and learn what they can do to make a difference in the environment.

The tour will stop at numerous public events nationwide in 2008 and consists of three simultaneously traveling exhibits. Consumers will have an opportunity to learn about hybrid technology through a number of interactive, educational stations and test drive Toyota's Prius, Camry Hybrid or Highlander Hybrid.

Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience serves as an interactive mobile exhibit to the environment and alternative fuels. The exhibit will be located inside the Portland Expo Center in Portland, Oregon:

• Friday, March 28 from noon to 9 p.m.
• Saturday, March 29 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Sunday, March 30 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More environmentally-friendly Verizon sedans are now on the road in New York state. Forty hybrid sedans will replace traditional gasoline-powered vehicles in Verizon's local fleet, for an estimated annual reduction in carbon emissions of 105 metric tons. Verizon is rolling out 100 new hybrid sedans in metropolitan areas across the country.

With engines that run on gasoline and electricity, hybrids are more fuel- efficient than vehicles equipped with traditional engines. The Toyota Prius sedans being added to Verizon's fleet can travel nearly double the miles per gallon and emit less than half of the carbon of most traditional sedans.

The 1,000th bus powered by the GM-Allison hybrid system will be delivered here this month to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. The landmark delivery is part of a fleet order by the RTC that will double its fleet of hybrid buses from 30 to 60 operating in the Las Vegas area.

Those 1,000 GM-Allison hybrid buses, operating in more than 70 cities in the U.S., Canada and Europe, will save an estimated 1.4 million gallons of fuel annually, enough to fill 175 tanker trucks.

Read more after the jump.

With the introduction of the new 2009 Chrysler Aspen HEMI Hybrid and 2009 Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrid, Chrysler delivers two hybrid-electric vehicles that combine fuel-efficient hybrid technology with full-size sport-utility vehicle performance and capability.

The 2009 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrid vehicles are Chrysler's first entries in the hybrid market.

Capable of towing 6,000 lbs., the 2009 Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango HEMI Hybrid vehicles deliver 385 horsepower. With an electrically variable transmission and two different hybrid modes of operation, the drive system improves fuel economy around town and at highway speeds.

The new 5.7-liter HEMI Hybrid is expected to deliver an overall fuel economy improvement of more than 25 percent, including an improvement of nearly 40 percent in the city. For customers who desire the performance and capability of a large SUV, the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango Hybrid vehicles will reduce fuel consumption by several hundreds of gallons of gas per year.