Once upon a time, fuel-efficient vehicles were the ride of choice only for a subgroup of environmentally-enlightened extremists … but with gas prices topping out at more than $4 a gallon nationwide, “stingy sippers” are increasingly popular with consumers who are interested in saving a buck along with the planet.

If you’re in the market for a new car but unsure how to make heads or tails of all the fuel-efficient hype out there, Car & Driver recently rated the most fuel efficient vehicles in the US … and fueleconomy.gov offers some excellent pointers on how to increase your miles per gallon, no matter what you’re driving.

Finally, for those of you wondering exactly how much of your paycheck you’re pouring into your gas tank, check out CNN.com’s “Hours for Gallons” calculator. 

Drive safely.