Summary: The high price of gas at the pump has many Americans looking for alternatives to their gas-powered vehicles. One of the most popular options right now is a hybrid vehicle. The question that comes to mind is: are hybrid vehicles worth it? With record gas prices due to the price of oil, most car owners out there have major concerns about gas consumption. In the last ten years the cost of petrol has increased by 250%! The price of oil has doubled since January this year. High oil and gas prices are the driving factor for most people to trade in their gas-powered vehicles for hybrid vehicles. These vehicles promise to give consumers more mileage per gallon, the truth is that only a few vehicles currently on the market actually make financial sense. There are several problems with purchasing hybrid vehicles, even with fuel prices above $4 a gallon. First, these vehicles are priced much higher than their gas-powered counterpart, so the premiums attached to their price tags don't justify the extra mileage you get. In some cases car dealers sell popular vehicles at prices much higher than the MSRP. Second, there are no laws and regulations that control the technology, price, and mileage per gallon these vehicles require. Currently, there are hybrid vehicles on the market that offer a 3 MPG to 18 MPG improvement over their gas-powered counterpart. This is a huge range that needs to be controlled. Third, demand for these vehicles is pushing vehicle prices even higher; If people knew that it would take many years for fuel economy to pay for the hybrid premium on many models, demand on these models would be much lower, driving prices lower. The solution I would like to propose is for the government to work with car manufacturers to develop a standard for hybrid vehicles. This standard should control the minimum mileage offered per gallon and control the premium allowed by manufacturers. There are vehicles on the market that offer only a marginal advantage over gas-powered vehicles, yet manufacturers charge thousands of dollars more. Context: Today, people around the world are facing unusually high increases in the price of oil. Oil has become so expensive that people are trying all kinds of extreme measures to bring its price down.