Does the high price of gas have you considering a hybrid for your next vehicle? We don’t blame you, especially if you drive a lot. Fortunately, there are lots of hybrids to choose from, and many don’t cost much more than their non-hybrid counterparts. But to recoup the extra cost of a hybrid the quickest and start saving money, we don’t recommend purchasing just any hybrid. The car experts at Edmunds outline four tips that will give you the tools you need to find a hybrid that will maximize your savings.

Aim for hybrids with the shortest payback periods

New hybrids typically cost more than similar gas-only vehicles, so aim for a hybrid that doesn’t cost much more than its non-hybrid sibling. With this strategy, you will offset the price difference more quickly with the fuel savings a hybrid provides. For example, the SE hybrid version of the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe, which is one of Hyundai’s three-row SUVs, costs just $1,350 more than the regular Santa Fe. According to the EPA, the hybrid version can save you $850 a year in fuel costs compared to the regular Santa Fe if you drive 15,000 miles a year. So, depending on how much you drive, the fuel savings could cover the extra cost in less than two years.

The Ford Maverick, which is Ford’s compact pickup, and the Lexus NX small luxury SUV are two other models that will pay you back quicker than most if you get the hybrid version. In contrast, some hybrids may take several years to recoup their extra cost. For example, a hybrid version of the Honda Civic costs $2,700 more than a comparable non-hybrid Civic, and the EPA estimates that you’ll save just $450 a year by getting the hybrid.

To find out how long it will take to recover the extra cost of the hybrid you want, visit the EPA’s mpg comparison tool. But if the hybrid you want isn’t there, you can find out for yourself by comparing the price difference between the hybrid you want and the non-hybrid version of it. Then, compare the estimated annual fuel cost of each by entering the vehicles in the EPA’s fuel economy website.

Find models that are mpg standouts

If you aren’t worried about price differences and just want to start saving money on gas, focus on getting a vehicle with high fuel economy estimates. The 2026 Toyota RAV4 is a great choice for a small SUV because it comes exclusively as a hybrid and gets up to an EPA-estimated 43 mpg combined.

Want something smaller than a RAV4? The Kia Niro delivers up to 53 mpg. And what if you want the most efficient hybrid for 2026? The answer is something you’ve probably heard of: the Toyota Prius. A 2026 Prius can get up to an EPA-estimated 57 mpg combined.

Go used or certified pre-owned for a better deal

If you’re OK with a used hybrid, then you can potentially avoid the hybrid price premium entirely. A hybrid model that has more miles or is a year or two older can cost the same or less than a comparable non-hybrid. To help offset the higher mileage or age, aim for a certified pre-owned hybrid because it typically includes an additional warranty.

In some cases, you might be able to find a hybrid that’s priced the same as a non-hybrid regardless of age or mileage if it’s been on the dealership lot for an extended time. Dealerships tend to discount vehicles that aren’t selling quickly to move inventory.

New three-row hybrid SUVs can save you more

Hybrid-powered three-row SUVs are a great choice if you’ve got a large family and want to save on gas. There are also more hybrid models on the market than ever before. The all-new 2026 Hyundai Palisade Hybrid SEL, for example, can save you up to $1,100 a year versus the non-hybrid version, assuming you drive 15,000 miles a year. With savings like that, you recoup the extra cost in about two years. The Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid is another roomy three-row SUV that could pay for itself in about two years.

Edmunds says

Saving money is just one of the advantages of owning a hybrid. Many hybrids are also more powerful than non-hybrids and deliver a smoother driving experience. They also produce lower emissions and have less brake wear because of their regenerative braking system.

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.
Michael Cantu is a contributor at Edmunds.

—Michael Cantu of Edmunds

This week British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been fighting for his political survival as more than 80 members of his own party have asked him to step down, and recent polls show him to be Britain’s most unpopular leader on record. Just two years ago Starmer entered Downing Steet after winning a landslide victory – where did it all go wrong?

It’s time to stop calling Gen Z the youngest generation in the workforce. Gen Alpha has entered the chat. Although the oldest Gen Alphas have only just hit their teen years, they are deeply financially motivated and ready to be put to work.

If you happen to be living with a Gen Alpha who seems strangely fixated on earning their own money—or who is obsessed with brands and products—you know that we’re raising a generation of hustlers (even if they’re just hustling us). But new data from public relations and marketing firm DKC is shedding even more light on the financial intrigue behind Gen Alpha.

The firm surveyed 1,000 parents of 8- to 15-year-olds about their children’s financial interest and conduct.

The results build on previous research, which found that Gen Alphas, while mostly still in middle school, are massively savvy financially. According to the new survey, a staggering number of Gen Alphas are already earning an income. In total, 95% are making money. But the ways they’re lining their pockets differ. 

The bank of mom and dad

For now, the earnings mostly come from their parents.

Some 85% percent receive an allowance, though most of the parents surveyed (55%) said their kids have to earn it. Good behavior and grades earn money for 67% of Gen Alphas; 78% get paid for doing chores.

However, Gen Alphas aren’t just earning inside their homes. More than half (57%) earn money through babysitting, lawn care, and other jobs, while another 14% use the internet to sell or resell items. 

The earnings are more than pocket change. On average, Gen Alphas have $52 per week of their own money, up from $45 two years ago. That comes out to a whopping $2,704 per year.

A wild time to be coming of age

The world of Gen Alpha—largely happening online—is made up of influencers doing fascinating and sometimes ridiculous things to earn a buck (or millions of them). Whether it’s platforms based on doing good deeds for others, embarrassing themselves for clicks, or taking on inventive tasks like power-washing neighbors’ trash cans, the options to start earning are regularly in their faces.

Likewise, so are brands and products, which is probably why they’re such an influential part of the household when it comes to how money is spent.

Per the new research, parents said about half of household spending decisions come from their Gen Alpha child. Some 69% of the parents surveyed said they learn about brands from their Gen Alpha kids; 71% said they’ve even changed their own consumer choices after learning about brands from their child. 

Sixty-one percent of Gen Alpha parents shop frequently with their children. But they also pay attention to what their kids are looking at online: 54% pay specific attention to influencers their child likes, and nearly half (49%) buy products from ads their child enjoys.

And what is Gen Alpha into? No big surprises here. The top categories where the big spenders are shelling out are food (75%), gaming (71%), entertainment (62%), and clothing (62%).

It’s not always easy raising a generation of kids who are already so interested in earning and spending money.

For starters, they’re constantly ambling for the newest game, pair of shoes, squishy, or viral beverage.

However, parents in DKC’s survey said that kids today aren’t just interested in making money; they’re money-smart, too. A decisive 98% of parents of Gen Alpha kids said they’re teaching their kids about budgeting, or are planning to. 

We know from DKC’s previous research that not only are Gen Alphas attentive to brands (87%), but they also care about a brand’s values (69%).

Of course, when millennial parents were kids, issues like how a company treats their employees or whether they were environmentally conscious simply weren’t on our radar. But today, everything about brands is findable online. As with most things, Gen Alphas are usually the first ones to find it.

Several heads of state, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are gathering in Bucharest this Wednesday for the B9 summit, which brings together NATO’s eastern flank countries amid growing tensions linked to the war in Ukraine. Even in Romania, the conflict feels increasingly present. In recent months, Russian attacks have intensified against Ukrainian Danube ports located just a few hundred metres from the Romanian border. 

At least, that’s the message former Road Rules star and current Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent by announcing his new reality series as gas hit a national average of$4.49 a gallon.

Over the past seven months, when he wasn’t urging Americans to dress spiffier at the airport, Duffy has apparently been taking in the purple mountain majesties with his wife and children, on a quest to create content that “pushes back on Marxist narratives” about the U.S. The resultingtravelogue, The Great American Road Trip, will premiere on YouTube next month, just in time for the country’s 250th birthday bonanza.

Despite its panoply of sponsors, the forthcoming show has gotten a lukewarm response thus from potential viewers, who don’t seem very interested in tagging along for the ride. 

Even if Duffy had launched the project during a time of relative peace, prosperity and normal airports, it would’ve likely still come across as an obnoxious, pointless waste of resources. Doing so at this particular moment, however, and lashing out at anyone who suggests it’s in poor taste, only further calls into question the supposed wisdom of packing a presidential cabinet with TV personalities and podcasters.

Duffy’s sightseeing boondoggle is sadly emblematic of a White House that is deeply unserious. Even when faced with multiple national crises of their own making, many at the top seem to be asleep at the wheel.

“It fits any budget to do a road trip!”

Although TMZ broke the story in March about Duffy returning to his reality TV roots, it mostly slipped through the cracks. Airports around the country just then were descending into chaos as a partial government shutdown left TSA agents without pay, so when the Transportation Secretary was in the news at the time, it was to blame Democrats solely for the shutdown.

Now that the shutdown is resolved, Duffy has taken time away from blaming Democrats for fresh airport chaos caused by Spirit going under, to promote his new show. Last Friday, he announced the upcoming series on X and during an appearance on Fox & Friends, with his wife and co-star, Rachel Campos-Duffy.

Just why has the Transportation Secretary spent a substantial chunk of the past seven months on a filmed family vacation? As he and fellow Road Rules vet Campos-Duffy explained it, in the 27 years since the pair were married, reality TV producers have been banging down their doors, begging them to do a new show with their enormous family. (They have nine children). Ambivalent to the base temptations of money and attention, as they tell it, only when Trump urged his Cabinet members to “do something” to celebrate America’s 250^th did Duffy nobly don a lav mic once again to hit the road with his family and introduce them to Kid Rock.

“It fits any budget to do a road trip!” Duffy crowed during the interview, as the average gas price in California spiked above $6 a gallon.

Back in March, when TMZ revealed Duffy’s show was in the works, he would’ve already been steeped in the economic crunch Trump’s unprovoked war with Iran created. He had plenty of time to assess which way the wind was blowing and table his TV show until a moment when reporters wouldn’t be constantly asking him about high gas prices.

Instead, he decided to plow ahead with The Great American Road Trip with no regard for the optics of the timing—and seemed shocked when X users of all stripes criticized him for it.

Too wholesome, too patriotic, too joyful

After a full day of taking flak online, Duffy doubled down. He posted a lengthy screed on X, railing against the “radical miserable left,” as though only staunch partisans could find fault with his frivolous, gas-guzzling side hustle.

He claimed in the post that the haters only objected to his show because it was “too wholesome,” “too patriotic,” and “too joyful.” Despite that framing, however, he still felt compelled to defend himself against the actual criticisms people had been lodging.

He offered a list of five rebuttals, declaring: 1) “production costs were paid for by the Great American Road Trip Inc., not taxpayers,” 2) he had not received a salary or production royalties for the project, 3) the series had been filmed “in short, one to two day production windows,” rather than throughout a seven-month vacation, 4) the project had been approved by “ethics and budget officials,” and 5) he’d been phenomenally successful in his day job of supervising transportation for the U.S., despite spending considerable time making a TV show.  

Of course, Duffy’s heated response only invites further scrutiny.

In order to plausibly claim no taxpayer dollars were spent on the show, for instance, he’d have to prove no government staff were involved in scheduling, logistics, security, or approvals during filming, and that filming never coincided with any time technically on the Transportation clock.

Also, in the same way Trump has bragged about not taking a salary as president, despite profiting enormously and directly from his presidency, Duffy could still benefit from the show. He could parlay it into a book deal or a podcast or some other post-government TV opportunity—if a fully expensed eleven-person road trip doesn’t already count as a benefit in itself.

Not to mention it just doesn’t seem right for a U.S. Transportation Secretary to divide his time and mental energy between official duties and the demands of creating a TV show during the turbulence of recent months. One can only imagine the apoplectic response that would’ve ensued had President Biden’s Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg released a road trip series—perhaps one called Buttigieg of Glory—while in office. (Especially considering that conservatives including Duffy himself criticized “Private Jet Pete” for “jetting off” to the ICU when one of his sons was born with a serious illness in 2021, instead of working in DC.)

And whether those nebulously defined “ethics officials” approved the project or not, there’s still an unambiguous conflict of interest in The Great American Road Trip’ssponsorship. Several of the companies contributing to the show—Boeing, Shell, Toyota, United, and Royal Caribbean, to name a few—are regulated by the Department of Transportation, depend on the Department’s policies, and are known to lobby it for approvals, grants and other developments. Throwing money at Duffy’s vanity project doesn’t necessarily guarantee those companies any future favors, but it does reasonably raise the suggestion of indebtedness.

It doesn’t require membership in the “radical miserable left” to smell something fishy there.

Not particularly good TV

Trump appears in the opening moments of the Great American Road Trip trailer, welcoming the Duffy clan into the Oval Office, so it stands to reason he approved this project. 

After all, Trump has unique insight into the power of reality TV.

Despite coming from a real estate background, it was Trump’s experience on The Apprentice that brought him into millions of Americans’ homes, laying the foundation for his presidency. What makes Good TV seems to take precedence in his calculus over what makes Good Governance, which probably explains why he’s put so many TV personalities in power.

What does not make for particularly good TV, however, at least as far as Trump is concerned, is when his people get called out for sticking their nose right in the camera. 

It didn’t work out well for Kristi Noem after she spent $200 million on an ad campaign where she cosplayed as a cowgirl, nor did things pan out for Elon Musk after he made a spectacle of himself trying to influence an election in Wisconsin. And Kash Patel’s fortunes remain unclear after he reportedly got on Trump’s bad side by partying on camera with the U.S. Olympic hockey team and becoming the subject of multiple Atlantic exposés.

Excessive displays of personal vanity and let-them-eat-cake obliviousness are only tolerated from one person in the White House, and that person is not Sean Duffy. 

If his road trip reality series rolls out this summer while gas prices continue to climb, well, let’s just say he will likely have plenty of time for his next cross-country adventure. 

The four years of war in Ukraine have re-written the needs of modern warfare – and at its forefront are aerial drones. Amid concerns that China is aiding Russia with military goods, Kyiv has sought to edge China out of its drone supply chain. Ukraine, as well as Europe and the United States, have increasingly turned to Taiwan as an alternative supplier.