The Smart fortwo coupe and cabriolet

With rising gasoline prices, growing environmental concerns and a larger number of hybrid and small cars hitting the market, are consumers and automobile manufacturers finally getting smarter?

An unique-looking — but affordable — fuel-efficient micro car, the Smart fortwo, introduced on the U.S. market in January, has received more than 30,000 reservations this year. The grandfather of hybrids, Toyota’s Prius, has just become the world’s first mass-produced gas-electric hybrid vehicle to hit the 1 million mark in sales. And with the average price of regular gasoline just a few cents short of $4 a gallon, the return on an investment for a fuel-efficient car is becoming more worthwhile every day. Whether consumers are going green or going cheap, hybrids and other “smart” vehicles are now commonplace on local roadways.

“There’s a demand for consumers who are much more aware and sensitive to what’s going on in the environment,” said Dominique Thormann, senior vice president for administration and finance at Nissan North America.

Smart, a division of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand, has arrived in U.S. showrooms this year — the cars debuted in Europe in 1998 — as consumers deal with rising fuel prices. The pint-sized 2008 Smart fortwo has a base price of more than $12,000 (the convertabile goes for more than $17,000) and eager customers are putting down $99 to reserve the car, the smallest for sale in the U.S. market. The fortwo, which sold 6,159 units through the end of April, gets 33 miles per gallon in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, making it one of the most fuel-efficient non-hybrids on the market.

The smart car isn’t the only alternative automobile gaining popularity. Toyota’s Prius, the most popular hybrid in the United States, is sold in 40 countries and regions. Toyota said the introduction of the Prius has resulted in 4.5 million metric tons less of global warming gases. A hybrid delivers a cleaner, more efficient ride by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor at different speeds, and by recycling the energy the car produces as it moves. The latest Prius is estimated to deliver 48 miles a gallon in city driving and 45 miles a gallon on highways. Unlike standard cars, hybrids generally provide better mileage in stop-and-go city driving.

Although hybrid models typically cost more than their non-hybrid counterparts — the Toyota Camry Hybrid costs nearly $6,000 more than a regular Camry — the money saved at the gas pump could eventually make a hybrid a cheaper investment. And while there are concerns about the battery life of hybrids, companies like Toyota offer long warranties on the costly battery packs. The Prius comes with an 8-year/100,000 mile warranty on its battery pack.

There is a different concern with the fortwo — safety. But tests have been positive. The 8-foot-8-inch-long vehicle received the highest rating of good in front-end and side-impact testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In earlier crash tests conducted by the government, Smart received the top score of five stars in side testing but the driver door unlatched during the test and opened.

While it did not affect the vehicle’s test score, government regulators said the incident required them to note a safety concern for the vehicle which will appear on window stickers at dealerships. “America has never seen a car this size before and their first question usually isn’t about (fuel) economy, it’s about safety,” said Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA. “And that’s why we think these results are so very important.”

Matt Vensel is a content creator at b. E-mail him at matt@bthesite.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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