With gas prices on the rise again, hybrid vehicles once again come to mind.

But let's face it, those Toyota Priuses make you look as hip as if you were wearing Tevas to a night club.

All the style conscious tree huggers therefore should be rejoicing that BMW is developing a city vehicle that will get 100 miles to the gallon, including BMW styling and coolness.

At such fuel consumption rates, it also starts to make sense to use a hybrid vehicle. Because the current generation of hybrids are lacking in several areas, as the NY Times pointed out recently. A fuel sipping hybrid only really benefits in the city. On the highway the electric motor won't do you any good, just forcing you burn gas to haul the battery's weight around.

Even worse, some of the new hybrids such as the Ford Escape Hybrid and Lexus RX Hybrid are still gas guzzling monsters. They're just somewhat less gas guzzling monsters.

Consumers aren't biting, and wisely so. Driving a Toyota Prius Hybrid for five year and 75,000 miles is likely to save the owner a whopping $300, while some of the other models actually cost more than a gasoline vehicle.

Lexus RX Hybrid: posing as eco-friendly but guzzling at a rate of 31 miles per gallon in the city and 27 per gallon on the highway.

Tags: hybrid, bmw, toyota prius, lexus RX hybrid