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If you're like most of America, gas prices have made a huge impact on how you drive, how you live, and what you expect from your next new car. Prices are heading higher, gas is less available in some areas (here in metro Atlanta, it's hit or miss finding a fully supplied station, much less premium fuel).

With the obsession over gas prices likely here to stay in the near-term--and who knows where prices will go once the economy stabilizes--TheCarConnection.com's editors have sifted the data from our latest car reviews to bring you the best vehicles for great fuel economy.

TCC rates vehicles by weighing our and other reviewers' opinions of a vehicle's styling, performance, comfort and quality, safety, and features to arrive at an overall number from 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest possible score in each attribute. At first, we planned to rate only vehicles that offer 30-plus mpg in the EPA's highway cycle. However, neither the van nor the truck categories yielded any vehicles that could touch 30 mpg. In those cases, we looked for vehicles getting 25 mpg or better in highway mileage, which eliminated a huge swath of vehicles from contention--much as it's doing today at auto dealerships across the country.

Not surprisingly, gas-electric hybrids won three of our six categories: sedan, SUV/wagon, and green car. The van category, a field dominated by V-6s, was swept by a cleverly packaged compact van. Among trucks, a stalwart four-cylinder took top honors. And among two-doors, one automaker proves efficiency can be thrilling.

Follow the links below to find out more about our numeric ratings and to read full reviews of the winners:

Sedans: The Honda Civic Hybrid, combining Honda's IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) introduced back on the original Honda Insight, a diminutive four-cylinder, and a continuously variable transmission ring in at 40/45 mpg city/highway EPA and nets our top pick as a fuel-sipping sedan. The Civic Hybrid also took our honors for the Green category, beating out the Toyota Prius by 0.6 point.

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Two-doors: Proving, as we mentioned, that fun can also be quite frugal, the BMW-designed MINI Cooper Convertible gets our nod for highest-rated, fuel-efficient two-door. The second-gen MINIs benefit from a new engine design with ultra-efficient direct injection, and in either naturally aspirated (23/32 mpg) or turbocharged (21/29 mpg) EPA form, the MINI Cooper Convertible is a well-designed, frisky runabout with go-kart reflexes and plenty of power.

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SUVs/wagons: FoMoCo's well-designed (and freshly updated for '09) small SUV gas/electric hybrid duo, the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, won our SUV/wagon category. Employing a newly designed 2.5-liter four that uses miserly Atkinson-cycle technology, the Escape and Mariner hybrids are capable of electric-only propulsion at low speeds and manage stellar EPA mileage ratings of 34/31 mpg.

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Vans: Mazda's funky-yet-sensible Mazda5, our pick for the Van category, makes the most of its Mazda 3 underpinnings to offer respectable interior capacity while delivering better mileage than the competition. We found that "clever engineering makes good use of what space is available," and in a thirsty segment the Mazda's 22/28 EPA mpg (with five-speed manual) are downright impressive.

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Pickup trucks: As mentioned, there's not a lot in the realm of fuel-efficient pickups, and even mid-size and small trucks make do with older-tech gasoline engines that, when combined with a truck's aerodynamic inefficiencies, don't do much for mpg. Our highest-rated, most fuel-efficient pickup was Toyota's Tacoma 2WD four-cylinder, which was ranked at 20/25 mpg city/highway by the EPA.

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Not to be outdone in the hot new electric and E-REV segment, Chrysler has announced not one but THREE new Chrysler electric cars that rely solely or predominantly on electric motors for their forward propulsion, according to CNBC--not to mention the expansion of a fourth electric vehicle that's already been for sale for nearly a decade. All three concepts are intended for eventual production, with at least one slated for production sometime in 2010.

Number one: A Tesla competitor. A roadster in form and based on the Lotus Europa, this all-electric sportscar, the Dodge EV, will accelerate to 60 mph in less than five seconds, have a 150- to 200-mile range on a full charge, and be driven at the rear wheels. Charging times for the Dodge EV are cited by CEO Bob Nardelli as 4 hours on a 110-volt outlet, 8 hours on a 220-volt line.

Number two: An E-REV (extended-range electric vehicle) Jeep Wrangler that can travel solely on electric propulsion up to 40 miles and then, with the assistance of a roughly 1.0-liter gasoline generator delivering electricity to the electric motors and back to the battery, travel up to another 400. Chrysler execs claimed on CNBC that this Wrangler, each wheel powered by its own electric motor, can travel "400 miles on 9 gallons." That works out to 44 mpg for this beast of burden, more than double the economy it's capable of with its overburdened 3.7-liter V-6. And individual throttle control, in essence, for each wheel could conceivably be a remarkable advancement in the land of four-wheeling.

Number three: An E-REV Chrysler Town & Country, with batteries located beneath the second row of seats. This enables the minivan's convenient Swivel & Go seating to remain. This vehicle's range and details of its propulsion are not yet known, but as it's called an E-REV, we assume a setup similar to the Jeep Wrangler above, itself nearly an exact copy of GM's recently announced 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

Number four: Electric "neighborhood" vehicles. Chrysler has been building and selling bubbly electric golf-cart-like vehicles for a decade now, and on CNBC, Chrysler execs claimed there are currently 40,000 on the road with a combined total of about 250 million miles on them. Far from the high-tech lithium-ion propulsion systems of today, the lead-acid batteries and short ranges of these vehicles don't have much relevance compared to the three concepts announced by Chrysler. But Nardelli claims that an electric city car will be developed off of this platform, and 40,000 pleased consumers in gated communities and golf courses across America (ever heard of Peachtree City outside of Atlanta?) is pretty significant.

Clearly, Chrysler LLC has cribbed two ideas from other companies in assembling its proposed arsenal of electric vehicles. Just as the "change" mantra was invented by one presidential candidate and then quite successfully adopted by the other in this election season, GM and Tesla started the E-REVolution and electric roadster, respectively, and now Chrysler seems to be stealing the spotlight by being the first automaker to announce a fleet of Chrysler electric cars incorporating the best of both technologies.

Chrysler has something to brag about today, as well as the beginnings of a plan to cheer its loyalists and struggling dealer infrastructure. For now, anyway--Chrysler's long, unproductive track record with electric vehicles aside from the GEM is reason enough to believe this announcement's designed to help its case for federal loans, and that actual production without that money is decidedly iffy.

Tides change rapidly in the automotive universe, it would seem, and we're glad to see automakers tripping over each other in search of the Green Mantle. Wonder if GM wishes it had copyrighted the E-REV nomenclature?--Colin Mathews

Basking in the "Tuscan Sun"--the sole new exterior color for the 2009 Nissan Quest--just got a tad pricier. In addition to new automatic door locks and the aforementioned additional color, major changes to the minivan for '09 include an MSRP jump of $750 on the base Quest 3.5 to land at $25,950.

The Quest, redesigned for 2003, presented an avant-garde flavor for a minivan that's not caught on very well with the bulk of the market that seems to favor more traditionally styled minivans. Its low beltline and sedanlike character lines impressed design critics, but no one really loved its awkward center-pod instrumentation (a la Toyota Echo and Saturn Ion). Even fairly athletic handling and cool features like its SkyView panoramic sunroof haven't saved it from relative obscurity in the minivan marketplace.

The dashboard was relocated to the right place for 2007, but power ratings for the 3.5-liter V-6 remain at a middling 235 hp, curious for an engine that makes upward of 300 horses in other Nissan/Infiniti guises. With Chrysler taking the reigns for Nissan's upcoming Titan pickup (to be a reskinned Dodge Ram, essentially), we have to wonder if they might do the same thing Volkswagen has done with its new Routan (a reskinned Dodge Caravan). Is Nissan's quest for minivan dominance yet another case of too little, too late in a marketplace dominated by moms loyal to their Honda Odysseys and Toyota Siennas? Tell us in a comment below if you think Nissan should exit minivans completely, or hang it all on a big crossover a la GM.

This weekend's chatter about a new Volkswagen Microbus erupting from the company's new Tennessee plant is fun reading, but don't count on a new minivan from VW anytime soon.

A report in an Australian newspaper speculated that a new Microbus for the U.S. market only would be coming from VW's new Chattanooga plant, and our new favorite blog TechCrunch spent a few paragraphs talking about "serious" discussions for a new Microbus for America. (The latter post reminded us that VW has a research center in Palo Alto, Calif., steps away from the throbbing headquarters of TheCarConnection.com.) TechCrunch says it wants its new Microbus as an all-electric vehicle, or at least as a hybrid van--slathered with all the latest gear like its own EVDO wireless network and Web tablets built into the backseats.

But what's the reality of the situation? A new Microbus could either be a brilliant move by VW of America, or a big, expensive misstep. My guess is the latter. They've been down this path before. Remember the colossal tease that was the Microbus concept from 2001, shown above? Even after a rave reception at the Detroit auto show, worries over cost, and sales killed that planned revival.

A new minivan has to be big to compete in America--which means it won't be salable overseas--and that puts a 50,000- to 100,000-unit burden on it from day one. It would have to draw buyers away from the trio of excellent minivans already on the market--and it would have to succeed where GM and Ford have failed, admittedly a much lower hurdle than the other issues.

The fact is, there are more reasons not to do a new Microbus than there are to do one:

1) There's no way to make a Microbus-looking front end crash well. Even superstrong steel and CAD can't bring back the Sixties, not even with copious amounts of weed.

2) There's almost no way to make a new minivan that has a sales edge. Honda and Toyota have reliability; Chrysler has seating flexibility and features; the Koreans have the "other choices" slot covered. What does VW bring to the game other than a bold badge and, possibly, a diesel? An electric Microbus wouldn't make one day worth of carpooling, and a hybrid would be too expensive--and Toyota probably already has one in the works.

3) VW has no idea how many buyers would commit. The new 2009 Volkswagen Routan sounds like the right idea--joint-venture one into the market, test out the marketing in principle first, find out about possible buyers, then wait to commit--but it's not a true VW and that ultimately is what will sell a new Microbus.

4) Minivans are on the way out. Hand in hand with their 1990s brethren, the truck-based SUV, the minivan looks and sounds like a dated concept to a ton of buyers who don't have to have one. For families with kids, there will be a need--and we are in the middle of a baby boomlet--but buyers are gravitating to the class leaders, and not looking in overwhelming numbers for alternatives like the Nissan Quest.

5) The minivans that survive will have Chrysler, Honda and Toyota badges. You get credit in the U.S. market just for showing up--and not only has Chrysler been showing up since Day One, it's narcotizing kids with in-car TV and it has the seating package to beat them all. Honda has seating and durability and handling to its credit, while Toyota has those six letters in its pocket. Three category killers are enough for a mature market.

6) And finally, the most convincing reason: that VW plant in Tennessee will build a second vehicle--but it will be a five- and seven-seat crossover vehicle, not a minivan. You can still call it a Microbus even though it doesn't have a sliding side door.

If VW does commit to a new Microbus and it's a minivan, they'll have pulled off a Sarah Palin-style, game-changing moment that could recast the minivan game. Long shots don't usually pay off, though.

Maybe they just need a little lipstick.

TheCarConnection.com's spies caught this disguised 2010 Toyota Sienna prototype testing in the desert.

The prototype appears to utilize most of the current Sienna's bodywork, so we initially thought it was facelift of the current Sienna.  But there are some very rough sections which seems to point to this as a mule for the next-generation Sienna. Judging from the construction and packaging of this prototype, it would appear that Toyota product planners are content to stay with a package similar to the current Sienna, with all of its traditional minivan cues.

While many other automakers are bailing from the minivan product segment with line-blurring crossovers, it looks as if Toyota will stand toe-to-toe with Honda and Chrysler to slug it out for the attention of soccer moms everywhere.  Given the minimal changes visible to overall architecture of this mule, our best sense is that Toyota may be sticking with the current Sienna's platform, albeit with significant updates, in order to save costs.--KGP Photography